Tenerife Speckled Wood Butterfly vs Japanese Yellow Swallowtail

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute Tenerife Speckled Wood Butterfly Japanese Yellow Swallowtail
Scientific Name Pararge xiphioides Papilio machaon hippocrates
Order Lepidoptera Lepidoptera
Family Nymphalidae Papilionidae
Size 40-50 mm wingspan 70-90 mm wingspan
Habitat Forests Mountains
Diet Omnivores Nectar Feeders
Regions Canary Islands East Asia, Japan
Conservation Least Concern Least Concern

Tenerife Speckled Wood Butterfly

A brown butterfly with orange eyespot patches endemic to the western Canary Islands. It flies in shaded laurel forest clearings.

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Did You Know?

Males defend sun patches on the forest floor, chasing away any intruding butterflies.

Japanese Yellow Swallowtail

The Japanese subspecies of the Old World swallowtail, known as 'ki-ageha.' A large and elegant butterfly with bright yellow wings marked with black patterns and blue hindwing spots.

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Did You Know?

This butterfly engages in 'hilltopping' behavior, where males fly to hilltops and ridges to establish territories and wait for females.