Papilio echerioides explained

Papilio echerioides, the white-banded swallowtail, is a butterfly of the family Papilionidae. It is found in Sub-Saharan Africa.

The wingspan is 65–75 mm. It has two flight periods, first from January to March and second from September to November.^[1]

The larvae feed on Clausena inaequalis, Toddalia lanceolata, Toddalia asiatica, Zanthoxylum capense, Zanthoxylum delagoense, Vepris lanceolata and Citrus species.

Description

The male is very similar to Papilio cynorta, but the median band, which is very pale yellow, tapers more strongly towards the apex. The pale spot in area (cell) 6 ^[2] of the forewing is always present (usually absent in P. cynorta). The female is a mimic of the butterflies Amauris echeria and Amauris albimaculata. The forewing is black with white spots, the hindwing black with a large pale ochreous discal area and white submarginal spots.

Taxonomy

Papilio echerioides is a member of the echerioides species group. This clade includes:

• Papilio echerioides Trimen, 1868
• Papilio fuelleborni Karsch, 1900
• Papilio jacksoni Sharpe, 1891
• Papilio sjoestedti Aurivillius, 1908

Subspecies

Listed alphabetically:

• P. e. ambangulu Clifton & Collins, 1997 ^[3] (Tanzania)
• P. e. chirindanus van Son, 1956 ^[4] (Mozambique (Mount Gorongosa), eastern Zimbabwe)
• P. e. echerioides Trimen, 1868 ^[5] (South Africa, Eswatini)
• P. e. homeyeri Plötz, 1880 ^[6] (Angola, Democratic Republic of the Congo, south-western Tanzania, northern Zambia)
• P. e. joiceyi Gabriel, 1945 ^[7] – Zoroaster swallowtail – (Sudan, Uganda, western Kenya, western Tanzania, Rwanda, Democratic Republic of the Congo)
• P. e. kiellandi Clifton & Collins, 1997 (southern Kenya, northern Tanzania)
• P. e. leucospilus Rothschild, 1902 .^[8] (Ethiopia: highlands south-east of Rift Valley)
• P. e. nioka (Berger, 1974) (Democratic Republic of the Congo)
• P. e. nyiro Carcasson, 1962^[9] (Kenya)
• P. e. oscari Rothschild, 1902 (Ethiopia: highlands west of the Rift Valley)
• P. e. pseudowertheri Kielland, 1990 ^[10] (eastern and south-eastern Tanzania)
• P. e. shirensis (Hancock, 1987)^[11] (Malawi)
• P. e. wertheri Karsch, 1898 ^[12] (eastern Kenya, eastern and northern Tanzania)
• P. e. zoroastres Druce, 1878 ^[13] (Cameroon)

References

• 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 species group, diagnostic and other notes and figures. (Permission to host granted by The East Africa Natural History Society)

Notes and References

1. Book: Woodhall, Steve . Field Guide to Butterflies of South Africa . 2005 . Cape Town, South Africa . Struik . 978-1-86872-724-7 .
2. Web site: The Swallowtail butterflies of East Africa (Lepidoptera, Papilionidae) . 1960 . The East Africa Natural History Society .
3. Clifton M. & Collins, S. E. 1997 Clifton & Collins, 1997. In: d’Abrera, 1997. Butterflies of the Afrotropical region. Part 1
4. Van Son, G. 1956. New South African butterflies. Annals of the Transvaal Museum 22 (4): 503- 509.
5. Trimen, R. 1868. On some undescribed species of South African butterflies, including a new genus of Lycaenidae. Transactions of the Entomological Society of London 1868: 69-96.
6. Plotz, C. 1880 Verzeichniss der vom Prof. Dr. R. Buchholz in West-Africa gesammelten Schmetterlinge. Stettiner Entomologische Zeitung 41: 298-307
7. Gabriel, A.G. 1945. Notes on some Papilionidae (Lep. Rhopalocera), with descriptions of five new subspecies. Entomologist 78: 151-152.
8. Rothschild, W. 1902. Some new African Lepidoptera discovered by Oscar Neumann. Novitates Zoologicae 9: 595-598.
9. Carcasson, R.H. 1962. New African lepidoptera. Journal of the East Africa Natural History Society and & Coryndon Museum 24 (1): 54-63.
10. Kielland, J. 1990 Butterflies of Tanzania. Hill House, Melbourne and London: 1-363
11. Hancock, D. L. 1987 A new subspecies of Princeps echerioides (Trimen, 1863) from Malawi.Papilio International 3 (3): 193-195
12. Karsch, F. 1898a. Uber die aus der Irangi-Expedition gesammelten Orthoptera und Lepidoptera.In: Werther, C.W. Die mittleren Hochlander des nordlichen Deutsch-Ost-Afrika 311-317. Berlin.
13. Druce, H. 1878a. Descriptions of two new species of butterflies from West Africa.Entomologist’s Monthly Magazine 14: 226. Full text