Papilio hesperus, the black and yellow swallowtail or Hesperus swallowtail, is a butterfly of the family Papilionidae. It is found in Africa. It is monomorphic, meaning there is only one phenotype in the population of this species.[4] The dorsal and ventral sides of its wings are practically identical due to the wing's translucence.[5]

Papilio hesperus
Mounted
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Papilionidae
Genus: Papilio
Species:
P. hesperus
Binomial name
Papilio hesperus
Synonyms
  • Princeps hesperus
  • Papilio embodinus Ehrmann, 1921
  • Papilio horribilis var. calabaricus Distant, 1879
  • Papilio hesperus maculatissimus Suffert, 1904
  • Papilio hesperus f. additionis Strand, 1913
  • Papilio hesperus f. bukoba Richelmann, 1913
  • Papilio hesperus ab. dualana Strand, 1914
  • Papilio hesperus var. kassaiensis Moreau, 1917
  • Papilio hesperus f. insolitus Le Cerf, 1924
  • Papilio hesperus f. rufopuncta Stoneham, 1944
  • Papilio hesperus hesperus ab. lagai Dufrane, 1946
  • Papilio hesperus hesperus ab. blariauxi Dufrane, 1946
  • Papilio hesperus hesperus ab. cuvelieri Dufrane, 1946
  • Papilio hesperus hesperus f. mariae Dufrane, 1953
  • Papilio hesperus hesperus f. punctata Dufrane, 1953

The larvae feed on Beilschmiedia species, including Beilschmiedia ugandensis.

Taxonomy

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Papilio hesperus is the nominal member of the hesperus species group. The members of the clade are:

Subspecies

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  • Papilio hesperus hesperus (Nigeria, Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, Congo, Congo Republic, Uganda, north-western Tanzania, northern Zambia)
  • Papilio hesperus feae Storace, 1963 [6] Equatorial Guinea)
  • Papilio hesperus sudana Gabriel, 1945 [7] (southern Sudan)

Habitats

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Congolian forests and surrounding ecoregions.

Biogeographic realm

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Afrotropical realm.

References

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  1. ^ Westwood, J.O. [1842-1843]. Arcana Entomologica; or illustrations of new, rare, and interesting species 1: iv + 192 pp.
  2. ^ "Afrotropical Butterflies: File C – Papilionidae - Tribe Papilionini". Archived from the original on 2014-02-22. Retrieved 2012-05-09.
  3. ^ Papilio, Site of Markku Savela
  4. ^ West-Eberhard, Mary Jane (2003-03-13). Developmental Plasticity and Evolution. doi:10.1093/oso/9780195122343.001.0001. ISBN 978-0-19-512234-3.
  5. ^ Stavenga, Doekele G.; Leertouwer, Heinrich L.; Arikawa, Kentaro (2023-02-26). "Butterfly Wing Translucence Enables Enhanced Visual Signaling". Insects. 14 (3): 234. doi:10.3390/insects14030234. ISSN 2075-4450. PMC 10057065. PMID 36975919.
  6. ^ Storace, L. 1963 Osservazioni sul Papilio hesperus Westwood Mem. Soc. Ent. Italiana 42 : 98-101
  7. ^ Gabriel, A.G. 1945. Notes on some Papilionidae (Lep. Rhopalocera), with descriptions of five new subspecies. Entomologist 78: 151-152.
  • Carcasson, R.H., 1960 "The Swallowtail Butterflies of East Africa (Lepidoptera, Papilionidae)". Journal of the East Africa Natural History Society pdf Key to East Africa members of the Papilionidae, diagnostic and other notes and figures. (Permission to host granted by The East Africa Natural History Society
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