Cressida cressida (Fabricius, 1775)
Clearwing Swallowtail
 PAPILIONIDAE,    PAPILIONOIDEA
 
Don Herbison-Evans
(donherbisonevans@yahoo.com)
and
Peter Samson & Stella Crossley

Cressida cressida
(Photo: courtesy of Jessica May, Cairns)

This Caterpillar is covered in tubercles, and is mottled with dark brown and white.

Cressida cressida
(Photo copyright: Peter Samson)

It feeds on various species of the genus Aristolochia ( family: ARISTOLOCHIACEAE ), including :

  • Chalmer's Birthwort ( Aristolochia chalmersii ),
  • Holtze's Birthwort ( Aristolochia holtzei ),
  • Hairy Birthwort ( Aristolochia pubera ),
  • Birthwort ( Aristolochia tagala ), and
  • > Australian Native Dutchman's Pipe ( Aristolochia thozetii ).

    Cressida cressida
    (Photo copyright: Peter Samson)

    Eggs are yellow, spherical,and ribbed, with a diameter of about 0.5 mm. They are laid on a foodplant, and also sadly on the introduced

  • Dutchman's Pipe ( Aristolochia elegans ),

    but larvae feeding on the leaves of this plant do not survive. Curiously, they can survive if they feed only on its flowers!

    Cressida cressida
    (Photo copyright: Peter Samson)

    The pupa is brown with white markings. It has a length of about 2.5 cms.

    Cressida cressida
    male
    (Photo: courtesy of Russell Yates, Bundaberg)

    The forewings of the adult butterflies have black veins, with a black area around the base. The females have a black spot on each forewing. The males have two black spots on each forewing. The forewings are otherwise transparent. The hind wings are black with a white band across each one. They each have a red spot on top, and an arc of red spots underneath. In this way the species mimics other Australian Swallowtails. The wingspan is up to 8 cms.

    Cressida cressida
    female
    (Photo: courtesy of Karen Doyle, Townsville)

    Initially the forewings are white, but the scales are very loose, and soon fall off leaving the wings transparent. The body is black except for a red tip to the abdomen.

    Cressida cressida
    mating pair
    (Photo: courtesy of Karen Doyle, Townsville)

    Various races of this species have been recognised in

  • Indonesia,
  • New Guinea,

    and in Australia in:

  • Northern Territory,
  • Queensland, and
  • New South Wales.

    Cressida cressida
    ( Australia Post, 1997)
    Cressida cressida
    ( Australia Post, 1981)

    Further reading :

    Michael F. Braby,
    Butterflies of Australia,
    CSIRO Publishing, Melbourne 2000, vol. 1, pp. 277-278.

    Johan Christian Fabricius,
    Historiae Naturalis Fautoribus,
    Systema Entomologiae
    1774, p. 448, No. 24.

    Frank Jordan & Helen Schwencke,
    Create More Butterflies : a guide to 48 butterflies and their host-plants
    Earthling Enterprises, Brisbane, 2005, pp. 13, 58, 61.

    Wesley Jenkinson & John T. Moss,
    Life history, distribution & behavioural notes on the Clearwing Swallowtail, Cressida cressida (Fabricius, 1775) Lepidoptera: Papilionidae,
    Butterflies and Other Invertebrates Club,
    Metamorphosis Australia,
    Issue 91 (December 2018), pp. 1, 4-8.

    Buck Richardson,
    Tropical Queensland Wildlife from Dusk to Dawn Science and Art,
    LeapFrogOz, Kuranda, 2015, p. 223.

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    (updated 24 May 2010, 22 October 2013, 16 March 2019)