Il macaone (o Papilio machaon) รจ una farfalla che vive nelle regioni temperate, nei boschi e nella tundra di Europa, Asia e Nord America. Le ali anteriori sono di color giallo pallido con motivi grigio-neri, mentre le ali posteriori mostrano accenti blu scuro e macchie a forma di occhio rosse, oltre a una caratteristica "coda" allungata. I maschi e le femmine sono simili e hanno un'apertura alare media compresa tra 6,5 e 8,6 centimetri. Il bruco ha un corpo carnoso verde pallido con segni neri e arancioni su ciascuna sezione.

Latin Name
Papilio machaon
Slug
old-world-swallowtail
Site
Conservation Status
Animal Category
Animal Facts
The Old World swallowtail is the largest species of butterfly found in the UK.
The Old World swallowtail caterpillar has an orange organ, called an osmeterium, on its head which protrudes and produces foul odours when threatened to scare off predators.
The Old World swallowtail caterpillar is parasitized by a wasp species called Trogus lapidator that lays its eggs inside the body cavity of the caterpillar and feeds on it while it pupates, with the adult wasp emerging from the chrysalis.
The tongue of the Old World swallowtail is adapted to feed on flowers with many small, thin, tubular petals such as dandelions.
The Old World swallowtail is a fast, direct flier in comparison to many other species of butterflies.