Papilio ambrax (Ambrax Butterfly)

Papilio ambrax, also called Ambrax butterfly is a butterfly from Australasia / Indomalaya ecozone (Australia). The first description was in 1832 by Boisduval. The wingspan is about 9 – 10 cm. This butterfly is a member of the family PAPILIONIDAE. Papilio ambrax is black. A big, yellow area dominates the hind wing.

Photos for easy identification

Photo © by Naturhistorisches Museum Wien; Photographer Thomas Neubauer

Photo © by Naturhistorisches Museum Wien; Photographer Thomas Neubauer

Photo © by Naturhistorisches Museum Wien; Photographer Thomas Neubauer

Photo © by Naturhistorisches Museum Wien; Photographer Thomas Neubauer

Here you can see some photos of Papilio ambrax (Ambrax Butterfly) (male above / female below). Papilio ambrax is a member of the family PAPILIONIDAE from Australasia / Indomalaya (Australia).

Description

The fore wings are black. There are some white lines at the wing tip.
The underside of Papilio ambrax is very similar to the upside. But, the white lines are brighter.

The hind wings of Papilio ambrax are black. The edge is wavy. A big, yellow area dominates the wing.
The underside is black. At the inner edge there are two red spots.

The body (abdomen) is black. The thorax is black. The head is black.

Sex differences: The female covers the upper range of the wing-span. The basic colour is dark-brown. A big, white area dominates the fore wing. A big red and white area dominates the hind wing. At the edge there is a chain of red spots. The underside is very similar to the upside.

Distribution

Papilio ambrax is a butterfly from the Australasia / Indomalaya (Australia) ecozone. You can observe this butterfly from Newguinea until the Northeast of Australia.

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

Larval food

Rutaceae:

Citrus ssp.
Clausena brevistyla
Limonia acidissima
Microcitrus garrawayae
Microcitrus inodora
Murraya koenigii
Zanthoxylum ailanthoides
Zanthoxylum brachyacanthum
Zanthoxylum nitidum
Zanthoxylum ovalifolium

Rubiaceae:

Morinda citrifolia

General information

The first description of this butterfly was in 1832 by Boisduval. There are four subspecies.

Papilio ambrax artanus [Rothschild, 1908]
Papilio ambrax dunali [Montrouzier, 1856]
Papilio ambrax epigius [Miskin, 1876]
Papilio ambrax epirus [Wallace, 1865]

Macro photos

Photo © by Naturhistorisches Museum Wien; Photographer Thomas Neubauer; macro photograph of Papilio ambrax f (upside)

Photo © by Naturhistorisches Museum Wien; Photographer Thomas Neubauer; macro photograph of Papilio ambrax f (underside)

Here you can see some macro photos of Papilio ambrax.

Protection provisions / Red List

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

-No entry- (as at 12.02.2008)
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 2008)