Series of Custom Pins for Life History of Papilio machaon

In the Kingdom of Insect, there are four stages of organism development; namely, the morphological structure of eggs, larvae, pupae and adults, which is called the development of “complete metamorphosis”. And the process of development which only passes through three stages: egg, nymph and adult is called the development of “incomplete metamorphosis”.

Butterflies are belongs to the development of “completely metamorphosis” in nature. So does Papilio machaon.

Papilio machaon

Papilio machaon, Lepidoptera, belongs to Papilio family. The golden wings expansion length is about 8 to 9cm. They spread all over the Europe, North America and other areas. They can fly quickly and intensely, they often stop between flowers to eat nectar. They haunt between the grasslands and mountains, and they prefer to fly to the top of the mountain. In lowlands, they will also appear in the garden. They have high ornamental and medicinal value.

The Larvae have a very interesting defensive state, when they are threatened, a fleshy bifurcated organ can stretch out and emit a smell.

There are 4 stages of eggs, larvae, pupae and adults for each generation of Papilio machaon. Papilio machaon likes to live in the lush vegetation, places with flowers in full bloom and colorful sunlight; they fly circling up and down to feed on pollen and nectar for a living. After mating, the female butterfly likes to lay eggs in the stems, leaves, fruit surfaces and gaps of plants. Eggs can hatch into larvae in environment with suitable temperature and humidity. Most larvae feed on leaves, stems, flowers and fruits of plants for a living. When larvae develop to the aged 5-6 years old, they will spin silk as a net or cocoon as a pupa.