Subject:  Hungarian Butterflies
Geographic location of the bug:  Hungary May 2018
Date: 08/15/2018
Time: 03:18 PM EDT
Your letter to the bugman:  Hello there!
I have sent a few of my butterfly pictures to you in the past and I thought you might like a couple more for your site from a trip I made to Hungary earlier this year. The first is a Common Glider, the second is a Scarce Swallowtail
How you want your letter signed:  Butterfly watcher

Scarce Swallowtail

Dear Butterfly watcher,
Thank you so much for clarifying the date of this sighting, which differs considerably from your submission date.  The Scarce Swallowtail, Iphiclides podalirius, is a new species for our site.  According to Learn about Butterflies:  “Iphiclides podalirius is distributed across most of central and southern Europe, excluding the British Isles, Ireland and Fennoscandia.
Its common name Scarce Swallowtail refers to the fact that it has on extremely rare occasions been recorded in Britain, e.g. in 1895 two specimens were captured, one in Devon and the other in Kent. These may however have been ‘fake’ captures, a practice common in the Victorian era when collectors would do almost anything to raise their status among their contemporaries. There is no evidence that the species was ever a resident or regular migrant to the British Isles.
In Europe the butterfly is widespread and fairly common, although it has become much scarcer in recent years as a result of the removal of blackthorn bushes and hedges.”  The site also states:  “Both sexes are usually encountered singly. Males visit seepages and patches of damp soil where they imbibe mineralised moisture. At such times they keep their wings firmly closed.  Females are more often seen nectaring at the flowers of trees and bushes including apple, pear, cherry, lilac and Buddleia, but also visit herbaceous plants including valerian, bugle, thistles, knapweeds, ragwort and stonecrop. When nectaring the wings are usually held at a 45° angle.”  It is also pictured on UK Butterflies.

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Subject:  Butterfly name
Geographic location of the bug:  South Korea, Gongju city
Date: 07/22/2018
Time: 05:59 PM EDT
Your letter to the bugman:  I know this very big and beautiful butterfly at Yeonmi mountain, Gongju city in South Korea.  I was very surprised to see this as most butterflies are far far smaller.
I’d like to know what kind this is.  Does it belong to the swallowtail species?
Thanks a lot.
How you want your letter signed:  Paul

Alpine Black Swallowtail

Dear Paul,
This is a gorgeous Swallowtail Butterfly.  At first we thought we identified it as Papilio bianor because of an image on Butterfly Planet, but other images of that species we located online look different.  We believe your individual is the Alpine Black Swallowtail, Papilio maackii, based on this Darwin Sect image and postings on iNaturalist where it states:  “the alpine black swallowtail, is a butterfly of the family Papilionidae. It is found in Central Asia, Japan, China and South Korea.”  There are images and more information on Butterfly Corner.

Wonderful, thanks a lot for the information.  I’ll have to keep my
eyes peeled next time I go walking in that place.

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Guérande butterfly
Location:  Guérande, France
Date:  April 27, 2018

Swallowtail

Yesterday Monique and her sister Michele from France visited for coffee and Michele asked about this lovely butterfly, which we identified as an Old World Swallowtail, Papilio machaon, though the common name is just Swallowtail according to the Butterflies of Britain & Europe where it states:  “Papilio machaon is widespread and common throughout much of the northern hemisphere. It occurs over the whole of continental Europe, eastward across temperate Asia to Japan; in Africa north of the Sahara; and throughout much of North America. In Britain it is locally common on the Norfolk Broads, an area of fenland and lakes in eastern England.
Individuals originating from France occasionally migrate across the English Channel and have been periodically recorded in Hampshire, Dorset, Sussex and the Isle of Wight, but such sightings are very rare – perhaps one or two sightings per year. Genuine migrants can usually be recognised by their faded and worn appearance.  Fresh looking insects seen anywhere apart from Norfolk can be attributed to escaped or deliberately released livestock – both the British subspecies brittanicus and the continental gorganus are commonly reared by hobbyists. ( it is illegal to capture or breed stock of British origin, but nevertheless a widespread practice ).
There are no similar species occurring in Britain.“

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