Protographium leosthenes

Protographium leosthenes (Doubleday, 1846)
PAPILIONIDAE
Fourbar Swallowtail

Don Herbison-Evans ( donherbisonevans@yahoo.com )
and
Peter R. Samson & Stella Crossley

Protographium leosthenes
(Photo copyright: Peter Samson)

The eggs of this species are cream and laid singly on the of young leaves of the foodplant. The Caterpillar feeds on :

Melodorum rupestrum,

Desmos wardianus,

Zig Zag Vine, ( Melodorum leichhardtii ), and

Canary Beech ( Polyalthia nitidissima ),

all of ANNONACEAE. When not eating, the Caterpillar rests on a silken bed attached to the upper surface of a leaf.

(Photo: courtesy of the Macleay Museum, University of Sydney)

The Caterpillars when young (the early instars) are pale green with black spots and black thorax and tail. Later, the Caterpillar becomes brown. When mature it becomes green with brown or yellow spots, and a pale line along each side above the prolegs, and grows to a length of about 3.5 cms.

(Photo copyright: Peter Samson)

The pupa is quite stout, green with pink markings. It is secured under a leaf of the foodplant by a cremaster and girdle. The pupa has a length of about 2 cms.

(Photo: courtesy of Todd Burrows, South Stradbroke Island)

The adults have pale wings with black edges, and four black marks along the costa. The hind wings have very long tails, as long as the width of the hind wings. Underneath, the markings are similar, except the hind wings have some red markings. The wingspan is about 5 cms.

Two subspecies have been recognised in Australia :

leosthenes along the north-east coast of Australia, including Brisbane, and

geimbia in the Northern Territory.

Further reading :

Michael F. Braby,
Butterflies of Australia, CSIRO Publishing, Melbourne 2000, vol. 1, pp. 253-254.

Peter Hendry,
The not so elusive Four-barred Swallowtail,
Butterflies and Other Invertebrates Club Newsletter, Number 32, March 2004, pp. 9-11.