biology

Graphium (butterfly)

Graphium (butterfly) is a biology topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Graphium (butterfly) rather than just read about it. In short: Graphium is a genus of mostly tropical swallowtail butterflies commonly known as swordtails or ladies. Native to Eurasia, Africa, and Oceania, the genus is represented by over 100 species.

Key takeaways

Graphium (butterfly) belongs to biology; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Graphium (butterfly) to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Graphium (butterfly) from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Graphium is a genus of mostly tropical swallowtail butterflies commonly known as swordtails or ladies. Native to Eurasia, Africa, and Oceania, the genus is represented by over 100 species. Their colouration is as variable as the habitats they frequent; from rainforest to savannah. Some possess tails which may be long and swordlike, while others lack any hindwing extensions. Graphium species are often sighted at mud puddles. The more colourful species are popular with collectors and are commonly seen mounted in frames for sale. Well-known species include the tailed jay (Graphium agamemnon), common bluebottle (G. sarpedon), and the purple-spotted swallowtail (G. weiskei). One species, G. idaeoides, is notable for being a perfect mimic of the danainid Idea leuconoe. Larvae feed variously on Annonaceae (most commonly), Magnoliaceae (commonly), Lauraceae (commonly), Rutaceae, Dioscoreaceae, Bombacaceae, Piperaceae, Anacardiaceae, Apocynaceae, Malpighiaceae, Hernandiaceae, Guttiferae, Monimiaceae, Pandanaceae, Winteraceae, and Euphorbiaceae. Note that there is a genus of fungi also called Graphium.

Species

Listed alphabetically: subgenus: Graphium Scopoli, 1777

species group: codrus Graphium anthedon (C. & R. Felder, 1864) – Wallacea bluebottle Graphium choredon (C. & R. Felder, 1864) – blue triangle Graphium cloanthus (Westwood, 1841) – glassy bluebottle Graphium codrus (Cramer, [1777]) – eastern olive triangle Graphium empedocles (Fabricius, 1787), originally Papilio empedocles Fabricius, 1787; Mantissa Insectorum 2: 10, no. 94 = homonym of Papilio empedocles Cramer, 1779; replaced by empedovana Corbet, 1941. Graphium empedovana (Corbet, 1941) Graphium gelon (Boisduval, 1859) Graphium isander (Godman & Salvin, 1888) Graphium jugans (Rothschild, 1896) Graphium kosii Müller & Tennent, 1999 Graphium macleayanus (Leach, 1814) – Macleay's swallowtail Graphium mendana (Godman & Salvin, 1888) Graphium milon (C. & R. Felder, 1865) Graphium monticolus (Fruhstorfer, 1896) – Sulawesi blue triangle ?Graphium protensor (Gistel,1857) Papilio protensor Gistel, J.,1857 Achthundert und zwanzig neue oder unbeschriebene wirbellose Theire charakterisirt von Doctor Johannes Gistel Vacuna 2(2):513-606. synonym of Graphium sarpedon Graphium sarpedon (Linnaeus, 1758) – common bluebottle or blue triangle Graphium septentrionicolus Page & Treadaway, 2013 Graphium stresemanni (Rothschild, 1916) Graphium teredon (C. & R. Felder, 1865) – narrow banded bluebottle Graphium weiskei (Ribbe, 1900) – purple spotted swallowtail species group: eurypylus Graphium albociliatus (Fruhstorfer, 1901) – India (Assam), Myanmar, Laos, Vietnam, China (Yunnan) [Note in some schemes a subspecies, i.e. Graphium evemon albociliatus (Fruhstorfer, 1901) Graphium agamemnon (Linnaeus, 1758) – tailed jay or green-spotted triangle Graphium arycles (Boisduval, 1836) – spotted jay Graphium bathycles (Zinken, 1831) Graphium chironides (Honrath, 1884) – veined jay Graphium doson (C. Felder & R. Felder, 1864) – common jay Graphium eurypylus (Linnaeus, 1758) – great jay or pale green triangle Graphium evemon (Boisduval, 1836) – lesser jay Graphium leechi (Rothschild, 1895) Graphium macfarlanei (Butler, 1877) – green triangle butterfly or green triangle Graphium meeki (Rothschild & Jordan, 1901) – Meek's graphium Graphium meyeri (Hopffer, 1874) Graphium procles (Grose-Smith, 1887) species group: wallacei Graphium browni (Godman & Salvin, 1879) Graphium hicetaon (Mathew, 1886) Graphium sandawanum Yamamoto, 1977 – Apo swallowtail Graphium wallacei (Hewitson, 1858) subgenus: Arisbe Hübner, [1819]

species group: antheus Graphium antheus (Cramer, [1779]) – large striped swordtail Graphium evombar (Boisduval, 1836) species group: policenes Graphium biokoensis Gauthier, 1984 – Gauthier's striped swordtail Graphium colonna (Ward, 1873) – black swordtail or mamba swordtail Graphium gudenusi (Rebel, 1911) Graphium illyris (Hewitson, 1872) - cream-banded swordtail Graphium junodi (Trimen, 1893) – Junod's swordtail Graphium kirbyi (Hewitson, 1872) – Kirby's swordtail Graphium liponesco (Suffert, 1904) – long-tailed striped swordtail Graphium policenes (Cramer, [1775]) – small striped swordtail or common swordtail Graphium policenoides (Holland, 1892) Graphium polistratus (Grose-Smith, 1889) – dancing swordtail Graphium porthaon (Hewitson, 1865) – coastal swordtail, cream-striped swordtail, or dark swordtail species group: angolanus Graphium angolanus (Goeze, 1779) – Angola white lady (swordtail) Graphium endochus (Boisduval, 1836) Graphium morania (Angas, 1849) – white lady (swallowtail) or small white-lady swordtail Graphium ridleyanus (White, 1843) - acraea swordtail Graphium schaffgotschi (Niepelt, 1927) – Schaffgotsch's swordtail Graphium taboranus (Oberthür, 1886) species group: leonidas Graphium cyrnus (Boisduval, 1836) Graphium leonidas (Fabricius, 1793) – veined swordtail, veined swallowtail, or common graphium Graphium levassori Oberthür, 1890 – yellow lady species group: tynderaeus Graphium tynderaeus (Fabricius, 1793) – electric green swordtail or green-spotted swallowtail Graphium latreillianus (Godart, 1819) – coppery swordtail species group: philonoe Graphium philonoe (Ward, 1873) – eastern white-lady swordtail, eastern graphium, white-dappled swallowtail species group: adamastor Graphium abri Smith & Vane-Wright, 2001 Graphium adamastor (Boisduval, 1836) – Boisduval's white-lady Graphium agamedes (Westwood, 1842) – Westwood's white-lady or glassy graphium Graphium almansor (Honrath, 1884) – Almansor white-lady swordtail or Honrath's white-lady Graphium auriger (Butler, 1876) Graphium aurivilliusi (Seeldrayers, 1896) Graphium fulleri (Grose-Smith, 1883) Graphium hachei (Dewitz, 1881) Graphium kigoma Carcasson, 1964 Graphium olbrechtsi Berger, 1950 Graphium poggianus (Honrath, 1884) Graphium rileyi Berger, 1950 - Riley's graphium Graphium schubotzi (Schultze, 1913) Graphium simoni (Aurivillius, 1899) Graphium ucalegon (Hewitson, 1865) – creamy graphium Graphium ucalegonides (Staudinger, 1884) subgenus: Pathysa Reakirt, 1865 (See also species group: antiphates)

… excerpt ends here. Continue reading the full article.

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Graphium (butterfly)

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Graphium (butterfly) claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In biology, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Graphium (butterfly) before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Graphium (butterfly) ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Graphium (butterfly)

In research: Graphium (butterfly) appears in biology research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Graphium (butterfly) in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Graphium (butterfly) is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Butterfly genera, Graphium (butterfly), Swallowtail butterflies, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Graphium (butterfly) outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Graphium (butterfly) in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Graphium (butterfly) means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Graphium (butterfly) out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Graphium (butterfly) in simple terms?

Graphium is a genus of mostly tropical swallowtail butterflies commonly known as swordtails or ladies. Native to Eurasia, Africa, and Oceania, the genus is represented by over 100 species.

Why does Graphium (butterfly) matter?

Because it connects several biology ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Graphium (butterfly)?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Graphium (butterfly).