Butterfly Conservation is a registered charity with a national membership of over 14,000. The Society is dedicated to the conservation of butterflies, moths and their habitats.
Butterfly taxonomy (classification) The skippers The swallowtails The whites The hairstreaks, coppers and blues. Includes the Duke of Burgundy. The nymphalids, fritillaries and browns. Includes the Monarch.
Scarce Swallowtail - imago - Unknown location - Unknown date (2) [Roger Gibbons]Wingspan
Male: 76 - 82mm
Female: 80 - 86mm
Scarce Swallowtail

Iphiclides podalirius
Pronunciation iff-ee-CLY-deez
poh-da-LI-ree-uss
Linnaeus, 1758
Ref: 1540
Superfamily: Papilionoidea
Family: Papilionidae
Subfamily: Papilioninae
Genus: Iphiclides
Subgenus:  
Species: podalirius
< Previous Species (Click here to load all available images for this species) Next Species >


Scarce Swallowtail - imago - Unknown location - Unknown date (2) [Roger Gibbons] Scarce Swallowtail - imago - Unknown location - Unknown date [Roger Gibbons] Scarce Swallowtail - imago - Mount Menikio, Greece - 12-Jun-09 (10)
Male Male Underside Female Female Underside

Introduction  

This species is believed to be an extremely rare natural immigrant to our shores. However, the dozen or so sightings could be the result of immature stages being accidentally imported, or releases of captive-bred stock.

This species was figured as a British species as early as 1710. The first authoritative reports of a capture were from Clapham Park Wood, Bedfordshire, in 1803 and from Netley, Shropshire in 1822.

Distribution  

This species is a rare migrant to the British Isles.

Annual Cycle  

Description to be completed

Habitat  

Description to be completed

Larval Foodplants  

The main larval foodplants are Blackthorn (Prunus spinosa), Bullace (Prunus domestica), Cherry (Cerasus spp.) and Wild Plum (Prunus domestica).

Nectar Sources  

Description to be completed

Imago  

Description to be completed

Scarce Swallowtail - imago - Thatcham - 23-Aug-09 (1) {REARED} Scarce Swallowtail - imago - Josvafo, Hungary - 12-Jul-06 (3) Scarce Swallowtail - imago - Josvafo, Hungary - 12-Jul-06 (7) Scarce Swallowtail - imago - La Brenne, France - 22-Jul-07 [Richard Hudson] Scarce Swallowtail - imago - Unknown location - Unknown date (2) [Roger Gibbons]
Photo © Pete Eeles
23-Aug-2009
Photo © Pete Eeles
12-Jul-2006
Photo © Pete Eeles
12-Jul-2006
Photo © Richard Hudson
Photo © Roger Gibbons
Scarce Swallowtail - imago - Unknown location - Unknown date (3) [Charles Nicol] Scarce Swallowtail - imago - Unknown location - Unknown date [Roger Gibbons] I. podalirius SE Moravia (CZE) Jul 17th 2009 I. podalirius SE Moravia (CZE) Jul 27th 2009 I. podalirius SE Moravia (CZE) Aug 01st 2009
Photo © Charles Nicol
Photo © Roger Gibbons
Photo © traplican
Photo © traplican
Photo © traplican
I. podalirius SE Moravia (CZE) Aug 18th 2009 Scarce Swallowtail - imago - Mount Menikio, Greece - 12-Jun-09 (4) Scarce Swallowtail - imago - Mount Menikio, Greece - 12-Jun-09 (10)
Photo © traplican
Photo © Pete Eeles
12-Jun-2009
Photo © Pete Eeles
12-Jun-2009
Aberrations  

Description to be completed

Ovum  

Description to be completed

Scarce Swallowtail - ovum - Mount Menikio, Greece - 12-Jun-09 (1)-2
Photo © Pete Eeles
15-Jun-2009
Larva  

Description to be completed

Scarce Swallowtail - larva - Thatcham - 15-Jul-09 (1) {REARED}
Photo © Pete Eeles
15-Jul-2009
Pupa  

Description to be completed

Scarce Swallowtail - pupa - Thatcham - 07-Aug-09 (1) {REARED} Scarce Swallowtail - pupa - Thatcham - 07-Aug-09 (2) {REARED}
Photo © Pete Eeles
07-Aug-2009
Photo © Pete Eeles
07-Aug-2009
Similar Species  

No similar species found.

Videos  

No videos are currently available for this species.

Sites  

No sites found.

Conservation Status  

This species is a rare migrant and no conservation action is relevant.

Links  

The following links provide additional information on this butterfly.

References  

The species description provided here has been derived from the author's own observations and the information contained in the following works:

  • A Natural History of British Butterflies, by F.W.Frohawk.
  • British and Irish Butterflies, by Adrian M. Riley
  • South's British Butterflies, by T.G.Howarth (which is based extensively on the classic work, "The Butterflies of the British Isles", by Richard South).
  • The Butterflies of Britain and Ireland, by Jeremy Thomas and Richard Lewington.
  • The Millennium Atlas of Butterflies in Britain and Ireland, by Jim Asher, Martin Warren, Richard Fox, Paul Harding, Gail Jeffcoate, Stephen Jeffcoate.
  • The Moths and Butterflies of Great Britain and Ireland Volume 7 (1) Hesperiidae to Nymphalidae (the Butterflies), by A. Maitland Emmet and John Heath (editors).
  • The State of Butterflies in Britain and Ireland, Richard Fox, Jim Asher, Tom Brereton, David Roy and Martin Warren.

Site brought to you by Webified
Copyright © Peter Eeles 2002-2010
All rights are reserved
Administrator Login