formosanus

4. Ssp. formosanus Rothschild, 1899¹⁴⁾[♂][♀: (Jordan, 1909)⁸⁾]

=kaguya (Nakahara & Esaki, 1930)¹⁰⁾

TAIWAN: Taipei, Hsinchu, Taichung, Tienchung, Puli, Hualien, Tainan, Taitung, Kaohsiung, Hengchun, Kenting, Lutao. [Map 154]

(Episodes of discovery and original description)

The first description was given by Rothschild (1899). He described 2♂♂ obtained from Monsieur at Touche in the southern tip of Taiwan as subspecies formosanus because of the small white spots on the outer margin of the forewing, the long black mountain-shape spots on the hindwing, the red hairs extending to the basal segment of the abdomen, and the double row of black spots on the underside of the abdomen as in Central and Western Chinese specimens. Nakahara and Ezaki (1930), however, claimed that this subspecies name is a homonym of Papilio castor formosanus Rothschild, 1896, a member of the same genus, and thus the name was changed to kaguya (after Princess Kaguya in “The Tale of Taketori”).

(Characteristics)

The size is intermediate between the nominotypical subspecies and ssp. malaiianus. It is found mainly in the south area of Taiwan, with very few in the north.

(Spotted pattern)

♂: Both FW and HW have markedly wavy and uneven in outer margins. FW vein-stripes are dark and indistinct. HW black projections (especially in spaces 3 and 4) are large. The golden spot in space 1b is reduced.

♀: The ground color of FW is blackish brown, intermediate between the nominotypical ssp. and ssp. malaiianus. As both the dark discal spots and the dark marginal border with dark projections are large, so the yellow area is reduced, and moreover black shading is dense, it makes them appear darker.

(Variation)

♂-f. kuroboshi (Nomura, 1937)¹²⁾: [Aberrant HW pattern] A black discal spot is present on space 2.

♂-f. maeboshi (Hirayama, 1941)⁷⁾: [Aberrant HW pattern] A black discal spot is present on the subcostal space.