Swallowtail
Frank Kietzer won this sponsorship as 2nd prize in the 2016 photo competition organised by the Alexander Koenig Society in the over 18s category. Congratulations to him!
The Papilio jacksoni butterfly has brownish wing covers with a cream-coloured band running through them. The wingspan is 8 cm.
Like our native swallowtail (Papilio machaon),Papilio jacksoni belongs to the subfamily Papilioninae.
The distinguishing feature of all species of Papilionidae is the osmaterium of the caterpillar, a fleshy fork on the neck that can be pushed out, which emits an unpleasant odour and is intended to scare off enemies.
The caterpillars feed on plants from the Rutaceae (citrus family) or Apiaceae (umbellifers) and form a free-hanging girdle pupa.