R: Alexanoe/machaon cross

[maurizio bollino]

Dear Colleague,
I read with great interest you message about the alexanor/machaon cross. I
studied alexanor for a long time. I think I know its biology quite well, as
I bred it from wild collected larvae many times. I repeatedly tried to cross
it with machaon, but in vain. Reading your message, I notice that you used
an alexanor female. It would be better, in my opinion, to use a machaon
female, as it is easier to obtain eggs from machaon than from alexanor.
Firstly of all alexanor lays eggs only on the flowers of its local
food-plant (Ptychotis, Seseli, Opopanax, Pimpinella, Ferula, Ferulago,
Eptaptera), while machaon lays on the leaves. Moreover alexanor surely needs
a large cage to be induced to lay eggs.
Finally I am quite sure that their hybridisation is impossible. Even if they
apparently belongs to the same genus Papilio, I suspect that alexanor would
be referred to a different, undescribed, monotypic genus.
In any case I would apprecaite to be informed of any advance in your
experiment.

Friendly
Maurizio Bollino
Italy
-----Messaggio originale-----
Da: Nigel Venters <venters at iinteralpha.co.uk>
A: leps-l at lists.yale.edu <leps-l at lists.yale.edu>
Data: sabato 19 giugno 1999 1.33
Oggetto: Alexanoe/machaon cross


>I hand paired a female Papilio alexanor with a male P. machaon britannicus
>this morning. Anyone out there had any experience of this hybrid? or know
>anything about previous attempts?
>