Papilio demoleus
(chequered swallowtail)

The distribution map includes records based on specimens of P. demoleus from the collection in the Natural History Museum (London, UK): dates of collection are noted in the list of countries (NHM, various dates).

P. demoleus was not recorded from Kalimantan (southern Borneo), Timor or Sulawesi by Common and Waterhouse (198l), even though citrus is widely cultivated there. They also stated that this butterfly was absent from the Philippines and Sumatra (Indonesia); however, Corbet and Pendlebury (1992) recorded it from these last two areas. Jumalon (1969) had also recorded it from the Philippines much earlier. It has recently colonized Sarawak (Wan, 1970), Java (Matsumoto and Woro Noerdjito, 1996), Borneo (including Indonesian Kalimantan) and Bali, Indonesia (Matsumoto, 2002). Records from Sabah (Anon., 1962) require further investigation because this species appears to be extending its range. Vagrants have occurred sporadically on various islands of the Ryukyu Archipelago, Japan (Matsuka, 2003).

In March 2004 P. demoleus was discovered in the Dominican Republic on the Caribbean island of Hispaniola in an area commonly known as 'Hoyo Azul' (18°33.528'N, 68°26.807'W) located in the municipality of El Veron, Higuey Province. This was the first New World documentation of this Old World citrus pest (Guerrero et al., 2004). The specimens were not the strongly yellow Australian subspecies P. demoleus sthenelus, but resembled populations of P. demoleus malayanus from South-East Asia. P. demoleus has now been reported from Puerto Rico (Homziak and Homziak, 2006) and, more recently, a December 2006 OPIS (Offshore Pest Information System) report helped to confirm new country detection of lime swallowtail in Jamaica (NAPPO, 2006; see http://www.pestalert.org/oprDetail.cfm?oprID=244).

All records of this species from the Afrotropical (Ethiopian) biogeographical region refer to the closely related but specifically distinct P. demodocus.

Eggs

The spherical, pale yellow eggs are laid singly on the upper surface of young leaves. These darken as the larva develops within, and hatch after 5-9 days. Radke and Kandalkar (1988) state that 15-22 eggs are laid per female, but Farid (1987) quotes a maximum of 511 eggs per female. Krishnamoorthy and Singh (1986) found that natural rates of egg parasitism by Trichogramma chilonis could reach 75.9% in Karnataka, India. This stage generally lasts 4-7 days, depending on temperature.

Larvae

Up until the fourth instar the brown-black and white larvae feed and rest openly on the upper sides of leaves, relying on a resemblance to fresh bird droppings for protection.

Mature larvae behave differently. These generally rest some distance from the feeding area on twigs among foliage and rely on their now cryptic coloration for protection; however, Corbet and Pendlebury (1992) state that it is at this stage that larvae suffer their heaviest mortality. Larvae of this species can often be found in the company of larvae of Papilio polytes and P. memnon, which are very similar in appearance. The larval stage generally lasts 15-26 days, depending on temperature.

Pupae

Pupae, which are formed under leaves or on twigs near the feeding site, may be either brown or green depending on the colour of the substrate. Rafi et al. (1989) found that overall mortality was highest during this stage, with the main mortality factor being the parasitoid Pteromalus puparum. Farid (1987) states that 30-86% of pupae are killed by this wasp. This stage lasts from 8-19 days to a number of months, depending on whether the pupa diapauses. Details of pupal diapause are given by Singh (1993b) and Ishii (1987).

Adults

The unmistakable yellow and black chequered adults (65-100 mm) generally emerge during the morning and are usually on the wing a few hours later, visiting low-growing flowers in sunny locations. Courtship takes place in such areas, with mating lasting 1.5-2 h. The natural lifespan of wild adults rarely exceeds 6 days (Singh and Gangwar, 1989).

More details of the biology of this species in India and Pakistan are given by Ghosh (1914), Mishra and Pandey (1965), Radke and Kandalkar (1988), Rafi et al., (1989), Singh and Gangwar (1989), and Goyle (1990).

In Puerto Rico, where it has recently been introduced, it has a life cycle of approximately 30 days. From oviposition, eggs hatch in three days. Larval instar durations are 3, 2, 3, 3, and 5 d for larval stages 1 to 5, respectively. Pupal stage lasts approximately 12 days. Twelve or more generations are possible under local citrus-growing conditions (Segarra-Carmona et al., 2010).

Due to the variable regulations around (de)registration of pesticides, your national list of registered pesticides or relevant authority should be consulted to determine which products are legally allowed for use in your country when considering chemical control. Pesticides should always be used in a lawful manner, consistent with the product's label.

Low-level infestations can be controlled by hand-picking larvae (Cherian, 1942). Severe infestations are generally controlled by applying chemical pesticides or plant extracts to the foliage, e.g. carbaryl, phosalone, acephate, pirimiphos-methyl, fenitrothion, permethrin, etc. Details are given by Radke and Kandalkar (1986), Singh and Kumar (1986), Batra (1990), Nandihalli et al. (1991), and Solunke and Deshpande (1991).

The efficacy of different concentrations of the biopesticides Bacillus thuringiensis and Beauveria bassiana, as well as of neem seed kernel extract, neem oil and azadirachtin were tested by Narayanamma and Savithri (2003) against P. demoleus in Andhra Pradesh, India. Spraying of B. thuringiensis resulted in a 100% control of the pest population after 5 days of application, regardless of the concentration used (0.0025, 0.005 or 0.0075%). The mean reduction in the population of the pest was highest using B. thuringiensis and lowest with azadirachtin sprays.