Need help on ID with this one...

Thx Wong :)

Les, I only have 2 snaps of this beauty, the other one was out of focus. It is indeed really skittish fellow :bsmile:

Shame.

I can understand why Aaron suggests that this a female. The hindwing shape appears female rather than male. One can not rely on the forewings, they are too similar. However, from a distance, the abdomen appears more male. But I do need a closer pic to be sure.

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Here is a closed up crop

http://i153.photobucket.com/albums/s.../IMG_7859c.jpg

Thank you James. It is a bit clearer, and it seems to me to be male.

For those of you wondering what I am looking for, here is a pic showing the tips of an abdomen for both male and female.

Les,

It is a male.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by m00nman26

Thx Richard :)

Aaron, how could you tell if its a female? Cant tell any differences fr those in the checklist

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Quote:

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Originally Posted by Painted Jezebel

The easiest way of checking whether its male or female, in cases such as this where the males and females are very simlilar, is by looking at the tip of the abdomen. In this case, the abdomen is shown, do you have a close up of it?

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Actually, i look at the development of the forelegs, if it is a male , the forelegs r reduced( kind of like a nymphalid), bt if it is female, the forelegs r well developed( like papillonids). Look at the cropped pic n u can see the extra foreleg sticking out of the thorax. Compare with a male from our checklist. U can't tell their gender just by looking at the colours as their differences r insignificant. For me, i don't really think that looking at the butt would help as a puddled male would look fatter. Besides u were comparing those of male n female swallowtails so it wouldn't b so accurate.

The inspection of the abdomen tip is considered extremely reliable in determining the sex of a specimen and has been used since the earliest days of Entomology. Of course, the study of the genitalia would be even better, but I, for one, do not have the expertise to make such an examination.

The photo depicts a Swallowtail, but that is purely to give an idea what to look for. All families show roughly the same characteristics, with only minor, unimportant differences. (There is nearly always an exception to the rule, but I am not aware of one in this case)

277

That's the exception. Compare the legs in this pic with those in the checklist.