Swallowtail butterfly
Winged butterfly
A collective name for species of the insect order Papilionidae. There are about 600 species, and 98 species have been recorded in China.
Most are large, and less medium-sized.
The color is bright, the background color is black, yellow or white, there are blue, green, red and other color markings.
The lower lip must be extended forward or raised. Most species have one caudal process on the hindwings, while others have two or more caudal processes or no caudal process. The eggs are nearly spherical and are mostly laid on host plants. The larvae have red or yellow stinky horns in the center of the anterior edge of the prothorax. The pupae are pupae.
The host plants are Rutacea, Lauraceae, Umbelaceae, Aristolochiaceae, etc.
Swallow butterfly
Butterflies are the most collectible among insects because most of them are beautiful and large species, including many rare and valuable butterflies.
The world's largest butterfly, Ornithoptera, with a wingspan of more than 250 mm; Lamproptera, with a wingspan of less than 50 mm and the longest tail process; The world's most precious and rare golden-spotted beaked butterfly (Teinopalpus aureus), endemic to China, is a treasure that collectors compete to collect; There are also pearlescent butterflies (Troides magellanus) that emit a colorful sheen from different angles.
Therefore, butterfly specimens have a long history as a commodity for international trade, of which phoenix butterflies are the mainstay.
According to the 1985 International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red Book of Threatened Butterflies, 573 species have been recorded in 51 countries and regions, most of which can be traded as commodities. According to their ornamental type and trade situation, they can be divided into three categories:
Golden-robed phoenix butterfly
(1) Low price and large specimens. These specimens are common species, abundant and inexpensive, and can be bought and processed into various ornaments such as wings and antennae. The worm body left behind is generally used as feed, which is a high-protein, low-fat nutritional feed. Butterfly crafts (such as various stickers) can be sold at high prices, and most of the butterfly trade in Taiwan Province has been of this type. Due to the large-scale killing and collection of butterflies by unscrupulous businessmen for export and export, the number of butterflies in Taiwan has plummeted, which has attracted the attention of people from all walks of life, and a series of butterfly protection measures have been implemented to curb it.
(2) Specimens with high price and low quantity. These specimens are rare and beautiful species, generally accompanied by scientific records such as collection location, date, altitude, etc., each of which is very expensive, and is a specimen that museums, scientific researchers and collectors aspire to. Traders in Europe, North America and Japan have proposed catalogues of specimens to be acquired. The international trade in precious butterflies reached its peak in Papua New Guinea. Ornaments or drawings made from precious specimens are of great value.
Biphoenix butterfly
(3) Live insect trade. Most of the objects are common and beautiful species, mainly phoenix butterflies, the price is medium, and the live pupae or live adults ordered are quickly transported from the production area to the net room or shed of the butterfly ecological garden, and the wonderful garden landscape of the flower and butterfly dance in the shed can be enjoyed by visitors; For example, the Tama Zoo in Ueno City, Japan, has an "insect ecological garden" that looks like a silk butterfly spreading its wings, and houses more than a dozen kinds of nearly a thousand colorful and fluttering butterflies for visitors to see and enjoy, and the beauty of the situation is intoxicating.
In 1990, a total of 5 species of butterflies were listed in the China Wildlife Protection List, of which 4 species belong to the family Phoenix family. They are: golden-spotted beaked butterfly (class I.), two-tailed brown butterfly (two-tailed butterfly, Bhutanitis mansfield, class II.), three-tailed brown butterfly Dongchuan subspecies (Bhutanitis thaidina dongchuanensis, class II.), and Luehdorfia chinensis huashanensis, class II. The list discussed in 1996 and 2000 is still dominated by phoenix butterflies, and the hammer-tailed butterfly (Losaria coon) and the beaked butterfly (Teinopslpus imperialis) are classified as Class I.
From: Encyclopedia of China (2nd Edition), Volume 6, China Encyclopedia Press, 2009