This is the largest butterfly here in Singapore, the caterpillar is one of the biggest I have ever seen, a large eater too. This is considered endangered species here as it's a special feeder, only feeds on Aristolochia Tagala, which is so difficult to find. With its appetite, the plants will go extinct first...
Ahhh I know the feeling - the Battus philenor larvae I reared are also Aristolochia feeders, and while nowhere near as large as your cats, they STILL eat a TON of host plant! :-)
I have checked on your Battus Philenor, it looks quite similar to our Common Birdwing or Troides helena cerberus. The caterpillar is as huge as the Common birdwing, both the caterpillar and butterfly...is that considered endangered in your area? Which Aristolochia species is it feeding on?
That's cool - it looks huge! I would have liked to see a more distant view too, with something in the shot for scale. :-)
jcmegabyte 3 years ago
This is the largest butterfly here in Singapore, the caterpillar is one of the biggest I have ever seen, a large eater too. This is considered endangered species here as it's a special feeder, only feeds on Aristolochia Tagala, which is so difficult to find. With its appetite, the plants will go extinct first...
simba6781 3 years ago
Ahhh I know the feeling - the Battus philenor larvae I reared are also Aristolochia feeders, and while nowhere near as large as your cats, they STILL eat a TON of host plant! :-)
jcmegabyte 3 years ago
I have checked on your Battus Philenor, it looks quite similar to our Common Birdwing or Troides helena cerberus. The caterpillar is as huge as the Common birdwing, both the caterpillar and butterfly...is that considered endangered in your area? Which Aristolochia species is it feeding on?
simba6781 3 years ago
I found out from the internet the host plant of Battus Philenor is Aristolochia californica. Have you tried hand pairing this specie?
simba6781 3 years ago
Yes, as matter of fact, my "Butterfly Life Cycle - Pipevine Swallowtail" video documentary:
watch?v=u2cE86AA1q0
was made with 2 generations of hand-paired offspring. The project is detailed on my website (lepidoptera dot jcmdi dot c0m).
B. philenor was pretty easy to hand-pair, and those caterpillars are eating machines! :=)
jcmegabyte 3 years ago
Great, thanks for sharing. Will try hand pairing once the butterflies have emerged. Currently I am breeding 4 caterpillars of the Common Birdwing.
simba6781 3 years ago