Papilio castor mahadeva  Moore, 1879

Papilio castor mahadeva ♂ Up. Papilio castor mahadeva ♂ Un. Papilio castor mahadeva ♀ Up. Papilio castor mahadeva ♀ Un.
♂, Chanthaburi, Thailand. ♀, Chanthaburi, Thailand. (photo by A.M.Cotton)
Papilio castor mahadeva ♂ Up. Papilio castor mahadeva ♂ Un. Papilio castor mahadeva ♀ Up. Papilio castor mahadeva ♀ Un.
♂, Chanthaburi, Thailand. ♀, Chanthaburi, Thailand. (photo by A.M.Cotton)
Papilio castor mahadeva ♂ Up. Papilio castor mahadeva ♂ Un. Papilio castor mahadeva ♂ Up. Papilio castor mahadeva ♂ Un.
♂, Sa Kaeo, Thailand. (photo by A.M.Cotton) ♂, Chanthaburi, Thailand. (photo by A.M.Cotton)
Papilio castor mahadeva ♂ Up. Papilio castor mahadeva ♂ Un. Papilio castor mahadeva ♀ Up. Papilio castor mahadeva ♀ Un.
♂, Phrae, Thailand. (photo by A.M.Cotton) ♀, Purachuap Khiri Khan, Thailand. (photo by A.M.Cotton)
Papilio castor mahadeva ♂ Up. Papilio castor mahadeva ♂ Un. Papilio castor mahadeva ♂ Up. Papilio castor mahadeva ♂ Un.
♂, Phetchaburi, Thailand. ♂, Phetchaburi, Thailand. ♂, Phetchaburi, Thailand.
Papilio castor mahadeva ♂ Up. Papilio castor mahadeva ♂ Un. Papilio castor mahadeva ♀ Up. Papilio castor mahadeva ♀ Un.
♂, Ranong, Thailand. ♀, Ranong, Thailand. (photo by A.M.Cotton)
Papilio castor mahadeva ♂ Up. Papilio castor mahadeva ♂ Un. Papilio castor mahadeva ♂ Up. Papilio castor mahadeva ♂ Un.
♂, Ranong, Thailand. ♂, Yala, Thailand.
Papilio castor mahadeva ♂ Up. Papilio castor mahadeva ♂ Un. Papilio castor mahadeva ♀ Up. Papilio castor mahadeva ♀ Un.
♂, Dong Nai, Vietnam. (photo by K.Saito) ♀, Dong Nai, Vietnam. (photo by K.Saito)
Papilio castor mahadeva ♂ Up. Papilio castor mahadeva ♂ Un. Papilio castor mahadeva ♀ Up. Papilio castor mahadeva ♀ Un.
♂, Dong Nai, Vietnam. ♀, Dong Nai, Vietnam. (photo by K.Saito)
Papilio castor mahadeva ♂ Up. Papilio castor mahadeva ♂ Un. Papilio castor mahadeva ♀ Up. Papilio castor mahadeva ♀ Un.
♂, Khammouan, Laos. (photo by A.M.Cotton) ♀, Khammouan, Laos. (photo by A.M.Cotton)
Papilio castor mahadeva ♂ Up. Papilio castor mahadeva ♂ Un. Papilio castor mahadeva ♀ Up. Papilio castor mahadeva ♀ Un.
♂, Bolikhamxai, Laos. (photo by A.M.Cotton) ♀, Khammouan, Laos. (photo by A.M.Cotton)
Papilio castor mahadeva ♂ Up. Papilio castor mahadeva ♂ Un. Papilio castor mahadeva ♂ Up. Papilio castor mahadeva ♂ Un.
♂, Bolikhamxai, Laos. (photo by A.M.Cotton) ♂, Vientiane, Laos.

ON : Papilio mahadeva Moore, 1879
OD : Proc. zool. Soc. Lond. 1878(4):840-841, pl.51, fig.1,♂.
TL : Moolai to Moolat, Upper Tenasserim. (NHML)
Distribution : S.Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia,
C. & S.Vietnam, Langkawi, W.Malaysia.
● ssp.mahadeva
ssp.dioscurus
ssp.kanlanpanus
Papilio castor mahadeva map

Synonyms

Papilio mahadeva phanrangensis Fruhstorfer, 1901 : Soc. ent. 16(13):98. TL. Xom Gom, S.Annam. (♀, NHML)
Papilio mahadeva selangoranus Fruhstorfer, 1902 : Soc. ent. 17(7):51-52. TL. Selangore, Malaysia.
Papilio mahadeva maheswara Jordan, 1909 : in Seitz, Grossschmett. Erde 9:45. TL. not stated. (Unavailable name ; Published in synonymy)
Papilio castor var. khmer Boullet & Le Cerf, 1912 : Bull. Soc. ent. Fr. 1912(11):246-247. TL. Pnom-Penh, Cambodia. (♂)


Type Materials Information

mahadeva ; ♂, Type (red), Rh10910, #149634, Moolai, Moolat, U.Tenasserium. 4500 ft. (NHML, examined)
phanrangensis ; ♀, Type (red), Xom-Gom, Sud-Annam. Februar, H.Fruhstorfer. (NHML, examined)


Records taken from Literature

[ THAILAND ]
Papilio mahadeva ; Fruhstorfer,1903 : 176-177. (Muok-Lek)
Papilio castor mahadeva ; Jordan,1908-1909 : 45. (Siam)
Papilio castor mahadeva ; Godfrey,1916 : 109. (Phetchaburi River; Muak Lek)
Papilio castor mahadeva ; Pendlebury,1923 : 23. (Nakhon Sri Thammarat: Wat Kiriwong)
Papilio mahadeva ; Godfrey,1927 : 119. (N)
Papilio mahadeva ; Godfrey,1930 : 210,211. (Chiang Mai; Muak Lek; Phetchaburi River; Nakhon Sri Thammarat)
Papilio castor mehala ; Godfrey,1930 : 211. (Prae: Me Song forest)
Papilio mahadeva ; Godfrey,1932a : 263. (P)
Chilasa mahadeva ; Pinratana,1977 : 29, figs.P20,♂♂(Un). (All over)
Papilio mahadeva ; Pinratana & Eliot,1992 : 21,42, pl.27, figs.24,♂,♀,♀. (Chaiyaphum; Chanthaburi; Kanchanaburi; Nakhon Ratchasima; Nakhon Nayok; Ratchaburi; Ranong; Yala)
Papilio mahadeva mahadeva ; Yamaguchi, Aoki & Akiyama,2005 : 45, 58, fig.9,♀. (Ubon Ratchathani: Phu Chong Na Yoi; Phu Pung)
Papilio mahadeva mahadeva ; Ek-Amnuay,[2007] : 78, pl.10, figs.P25a♂,♂(Un),♀,♀. (Kaeng Krachan)
Papilio mahadeva selangoranus ; Ek-Amnuay,[2007] : 78, pl.10, figs.P25b♂,♀[Un]. (Ranong)
Papilio mahadeva selangoranus ; Les Day,2011-2022 : Samui Butterflies, figs.[♂],[♂](Un). (Koh Samui) (accessed: 2021.06.06)
Papilio mahadeva mahadeva ; Kimura et al.,2011 : 123, figs.♂,♂(Un),♀,♀(Un). (Phu Khiewo; Khao Yai; Wang Nam Khiewo; Kao Soi Dao; Sai York Noi; Erawan WF; Ratchaburi; Kaeng Krachan; Hua Hin)
Papilio mahadeva selangoranus ; Kimura et al.,2011 : 123, figs.♂,♂(Un). (Than To WF.)
Papilio castor mehala ; Ek-Amnuay,2012 : 78, pl.10, figs.P23b♂,♀. (Phu Khieo-Chaiyaphum)
Papilio castor mahadeva ; Ek-Amnuay,2012 : 78, pl.10, figs.P23c♂,♂(Un),♀,♀(Un). (Phu Khieo; Khao Yai; Pang Sida; Kanchanaburi; Than To)
Papilio castor mahadeva ; S.Sophonviwatkul, C.Sunthornwiphat & T.Laola,2015- : Butterflies of Thailand, figs., Early Stages. (Sa Kaeo; Nakhon Nayok; Chanthaburi; Nakhon Si Thammarat) (accessed: 2023.05.16)
Papilio castor mahadeva ; Küppers & Janikorn,2017 : 157, figs.Abb.Pa-078-079. (Phang Nga)
Papilio castor mahadeva ; Chaianunporn & Chaianunporn,2019 : 87. (Chaiyaphum: Chulabhorn Dam)

[ LAOS ]
Papilio castor f. mahadeva ; Dubois & Vitalis,1914 : 148. (Laos)
Papilio castor f. mahadeva ; Vitalis,1919 : 212. (Laos)
Papilio mahadeva mahadeva ; Motono & Negishi,1989 : 46, col.pl.11, fig.♂ ; pl.7, figs.7,♂,8,♂(Un). (Pakse; Vang Vieng; Tha Lat)
Papilio mahadeva ; Osada, Uémura & Uehara,1999 : 200, pl.10, figs.♂,♀. (Nhahin)
Papilio castor mahadeva ; Cotton & Racheli,[2007] : 351-352. (Thabok; Hinboun)
Papilio mahadeva mahadeva ; Onodera,2009b : 34-35,40. (Vientinane: Namsong Riverside; Khammouan: Thakhek)
Papilio mahadeva mahadeva ; Nakamura & Wakahara,2012 : 41.
Papilio mahadeva mahadeva ; Onodera,2022 : 6, pl.23, figs.♂,♂(Un),♀,♀(Un). (Bolikhamxai: Thabok; Khammouan: Natung)

[ CAMBODIA ]
Papilio castor var. khmer ; Boullet & Le Cerf, 1912 : 246-247. (Pnom-Penh)
Papilio castor f. khmer ; Dubois & Vitalis,1914 : 148. (Cambodge)
Papilio castor f. khmer ; Vitalis,1919 : 212. (Cambodge)
Papilio castor f. khmer ; Dubois & Vitalis,1921 : 11. (Cambodge)
Papilio mahadeva mahadeva ; Monastyrskii et al.,2011 : 128. (Phnom Samkos W.S.)
Papilio castor mahadeva ; Kosterin,2019b : 26. (Mondulkiri)
Papilio mahadeva ; Kosterin,2020 : 312. (Siem Reap)
Papilio castor mahadeva ; Chartier & Kosterin,2022 : 113. (Mondulkiri; Phnom Penh; Preah Sihanouk; Pursat; Siem Reap)

[ VIETNAM ]
Papilio mahadeva phanrangensis ; Fruhstorfer,1903 : 176-177. (S.Annam: Xom-Gom)
Papilio castor phanrangensis ; Jordan,1908-1909 : 45. (S.Annam)
Papilio castor f. mahadeva ; Dubois & Vitalis,1914 : 148. ('Tonkin' / Annam)
Papilio castor f. mahadeva ; Vitalis,1919 : 212. ('Tonkin' / Annam)
'Papilio castor f. mehala ; Dubois & Vitalis,1921 : 11. (Annam)'
Papilio castor f. mahadeva ; Dubois & Vitalis,1921 : 11. ('Tonkin' / Annam)
Papilio castor f.♀ phanrangensis ; Dubois & Vitalis,1921 : 11. (S.Annam)
Papilio castor mehala ; Metaye,1957 : 82. (C)
Papilio castor mahadeva ; Metaye,1957 : 82. ('N' / C)
Papilio castor phanrangensis ; Metaye,1957 : 82 (C)
Papilio mahadeva mahadeva ; Shinkai,1999 : 53. (Bao Lac)
Papilio mahadeva mahadeva ; Miyazaki, Saito & Saito,2006 : 7, fig.Pa-12,♂. (Dong Nai: Thac Mai)
Papilio mahadeva ; Monastyrskii,2007 : 52-54, pl.12, fig.3,♂. (C: Phong Nha-Ke Bang / S: La Nga; Tran Bom; Dong Sai; Din Quan; Tan Phu; Cat Tien)
Papilio mahadeva mahadeva ; Miyazaki, Saito & Saito,2007c : 36, fig.pa-12,♀. (Dong Nai: Thac Mai)
Papilio mahadeva mahadeva ; Monastyrskii & Devyatkin,2015 : 12. (C / S)


Specimens Examined

[ THAILAND ]
Phrae : 1♂ 1♀.
JanFebMarAprMayJun JulAugSepOctNovDec

Phetchabun : 3♂ (photo).
JanFebMarAprMayJun JulAugSepOctNovDec

Chaiyaphum : 1♀ (photo).
JanFebMarAprMayJun JulAugSepOctNovDec

Kanchanaburi : 2♂ (photo).
JanFebMarAprMayJun JulAugSepOctNovDec

Nakhon Nayok : 3♂ 1♀ (photo and photo by M.Hayashi, T.Aoyama).
JanFebMarAprMayJun JulAugSepOctNovDec

Sa Kaeo : 6♂ (incl. photo and photo by T.Aoyama).
JanFebMarAprMayJun JulAugSepOctNovDec

Chanthaburi : 10♂ 3♀.
JanFebMarAprMayJun JulAugSepOctNovDec

Phetchaburi : 5♂ 3♀ (incl. photo).
JanFebMarAprMayJun JulAugSepOctNovDec

Purachuap Khiri Khan : 1♀.
JanFebMarAprMayJun JulAugSepOctNovDec

Ranong : 5♂ 1♀ (incl. photo by A.Giudici).
JanFebMarAprMayJun JulAugSepOctNovDec

Nakhon Si Thammarat : 1♂ (photo by A.Giudici).
JanFebMarAprMayJun JulAugSepOctNovDec

Yala : 4♂.
JanFebMarAprMayJun JulAugSepOctNovDec


[ LAOS ]
Vientiane : 2♂.
JanFebMarAprMayJun JulAugSepOctNovDec

Bolikhamxai : 30♂ (incl. photo).
JanFebMarAprMayJun JulAugSepOctNovDec

Khammouan : 14♂ 13♀.
JanFebMarAprMayJun JulAugSepOctNovDec


[ VIETNAM ]
Dong Nai : 4♂ 1♀.
JanFebMarAprMayJun JulAugSepOctNovDec


Notes

The butterfly is locally common in montane forests at low to moderate elevations (Alt. 30 - 900m). Both sexes visit flowers. Males form flight paths along streams or forest edges, and frequently come to the banks of streams and puddles to suck water. In flight, the female looks very similar to Euploea species (Danainae).
This taxon is highly variable as it is a mimetic species, and there is a slight tendency for geographic variation in local populations. The population in Petchaburi and Prachuap Khiri Khan, northern part of peninsular Thailand, is highly variable in both sexes and the markings are unstable. The postdiscal white spots on the UpH of males vary from ordinary individuals to smaller, as in the southern peninsular Thailand population. In addition to the ordinary individual, some females have very large white spots on the UpF, similar to those of ssp.mehala in Karen Hills, Myanmar. This population appears to be an intermediate, containing elements of ssp.mehala.
Populations from peninsular Thailand south of Ranong to Langkawi and north Malaysia tend to have smaller UpH postdiscal white spots in the male and those markings gradually narrow toward the tornus. The population in southern Vietnam, tends to have smaller male UpH spots like peninsular Thailand, but these are uniform in size. The Central Laos population around Nahin tends to have well-developed male UpH spots, and the females also have well-defined UpH spots, suggesting a transition to ssp.kanlanpanus, which is distributed to the north.
Although a tendency can be seen in these populations, it is not stable with a wide range of individual variation and many individuals are the same as in other populations. The individual variation in each population is greater than the geographic variation, and each cannot be clearly separated from the others. Therefore I treat them all as ssp.mahadeva, but further taxonomic study is needed.


Literature

Moore, F.,1879 : A list of the lepidopterous insects collected by Mr.Ossian Limborg in upper Tenasserim, with descriptions of new species.
Proc. zool. Soc. Lond. 1878(4):821-858, pls. 51-53.

Fruhstorfer, H.,1901 : Neue Schmetterlinge aus Tonkin.
Soc. ent. 16(13):97-99.

Fruhstorfer, H.,1902 : Ein neuer Papilio von der malayischen Halbinsel!
Soc. ent. 17(7):51-52.

Jordan, K.,1909 : Die Indo-Australische Tagfalter. Papilionidae in Seitz, Grossschmett. Erde
9:41-48.

Boullet, E. & Le Cerf, F.,1912 : Descriptions sommarires de formes nouvelles de Papilionidae (Lep). de la collection du Muséum de Paris (2e note).
Bull. Soc. ent. Fr. 1912(11):246-247.

Condamine, F.L., Allio, R., Reboud, E.L., Dupuis, J.R., Toussaint, E.F.A., Mazet, N., Hu, S.J., Lewis, D.S., Kunte, K., Cotton, A.M. & Sperling, F.A.H.,2023 :
A comprehensive phylogeny and revised taxonomy illuminate the origin and diversification of the global radiation of Papilio (Lepidoptera: Papilionidae)
Mol. Phylogenet. Evol. 183 (2023) 107758:1-22.


Papilio castor mahadeva ♂ Papilio castor mahadeva ♂
3♂, Sa Kaeo, Thailand. ♂, Sa Kaeo, Thailand.
Papilio castor mahadeva ♂ Papilio castor mahadeva ♀
♂, Phetchabun, Thailand. ♀, Chaiyaphum, Thailand.
Papilio castor mahadeva ♂ Papilio castor mahadeva ♀+♂
♂, Kanchanaburi, Thailand. ♀ + ♂, Nakhon Nayok, Thailand. (photo by M.Hayashi)
Papilio castor mahadeva ♀ Papilio castor mahadeva ♀
♀, Nakhon Nayok, Thailand.
Papilio castor mahadeva ♂ Papilio castor mahadeva ♂
♂, Phetchaburi, Thailand. (photo by T.Aoyama) ♂, Phetchaburi, Thailand. (photo by T.Aoyama)
Papilio castor mahadeva ♀ Papilio castor mahadeva ♀
♀, Phetchaburi, Thiailand. (photo by M.Hayashi) ♀, Phetchaburi, Thiailand. (photo by T.Aoyama)
Papilio castor mahadeva ♂ Papilio castor mahadeva ♂
♂, Ranong, Thailand. (photo by A.Giudici) ♂, Nakhon Si Thammarat, Thailand. (photo by A.Giudici)
Papilio castor mahadeva ♂ Papilio castor mahadeva ♂
♂, Bolikhamxai, Laos. (photo by K.Phongpiyamit)

1996.10.02 - 2024.04.30.

A Check list of Butterflies in Indo-China, Chiefly from THAILAND, LAOS & VIETNAM. Copyright © 1996- Y.Inayoshi.