About Papilio anactus Macleay, 1826
Papilio anactus, commonly known as the dainty swallowtail, dingy swallowtail, or small citrus butterfly, is a medium-sized butterfly in the family Papilionidae. This non-poisonous species protects itself from predators by mimicking the poisonous male Cressida cressida, another swallowtail butterfly that gains its toxicity from its host plant, Dutchman's pipe. Papilio anactus is primarily endemic to Australia. Originally, it was only found in New South Wales, Victoria, and Queensland. However, because citrus – a larval food plant for this butterfly – is widely grown in orchards, the species spread to South Australia in the late 1920s. It is not found on Kangaroo Island or many other parts of Australia, as these areas currently have too few citrus trees. This butterfly is now much less common than it was in the past. It also lives in New Caledonia, where it may be either an introduced species or a vagrant.
