Graphium ucalegonides explained

Graphium ucalegonides is a butterfly in the family Papilionidae (swallowtails). It is found in Cameroon, the Republic of the Congo, northern Angola, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Chad.^[1]

Description

ucalegonides Stgr. has the median band more or less yellowish, beneath on the hindwing indistinctly defined and not sharply prominent; the discal spots of the forewing are very inconstant, so that sometimes one, sometimes the other is small or absent, the band being interrupted. In the central and southern districts of the Congo region. [of ''phrynon'' Druce, 1895] Forewing red-brown, a cream-coloured, broken spot near to the apex larger than in Graphium ucalegon-, a streak in the cell along the hindmargin and a long, angular spot in cellule 3, which almost reaches the margin, cream-coloured; a cream-coloured spot at the middle of the hindmargin in cellule 1 a and a large similar spot in lb; hindwing gold-brown with broad cream-coloured median band; hindwing beneath lighter than above, with black veins and dark red-brown basal area, but without light median band. This form (unknown to me) is perhaps only an aberration of ucalegonides in which the discal spots 2, 4 and 5 of the forewing are entirely wanting. — Upper Congo. ^[2]

Images

External images from Royal Museum of Central Africa.

Taxonomy

Graphium ucalegonides belongs to a species group with 16 members. All are very similarThe species group members are:

• Graphium abri Smith & Vane-Wright, 2001
• Graphium adamastor (Boisduval, 1836)
• Graphium agamedes (Westwood, 1842)
• Graphium almansor (Honrath, 1884)
• Graphium auriger (Butler, 1876)
• Graphium aurivilliusi (Seeldrayers, 1896)
• Graphium fulleri (Grose-Smith, 1883)
• Graphium hachei (Dewitz, 1881)
• Graphium kigoma Carcasson, 1964
• Graphium olbrechtsi Berger, 1950
• Graphium poggianus (Honrath, 1884)
• Graphium rileyi Berger, 1950
• Graphium schubotzi (Schultze, 1913)
• Graphium simoni (Aurivillius, 1899),
• Graphium ucalegon (Hewitson, 1865)[</small> *''Graphium ucalegonides'' <small>(Staudinger, 1884)</small> It is treated as a full species by some authors, but is also treated as a subspecies of ''[[Graphium fulleri]] (Grose-Smith, 1883) by Smith & Vane-Wright (2001).

See also

• Ituri Rainforest Habitat in Congo

References

• Smith C. R. & Vane-Wright R.I. 2001. A review of the Afrotropical species of the genus Graphium (Lepidoptera: Rhopalocera: Papilionidae). Bulletin of the Natural History Museum (Entomology Series) 70(2): 503-719.

Notes and References

1. http://atbutterflies.com/downloads/papilionidae_leptocercini.doc Afrotropical Butterflies: File C – Papilionidae - Tribe Leptocercini
2. Aurivillius, [P.O.]C. 1908-1924. In: Seitz, A. Die Großschmetterlinge der Erde Band 13: Abt. 2, Die exotischen Großschmetterlinge, Die afrikanischen Tagfalter, 1925, 613 Seiten, 80 Tafeln (The Macrolepidoptera of the World 13).Alfred Kernen Verlag, Stuttgart.