Papilio rumanzovia Scarlet Mormon butterfly
Their wingspan measures 120 – 140 mm. The male resembles the male Ascalaphus swallowtail, but lacks the tail at the bottom wing and has large red patches on the ventral side (underside) of the wings. In contrast, the female has distinct red markings on both sides of the wings.
Did you know?
The species was named after Nicholas Rumanzow who was chancellor of the Russian Empire.
Phylum: Arthropoda Class: Insecta Order: Lepidoptera Family: Papilionidae Subfamily: Papilioninae Genus: Papilio
The Scarlet Mormon Butterfly, also called the Scarlet Swallowtail, is native to the Philippines. Its wingspan can reach 140mm. The male (above left) has a basically black topside with streaked hind wings like other male Mormons; the female (above right) has a bright scarlet central panel, but black body.
The top of the white markings on the male’s hind wings is at a diagonal rather than straight, unlike the Great Mormon’s, leaving a black lozenge shape visible above. A red eye-spot is also sometimes visible. The male is tail-less (a similar-looking male, but with tails, is the Ascalaphus Swallowtail).
The underside of the male, above, has bright red markings along the body and a red chain pattern around the hind wing, similar to the underside of the female Scarlet Mormon.
The bright scarlet colouring of the female, above, is on both underside and topside. Bright blue scales are also sometime visible on the hind wing topside, depending on light and age.
Common Name: Scarlet Mormon
Scientific Name: Papilio Rumanzovia
Wingspan: 120-140mm
Location: Philippines to southern Taiwan
The species was named by Johann Friedrich von Eschscholtz after Nicholas Rumanzow, chancellor of the Russian Empire. It has traditionally been regarded as a species of its own rather than a subspecies of Papilio deiphobus,[1] but the former treatment is still preferred by some.
The wingspan is 120–140 mm. The male resembles the male Papilio ascalaphus, but lacks the tail at the bottom wing and has large red patches on the ventral side (underside) of the wings. In contrast, the female has distinct red markings on both sides of the wings.The larvae feed on Citrus species.
The Scarlet Mormon lives in Asia and Australia. It can be found from Borneo, Java, Sumatra, the Philippines, Taiwan to Indonesia. Its home is tropical rainforests.
The front wings of this Asian swallowtail are black, with small, contrasting red triangles. The hind wings have a black base color and red, oval spots on the edge of the wings, which have large black spots in the middle. The Scarlet Mormon has no tail.
The males patrol their territory and look for females. Their estimated lifespan is fourteen days.
The wingspan of Papilio rumanzovia is 12.0 to 14 cm.
Caterpillar food plants: Dutchman’s maidenhair (Aristolochia), citrus plants (Citrus spec.).
