Old World swallowtail

Old World swallowtail
Upperside
Underside
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Lepidoptera
Family:	Papilionidae
Genus:	Papilio
Species:	P. machaon
Binomial name
Papilio machaon Linnaeus, 1758
Synonyms
List Papilio machaon var. marginalis Robbe, 1891 Papilio machaon ab. nigrofasciata Rothke, 1895 Papilio machaon ab. niger Heyne, [1895] Papilio machaon var. aurantiaca Speyer, 1858 Papilio machaon var. asiatica Ménétriés, 1855 Papilio hippocrates C. & R. Felder, 1864 Papilio machaon var. micado Pagenstecher, 1875 Papilio bairdii Edwards, 1866 Papilio asterius var. utahensis Strecker, 1878 Papilio hollandii Edwards, 1892 Papilio aliaska Scudder, 1869 Papilio machaon joannisi Verity, [1907] Papilio machaon petersii Clark, 1932 Papilio hippocrates var. oregonia Edwards, 1876 Papilio ladakensis Moore, 1884 Papilio sikkimensis Moore, 1884 Papilio machaon var. centralis Staudinger, 1886 Papilio brucei Edwards, 1893 Papilio brucei Edwards, 1895 Papilio machaon dodi McDunnough, 1939 Papilio machaon var. montanus Alphéraky, 1897 Papilio machaon alpherakyi Bang-Haas, 1933 Papilio machaon minschani Bang-Haas Papilio machaon chinensomandschuriensis Eller, 1939 Papilio machaon hieromax Hemming, 1934 Papilio machaon mauretanica Verity, 1905 Papilio machaon var. mauretanica Blachier, 1908 Papilio machaon var. mauretanica Holl, 1910 Papilio machaon var. asiatica ab. caerulescens Holl, 1910 Papilio machaon var. asiatica ab. djezïrensis Holl, 1910 Papilio sphyrus Hübner, [1823] Papilio machaon machaon maxima Verity, 1911 Papilio machaon maxima gen.aest. angulata Verity, 1911 Papilio machaon f. chrysostoma Chnéour, 1934 Papilio machaon f. archias Fruhstorfer, 1907 Papilio machaon chishimana Matsumura, 1928 Papilio machaon sylvia Esaki, 1930 Papilio machaon venchuanus Moonen Papilio machaon schantungensis Eller, 1936

External identifiers for Papilio (Papilio) machaon
Encyclopedia of Life	130891
ITIS	777696
NCBI	76193
Also found in:

Papilio machaon, the Old World swallowtail, is a butterfly of the family Papilionidae. The butterfly is also known as the common yellow swallowtail or simply the swallowtail (a common name applied to all members of the family, but this species is the 'original', first to go by the name). It is the type species of the genus Papilio.

Named for Machaon (ancient Greek: Μαχάων) a figure in Greek mythology. He was a son of Asclepius.

Papilio machaon was named by Carl Linnaeus in the 10th edition of Systema Naturae in 1758, alongside nearly 200 other species of butterfly. Later, Pierre André Latreille designated it as the type species of the genus Papilio.Papilio appalachiensis and Papilio xuthus are also of the same genus. The specific epithet machaon refers to Machaon, son of Asclepius in the works of Homer.

There are 37 recognized subspecies, that include:

Papilio machaon gorganus is strongly migratory in Europe and may be found in almost all habitats. In the UK, P. m. britannicus is an endemic subspecies, but occasionally individuals of the continental subspecies P. m. gorganus breed temporarily on the south coast. Subspecies P. m. britannicus differs from the continental subspecies in being more heavily marked in black. The Maltese Islands are home to another endemic subspecies, P. m. melitensis.

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