1973] 
Young — Parides areas mylotes 
1 1 
body ground color. By the time of pupation, the larva is about 
45 mm long. The coloration of the larva remains unchanged at the 
time of pupation. 
The pupa (Fig. 3-D) is about 25 mm long and the color pattern 
consists of various light shades of green and yellow. The frontal 
portions of the thorax and abdomen are yellow while the rest of the 
body is light green. 
Godman and Salvin (1879-1901) and Seitz (1924) give good il- 
lustrations of wing color patterns of the adults (Fig. 3-E). The 
single light area of the dorsal surface of the forewing in the female 
is cream-colored while the dorsal bands on the hindwings are orange- 
red. This color pattern is very consistent in both laboratory-reared 
and wild-caught females of P. areas mylotes. Less stable is the fore- 
wing dorsal coloration in the male within a single local population. 
The large spot on each forewing (Fig. 3-E) is light green but with 
the apical portion being cream-colored. Considerable variation is 
apparent in this “two-component’ 5 spot on the dorsal surface of the 
male’s forewing; this variability concerns the presence, absence, and 
size of a second, very small two-component spot just inside the radial 
cell of each forewing, and almost touching the major spot (Fig. 
3-E). Similarly, there is considerable variation in the discal cell 
spot. Godman and Salvin (1879-1901) mention the considerable 
variation in the forewing spotting pattern of male in the closely 
related species, P. iphidamas. Adults of both sexes of P. areas 
mylotes can be distinguished from the subspecies mycale by the 
presence of a thin light red marginal border of the wings in the 
former subspecies, while these markings are white in the latter sub- 
species. The red patch on the dorsal surface of the hindwings in 
male P. areas mylotes is more intense than in the female, and the 
distribution of the coloration is very different between the sexes 
(Fig. 3-E). In bright sunlight, the red patches of the male’s hind- 
wing are often iridescent, giving off a purple lustre; this is not seen 
in the female. The mean length of the forewing in the female is 
about 40 mm, while the same statistic of the male is about 38 mm. 
Thus, not only is there a striking color sexual dimorphism in this 
butterfly, but also a consistent wing length difference between the 
sexes. In the absence of crowding, laboratory-reared individuals often 
Fig. 3. Life cycle and behavior of Parides areas mylotes (Bates). 
(A) fourth instar, lateral view (B) fifth instar, lateral view (C) fifth 
instar, feeding on the tip of a young stem of Aristolochia (D) pupa, lateral 
view (E) adults, female above, male below. 
