Papilionidae

Latreille, [1802]

The papilionids are a family of large and polychrome butterflies, which includes over 550 species. Although most live in tropical and temperate latitudes, others are present on all continents (with the exception of Antarctica). Some of these, in particular of the genus Parnassius, can fly to considerable heights.
The Papilionidae are generally classified into three subfamilies, Baroniinae, Parnassiinae and Papilioninae, the last two further divided into tribes. As of 2005, 552 extant species have been identified which are distributed in tropical and temperate regions.

The larvae are almost always very colorful and, in some cases, have particular extrovertable and flexible defense organs ( osmeterium ). The family includes the largest butterflies ( Rhopalocera ) in the world, belonging to the genus Ornithoptera.

* Häuser, Christoph L.; de Jong, Rienk; Lamas, Gerardo; Robbins, Robert K.; Smith, Campbell; Vane-Wright, Richard I. (28 July 2005). "Papilionidae – revised GloBIS/GART species checklist (2nd draft)". - https://web.archive.org/web/20100909141739/http://www.insects-online.de/frames/papilio.htm

Papilioninae






Parnassiinae