Family. Papilionidae
Order. Lepidoptera.
Common name. Tailed jay, kupu-kupu lurik or kupu-kupu macan (Indonesia).
Distribution. South and Southeast Asia, Australia, and Pacific Islands.
Host plants. Soursop, Annona muricata L., sugar apple, Annona squamosa L. (Annonaceae), and champak, Magnolia champaca (L.) (Magnoliaceae).
Description and biology. The adults of G. agamemnon are black with bright green spots and streaks on wings with a span of 85-100 mm (Figure 1). The butterfly is restless and flies fast.
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| Figure 1. The tailed jay butterfly, Graphium agamemnon (Photo: © Aunu Rauf) |
The eggs are placed singly on young leaves(Figure 2). The egg has a diameter of approximately 1.0 mm and is spherical, creamy white in color. The egg hatches in 3 days.
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| Figure 2. Egg of Graphium agamemnon deposited singly on young leaf of soursop (Photo: © Aunu Rauf) |
The newly hatched larva measures around 3-4 mm in length. After a few hours, the body turns a dark brown color from its initial pale yellowish brown color. On the thoracic and posterior abdominal segments, there are rather large, white dorsal patches (Figure 3). Two pairs of lateral spines are yellowish brown on each of the three thoracic segments, plus an additional pair at the anal segment. Moreover, rows of short dorsal-lateral tubercles with long setae are present on the body.
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| Figure 3. First instar larva of Graphium agamemnon (Photo: © Aunu Rauf) |
The thoracic segments of the 2nd instar larva are noticeably larger (Figure 4). The anal and thoracic spines have a light yellowish-brown color. The larva is about 8 mm long. The yellowish-brown body color darkens to a purplish brown.
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| Figure 4, Second instar larva of Graphium agamemnon (Photo: © Aunu Rauf) |
The body color of the 3rd instar is dark green in the thoracic region and paler towards the posterior (Figure 5). Numerous small markings, dark in color, appear on the body surface towards the end of this instar. The anal and thoracic spines turn black at the same moment. The size of the 3rd instar is 13-18 mm.
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| Figure 5. Third instar larva of Graphium agamemnon (Photo: © Aunu Rauf) |
The body of the 4th instar larva is yellowish green with small dark green markings scattered throughout (Figure 6). Each thoracic spine on the 3rd thoracic segment now bears an orange circular base. The body length ranges from 20 to 25 mm.
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| Figure 6. Fourth instar larva of Graphium agamemnon (Photo: © Aunu Rauf) |
The 5th instar larva resembles the late 4th instar, with the body being more uniformly colored of green (Figure 7). The 5th instar larva has a body length of 30-40 mm. The total larval stage lasts 15-20 days.
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| Figure 7. Fifth instar larva of Graphium agamemnon (Photo: © Aunu Rauf) |
The length of the body gradually decreases at the end of the 5th instar. After searching for a pupation site for a while, the larva eventually finds an upright spot to rest on the leaf's surface and transforms into a prepupa (Figure 8). The larva is now building a silk pad and girdle, both essential for the subsequent pupation.
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| Figure 8. Prepupa of Graphium agamemnon (Photo: © Aunu Rauf) |
A silk thread encircling the thorax of the pupa suspends it at an angle on the surface of the twig or leaf (Figure 9). At its broadest point, the grassy green pupa measures 6–8 mm in width and 25–34 mm in length. The pupal stage spans 10-13 days.
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| Figure 9. Pupa of Graphium agamemnon suspended on a lower surface of the leaf (Photo: © Aunu Rauf) |
Nature of damage. Young larvae feed on tender leaves and start feeding on older leaves as they grow. The insect may only cause minor damage to a fruiting tree, but it can seriously defoliate saplings, causing their development to be greatly delayed.
Natural enemies. In Malaysia, the larvae are often parasitized by a braconid, Apanteles papilionis Vier. In Bogor, I found most of the eggs (Figure 10) were parasitized by an encyrtid, most probably Ooencyrtus papilionis Ashmead (Figure 11).
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| Figure 10. Egg of Graphium agamemnon with parasitoid exit holes (Photo: © Aunu Rauf) |
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| Figure 11. Parasitoid that emerged from egg of Graphium agamemnon (Photo: © Aunu Rauf) |
Cendana SM, Gabriel BP, Magalonna ED. 1984. Insect pests of fruit plants in the Philippines. Los Banos: Dept. Entomology, UPLB.
Dupont F, Sheepmaker GJ. 1936. Uit Java's Vlinderleven. Batavia: NV Bookhandel en Drukkerij Visser & Co.
Kalshoven LGE. 1951. De Plagen van de Cultuur-Gewassen in Indonesie. Deel II. Bandoeng: NV Uitgeverij W van Hoeve . S-Gravenhage.
Muniappan R., Shepard BM, Carner GR, Ooi PAC. 2012. Arthropod Pests of Horticultural Crops in Tropical Asia. Oxfordshire (UK): CABI.
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Zhang Y-Z, Li W, Huang D-W. 2005. A taxonomic study of Chinese species of Ooencyrtus (Insecta: Hymenoptera: Encyrtidae). Zoological Studies 44(3): 347-360.
Internet: https://butterflycircle.blogspot.com/2009/05/life-history-of-tailed-jay.html (click here).
Citation: https://indoagriinsecta.blogspot.com/2024/01/graphium-agamemnon.html
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