THE FORMS OF THE COMMON OLD WORLD SWALLOAV- 

 TAIL BUTTERFLY (PAPILIO MACHAON) IN NORTH 

 AMERICA, WITH DESCRIPTIONS OF TWO NEW SUB- 

 SPECIES 



By Austin H. Clark 

 Curator, Division of Echinoderms, United States National Museum 



The common Old World swallowtail, Papilio 77iachaon, is found 

 in North America from western Alaska south of Cape Prince of 

 Wales to Yukon and southward to the extreme northwestern por- 

 tion of British Columbia, and also from the southeastern extremity 

 of James Bay to the Nelson River on the western shore of Hudson 

 Bay and southward to Lake Superior. 



Although it is locally common in many places in both the western 

 and eastern portion of its range, its habitat is so remote and inac- 

 cessible that it is a rare insect in collections. Indeed, only seven 

 specimens are known from eastern North America. 



In the present paper the status of the American forms of this 

 species is reviewed, and three subspecies are recognized: Papilio 

 muchaon aJiaska Scudder, which is found throughout the western 

 portion of the range; P. m. hiidsoniainis, new subspecies, occurring 

 in the eastern portion of the range; and P. vi. petersU. new sub- 

 species, from central Alaska, where it occurs with P. in. aliaska, 

 of which possibly it is an extreme form. 



Papilio machaon was first discovered in North America by Con- 

 stantin Drexler during an exploration that he made in 1860 in the 

 region of James Bay under the direction of the Smithsonian Insti- 

 tution. Thanks to the facilities afforded him by the Hudson's Bay 

 Co., he was enabled to collect a large quantity of valuable material, 

 which was sent from Moose Factory to London by the company at 

 their expense and later brought to New York free of charge by the 

 Cunard Steamship Co. 



At that time the Smithsonian Institution did not maintain a col- 

 lection of insects, and the four specimens of Papilio machaon that 

 he collected were sent to William Henry Edwards. Edwards re- 

 ceived from Drexler many other butterflies, among them one of the 

 specimens upon which the description of Hesperia ivyandot was 

 based, and one of those from which Pampli'ila verna was described, 

 both from Washington, D. C. 



No. 2934.— Proceedings U. S. National Museum, Vol. 81, Art. 1 1. 

 •111168—32 1 1 



