Host plants, phenologies and status of swallowtails (Papilionidae), Lepidoptera, in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Bay of Bengal, Indian Ocean Original Research Article

The Andamans and the Nicobars are small, oceanic islands situated at the junction of the Indian, Indochinese and Indomalayan subregions of the Oriental region. The status of research on the native swallowtails (Papilionidae) of these islands — until very recently restricted to the study of the adult forms (with most of the studies having been conducted prior to the 1930s) — is reviewed and aspects of their conservation management are discussed. Three out of a total of 14 species of swallowtails are endemic to these islands while two may be stragglers. The impoverished swallowtail fauna of the Andaman Islands is probably derived from the Burmese fauna, and that of the Nicobars from the Andamans and Sumatra. While some species are seasonal with highly restricted distributions, others have extremely narrow host ranges and so could prove to be vulnerable in the face of environmental degradation.