Highland red-bellied swallowtail butterfly
( Atrophaneura horishana )

Atrophaneura horishana, which is a unique alpine butterfly species in Taiwan ( endemic ), is distributed in the central mountain range of about 1,500 to 2,500 meters sea level. It is named after the well-known insect scholar Matsumura Matsumura in 1910.
A generation . Larvae eat the Taiwan Aristolochicus (Aristolochia shimadai) and Ryukyu Aristolochia (A. liukiuensis).
Other same genus butterflies (Atrophaneura) are distributed in the tropics, more generation a year.

Unlike the general swallowtail butterfly to pupae in the form of dormant winter, Atrophaneura horishana eggs and larvae evolved a special resistance cold mechanism, to survive below zero degrees Celsius environment.

Because of habitat destruction and illegal capture (in 1960 to 1970 butterfly processing industry booming era, Atrophaneura horishana was the hot objects for those professional collections people) caused by the number of plummeted

In recent years due to the success of rehabilitation and more common, high altitude mountain is easy see Atrophaneura horishana. Is listed as Taiwan's conservation of wild animals, the third category of precious rare wild animals









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