Monday, November 18, 2024

Butterfly of the Week: Graphium Auriger

Graphium auriger is the Gold Bearer. In a group of what are usually counted as sixteen species of African Graphiums that all look very much alike, auriger is the one with a touch of gold-yellow on its black and white wings. The yellow is not always visible from above...


Photo by ShinK. As in other Swallowtail species, the wings can look blue-black and blue-white in some lights, dark and light gray in others, and they fade to brown and beige. 

An early name proposed for this species was Papilio harpagon. Papilio was the genus name used for all Swallowtails until it became overcrowded and was broken up. Harpagon was the name Moliere gave his "Miser" character, a caricature of a greedy old man who cares more about his money than about his children. Well...to be fair...butterflies have no family bond with their offspring, and the ones with yellow hairs and scales are indeed attached to their "gold"...but Swallowtails were supposed to be named after heroes, not buffoons, in literature.

It is found in central Africa. Some sources mention sightings in Congo, Cameroon, and Guinea, but it's usually reported in Gabon. It has not received a great amount of attention. Some argue that it's not "really" different enough from Graphium schubotzi to be a distinct species. It's not common, but not known to be extremely rare or endangered.

Its wingspan is three or four inches. Bold and showy, it goes for warning colors rather than camouflage.  

Drawings of what are said to be a typical male and female are found on pages 96 and 97: 

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