Papilio menestheus, the western emperor swallowtail, is a species of swallowtail butterfly from the genus Papilio that is found in Senegal, Guinea-Bissau, Guinea, Sierra Leone, Liberia Ivory Coast, Ghana, Togo, Nigeria, Cameroon and Equatorial Guinea.[1]

Papilio menestheus
in the Bobiri Forest, Ghana
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Papilionidae
Genus: Papilio
Species:
P. menestheus
Binomial name
Papilio menestheus
Drury, 1773
Synonyms
  • Papilio menestheus ab. pygmaeus Aurivillius, 1899
  • Papilio menestheus ab. unimaculatus Strand, 1914
  • Papilio menestheus v. lormieri ab. latefasciatus Schultze, 1917

The larvae feed on Citrus species and Fagara macrophylla.

Taxonomy

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

Subspecies

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  • Papilio menestheus menestheus (Senegal, Guinea-Bissau, Guinea, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Togo, Nigeria, western Cameroon)
  • Papilio menestheus canui Gauthier, 1984 (Equatorial Guinea)

References

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