Black Armor. Papilio demoleus, Lime Butterfly, Butterfly House, Botanic Gardens, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands
No, I don't know why Linnaeus presumably gave this Papilio its specific name 'demoleus'. Demoleus was a Greek soldier in the famous siege of Troy who was killed by Aeneas, that hero of Troy, sung by great Vergil. Aeneas then took his armor and gave it as a second prize to Mnestheus (incidentally, there's also a Skipper Butterfly called Mnestheus) at the Sicilian Games which he later organised.
Anyway... This marvelous Swallowtail Butterfly makes its home in the fine Butterfly House of the new Botanic Gardens of Utrecht University. It's called a Lime Butterfly because it favors those citrus trees and it is often seen as an invasive, destructive pest. Here in this glasshouse it does no harm and delights its observers! One of whom went home to a delightful rereading of a part of the Aeneid...
Black Armor. Papilio demoleus, Lime Butterfly, Butterfly House, Botanic Gardens, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands
No, I don't know why Linnaeus presumably gave this Papilio its specific name 'demoleus'. Demoleus was a Greek soldier in the famous siege of Troy who was killed by Aeneas, that hero of Troy, sung by great Vergil. Aeneas then took his armor and gave it as a second prize to Mnestheus (incidentally, there's also a Skipper Butterfly called Mnestheus) at the Sicilian Games which he later organised.
Anyway... This marvelous Swallowtail Butterfly makes its home in the fine Butterfly House of the new Botanic Gardens of Utrecht University. It's called a Lime Butterfly because it favors those citrus trees and it is often seen as an invasive, destructive pest. Here in this glasshouse it does no harm and delights its observers! One of whom went home to a delightful rereading of a part of the Aeneid...