| Common Yellow Swallowtail (Papilio machaon (Linnaeus, 1758)) |
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Scientific name: Papilio machaon (Linnaeus, 1758) Common name: Common Yellow Swallowtail Other names: Old World Swallowtail. French name: Machaon, Grand porte-queue. Order: Lepidoptera Suborder: Rhopalocera Family: Papilionidae Subfamily: Papilioninae Wingspan: 64-100 mm. Biotope: Flower meadows, dry meadows, road verges, gardens and any open and sunny place. Geographic area: Temperate Europe, temperate Asia east to Japan, North Africa, North America. Flight time: April to August. Number of generations : 2 or 3. Caterpillar: Pale green, with black rings and orange red marks. It has an orange yellow retractable organ on the rear of the head, the osmeterium. It can emit a very bad smell to repulse predators. Host plant: Wild Carrot (Daucus carota), Fennel (Foeniculum vulgare), Burnet Saxifrage (Pimpinella saxifraga) and other Umbelliferae plants. |
The Common Yellow Swallowtail is a more or less dark bright yellow colour with black marks. The hind wings show an anal red eyespot with blue on top and circled with black. They also show a band of postmedian bluish marks. They have a pair of protruding tails. The Common Yellow Swallowtail has a strong and fast flight. It over winters as a chrysalis. |
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I have never been able to take pictures of the few Common Yellow Swallowtails I have observed in the Paris Area. I remember having seen one by chance while doing jogging. This was a bright-coloured imago, maybe freshly emerged from the chrysalis. But I never run with my camera. I also remember having observed a beautiful one in my garden, on the buddleia. Just the time to go and fetch the camera, the Common Yellow Swallowtail has flown away to another more attractive garden. I have taken this picture during a walk in a small village in Ardèche (south of France). I have shot this picture from the street. The butterfly was gathering nectar in a garden. The house behind does not make a nice background. |
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Side view of the under side of the wings. |
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The Buddleia is well named Butterfly Bush. |
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This Common Yellow Swallowtail, always moving, didn't let me take a picture very easily. |
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I have photographed this Common Yellow Swallowtail during a trek in the Vercors mountains, a few meters away from the summit of the Grand Veymont. |
André Bon August 2021