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Post by yorky on Dec 1, 2020 11:51:20 GMT -8
I was especially pleased with this specimen when I received it, more beautiful than I anticipated.  |
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Post by Adam Cotton on Dec 1, 2020 12:51:56 GMT -8
The underside lacks red submarginal lunules, unlike the normal helenus.  Adam. |
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Post by trehopr1 on Dec 1, 2020 15:00:16 GMT -8
Very elegant in black with those white cells.
And those "Fat tails" are just the icing on the cake !
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Post by yorky on Dec 1, 2020 15:23:24 GMT -8
How long did it take to produce these Adam?
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Post by Adam Cotton on Dec 2, 2020 2:00:16 GMT -8
They weren't deliberately 'made', but when I was breeding P. helenus from Laos a few specimens emerged like this so I separated them and bred those. The offspring were also 'black form' although some had traces of red lunules too, which means this aberration is genetic rather than environmental. Unfortunately I was only able to breed these for another generation, so I didn't get a large number of them.
Adam.
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Post by africaone on Dec 2, 2020 2:43:00 GMT -8
Such kind (lack of red) of form exist "in the wild" in some African Graphium (I have in policenes, biokensis, antheus and angolanus). I have seen also in some Saturniidae. probably guided by a specific gene.
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Post by Adam Cotton on Dec 2, 2020 7:59:22 GMT -8
In Asian Graphium the red spots on the hindwing underside are occasionally yellow instead of red, but not completely absent. I don't know if the African species are similar, but assume they should be. There are 5 stages in formation of the red pigment, each controlled by a separate gene. If one of those genes is defective the final red pigment is not formed, and it is yellow instead.
Adam.
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