Luehdorfia japonica Leech, 1889

Introduction

Life stages of this species are illustrated in Shirozu and Hara (1973). Biochemical and biological aspects of the life history of L. japonica have been the subject of a number of studies by Matsumoto (1984-1990) and Tsubaki and Matsumoto (1998). Besides the nominal L. japonica (Type locality: Japan), no other subspecies are recognized; the population from Taiwan (L. j. formosana Rothschild, 1918) is either an erroneous record or is extinct since this species does not occur in Taiwan today (Li, 1987). Hybrids between L. japonica and L. puziloi have also been reported (Hara and Ochiai, 1980).

Geographical Distribution

Japan (central and western Honshu); China (Taiwan?) (Shirozu and Hara, 1973).

Larval Food Plant

Many species of Asarum (Aristolochiaceae) have been recorded as larval foodplants of Luehdorfia japonica; these include: Asarum caulescens, A. sieboldii, A. hexalobum, A. asperum, A. tamaense, A. curvistigma, A. asaroides, A. blumei, A. nipponicum, A. fauriei, A. takaoi, A. kurosawae, A. heterotropoides, A. megacalyx, and A. yohikawai (Makita et al., 2000).

References

Hara, S., Ochiai, H., 1980. On a hybrid between male Luehdorfia japonica and female L. puziloi inexpecta. Tyô to Ga 31: 97-101.

Li, C.Y., 1987. Illustrations of Butterflies in Taiwan. T’ai-pei shih: T’ai-wan sheng li po wu kuan. Taipei, China.

Makita, H., Shinkawa, T., Kazumasa, O., Kondo, A., Nakazawa, T., 2000. Phylogeny of Luehdorfia butterflies inferred from mitochondrial ND5 gene sequences. Entomological Science 3: 321-329.

Matsumoto, K., 1984. Population dynamics of Luehdorfia japonica Leech (Lepidoptera: Papilionidae). I. a preliminary study on the adult population. Researches on Population Ecology 26: 1-12.

Matsumoto, K., 1987. Mating patterns of a sphragis-bearing butterfly, Luehdorfia japonica Leech (Lepidoptera: Papilionidae), with descriptions of mating behavior. Researches on Population Ecology 29: 97-110.

Matsumoto, K., 1989. Effects of aggregation on the survival and development on different host plants in a papilionid butterfly, Luehdorfia japonica Leech. Jpn. J. ent. 57: 853-860.

Matsumoto, K., 1990. Population dynamics of Luehdorfia japonica Leech (Lepidoptera: Papilionidae). II. Patterns of mortality in immatures in relation to egg cluster size. Researches on Population Ecology 32: 173-188.

Shirôzu, T., Hara, A., 1973. Early stages of Japanese butterflies in colour. Vol. I. Osaka, Hoikusha.

Tsubaki, Y., Matsumoto, K., 1998. Fluctuating asymmetry and male mating success in a sphragis bearing butterfly Luehdorfia japonica (Lepidoptera: Papilionidae). Journal of Insect Behaviour 11: 571-582.