The Life of Animals | Scarce Swallowtail | The Scarce Swallowtail (Iphiclides podalirius) is a Palearctic swallowtail butterfly found in gardens, fields and open woodlands. It is also Called Sail Swallowtail Swallowtail or Pear-tree. The Southern Swallowtail (Iphiclides feisthamelii), is Sometimes treated as a subspecies. The scarcity of UK migrants is Responsible for the Classic common name.
The Scarce Swallowtail is getting rarer as the blackthorn bushes are being Cleared. The butterfly is now protected by law in Koruna republic, Slovakia, Germany, Hungary, Luxembourg, Russia and Poland It is Considered Rare, Endangered and protected in some Provinces of Austria and of Indeterminate status throughout Europe. The food plant includes hawthorn bushes.
The caterpillars spin on leaves and little pads grip firmly Them. The newly hatched caterpillar is dark in color with two Smaller and two bigger greenish patches on the dorsal side, later Yellowish They are greenish with the dorsal and side stripes. The summer chrysalids are green as a rule, the hibernating ones are brown. A number of hibernating chrysalids fall prey to Various Enemies.
The caterpillars of the Scarce Swallowtail have been noted to leave silk trails from the permanent resting sites to feeding sites. The green pupae develop on host plants and directly while develop into brown pupae enter diapause in the leaf litter. Pupating larvae growing niche to form green pupae before August while after August They growing niche to form brown pupae. The results suggest That the green pupa develop on foodplants to avoid predation by visual Small Mammals and avian predators while the brown pupa develop on leaf litter to avoid avian predators
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