One Species, Hundreds of Subspecies? New Insight into the Intraspecific Classification of the Old World Swallowtail (Papilio machaon Linnaeus , 1758) Based on Two Mitochondrial DNA Markers

The Old World swallowtail Papilio machaon Linnaeus, 1758 is one of the most well-known and most characteristic members of the family Papilionidae. Over the past two centuries, the butterfly has been the subject of many studies. P. machaon is characterised by a tendency to change the wing colour pattern. In turn, due to the great interest of collectors and amateur entomologists, these studies have been converted into the description of over 100 colour forms, aberrations and subspecies. In this study, mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA), 16S rDNA and cytochrome b sequences were used to examine the correlation between the intraspecific classification and genetic structure of P. machaon. The study used 8…