Temporal Change in Records of the Mimetic Butterfly Papilio polytes with Establishment of its Model Pachliopta aristolochiae in the Ryukyu Islands

Temporal change in the occurrence of Papilio polytes L. f. polytes and its model Pachliopta aristolochiae FABRICIUS in the Ryukyu Islands was reviewed based on the published records. Pach. aristolochiae (model) was first recorded in 1968 and the records of Pap. polytes f. polytes (mimic) increased rapidly after 1972 in the Yaeyama Islands, southernmost island group of the Ryukyu Islands. In Miyako-jima Island, the mimic has also increased after the establishment of the model in 1975. This increase of Pap. polytes f. polytes was discussed and explained by the mimicry effect.