Parides montezuma

Parides montezuma, the Montezuma's cattleheart, is a butterfly in the family Papilionidae. It is native to the Americas.

Montezuma's cattleheart
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum:
Arthropoda
Class:
Insecta
Order:
Lepidoptera
Family:
Papilionidae
Genus:
Parides
Species:
P. montezuma
Binomial name
Parides montezuma
(Westwood, 1842) [1]

Description

The upperside of the wings is black, without a band and with one row of red crescents along the hindwing margin. The underside of the wings is almost the same as the upperside.[2][3] A full description is provided by Rothschild, W. and Jordan, K. (1906)[4]

Distribution and habitat

P. montezuma is found in dry forests from Mexico to Costa Rica, occurring from sea level to 700 m (2,300 ft). It is rare in Costa Rica, being more common northward. It is not threatened.[5]

Host plants
  • Aristolochia acanthophylla
  • Aristolochia foetida – Jalisco Dutchman's pipe
  • Aristolochia grandiflora – pelican flower
  • Aristolochia micrantha
  • Aristolochia orbicularis

Parides montezuma is a member of the ascanius species group [6] ("Fringe-spots white. Hindwing with submarginal spots and usnally also diseal spots or dots, or a discal band ;mostly with tail") A quadrate whitish spot in space 2 of the forewings is quite peculiar of the ascanius group[7]

The members are

Etymology

The specific epithet honours the Aztec king Montezuma.

References
  1. Westwood, 1842 Arcana entomologica, or Illustrations of new, rare and interesting Insects
  2. Glassberg, Jeffrey (2007). A Swift Guide to the Butterflies of Mexico and Central America. Sunstreak Books Inc. ISBN 978-1-4243-0915-3.
  3. Lewis, H. L., 1974 Butterflies of the World ISBN 0-245-52097-X Page 26, figure 15
  4. Rothschild, W. and Jordan, K. (1906). A revision of the American Papilios. Novitates Zoologicae 13: 411-752. (Facsimile edition ed. P.H. Arnaud, 1967) and online
  5. Collins, N. Mark; Morris, Michael G. (1985). "Parides montezuma (Westwood, 1842)". Threatened Swallowtail Butterflies of the World: The IUCN Red Data Book. Gland & Cambridge: IUCN. p. 67. ISBN 978-2-88032-603-6 – via Biodiversity Heritage Library.
  6. Edwin Möhn, 2007 Butterflies of the World, Part 26: Papilionidae XIII. Parides Verlag Goecke & Evers Verlag Goecke & Evers ISBN 9783937783277
  7. Racheli, Tommaso an Olmisani. Luca 1998. A cladistic analysis of the genus Parides Hubner, [1819], based on androconial structures (Lepidoptera: Papilionidae). Neue Ent. Nachr. (Marktleuthen),41:119-131.pdf


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