Graphium agamemnon (Tailed Jay, Green-spotted Triangle Butterfly)

Graphium agamemnon, also called Tailed Jay or Green-spotted Triangle Butterfly is a common butterfly from Australasia / Indomalaya ecozone (Australia). The first description was in 1758 by Linnaeus. With a wingspan of 8.0 – 10.0 cm the Tailed Jay is a small member of the family PAPILIONIDAE. The butterfly is black with many green spots.

Photos for easy identification

: Photo © by Thomas Neubauer; from assortment of Dr. Hildegard Winkler specialty shop of entomology (see links)

: Photo © by Thomas Neubauer; from assortment of Dr. Hildegard Winkler specialty shop of entomology (see links)

: Photo © by Thomas Neubauer; from assortment of Dr. Hildegard Winkler specialty shop of entomology (see links)

: Photo © by Thomas Neubauer; from assortment of Dr. Hildegard Winkler specialty shop of entomology (see links)

These are nice photos of Graphium agamemnon (Tailed Jay). Graphium agamemnon is a member of the family PAPILIONIDAE from Australasia / Indomalaya ecozone (Australia).

Description

The forewings are black. There are many green spots. Nearby body the spots condens to small green bands.
The underside is a copy of upside, but the ground is brown.

The hind wings are black and have short tails. The margin is ridged. There are two chains of green spots on wing. At the inner edge there are two green stripes.
The underside is a copy of upside, but the ground is brown and the green spots are darker than upside.

The body is black, but the underside is grey.

Sex differences: None

Distribution

The Tailed Jay (Graphium agamemnon) is a butterfly of the Australasia / Indomalaya ecozone (Australia). The distribution include the whole ecozone and extend from India to New Zealand.

: This world map shows the ecozones in which this butterfly is distributed.

Larval food

Annona

General information

The first description of this butterfly was in 1758 by Linnaeus. There are many subspecies.

Graphium agamemnon adamana [Lathy]
Graphium agamemnon admiralis [Rothschild]
Graphium agamemnon argynnus [Druce]
Graphium agamemnon atropictus [Fruhstorfer]
Graphium agamemnon baweata [Hagen]
Graphium agamemnon comodus [Fruhstorfer]
Graphium agamemnon decoratus [Rothschild]
Graphium agamemnon exilis [Rothschild]
Graphium agamemnon guttatus [Rothschild]
Graphium agamemnon ligatus [Rothschild, 1895]
Graphium agamemnon mendides [Fruhstorfer]
Graphium agamemnon meton [Fruhstorfer]
Graphium agamemnon neopommeranius [Honrath]
Graphium agamemnon obliteratus [Lathy]
Graphium agamemnon plisthenes [Felder]
Graphium agamemnon pulo [Evans]
Graphium agamemnon rufoplenus [Fruhstorfer]
Graphium agamemnon salomonis [Rothschild]
Graphium agamemnon ugiensis [Jordan]

Because of its green-spotted colouring the Tailed Jay is nearly invisibly in interplay of light and shadow in rainforest.

: Photo © by Thomas Neubauer; 15.01.2006 Butterflyhous, Vienna

: Photo © by Christine Ströhlein Idea Jungleparadise (www.dschungelparadies.de)

Here you can see another exemplar of Tailed Jay (Graphium agamemnon).

Protection provisions / Red List

CITES: (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora):

-no entry- (as at 23.06.2005)
EU regulation on trading with species of wild Fauna and Flora

-no entry- (as at 19.08.2005)
IUCN Red List of threatened species:

-no entry- (as at 2004) (see: www.redlist.org/)