Papilio hesperus explained

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.^[1] The dorsal and ventral sides of its wings are practically identical due to the wing's translucence.^[2]

The larvae feed on Beilschmiedia species, including Beilschmiedia ugandensis.

Taxonomy

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

• Papilio hesperus Westwood, 1843
• Papilio euphranor Trimen, 1868
• Papilio horribilis Butler, 1874
• Papilio pelodurus Butler, 1896

Subspecies

• Papilio hesperus hesperus (Nigeria, Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, Congo, Congo Republic, Uganda, north-western Tanzania, northern Zambia)
• Papilio hesperus feae Storace, 1963 ^[3] Equatorial Guinea)
• Papilio hesperus sudana Gabriel, 1945 ^[4] (southern Sudan)

Habitats

Congolian forests and surrounding ecoregions.

Biogeographic realm

Afrotropical realm.

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 Papilionidae, diagnostic and other notes and figures. (Permission to host granted by The East Africa Natural History Society

External links

• Book: Collins . N. Mark . Morris . Michael G. . Threatened Swallowtail Butterflies of the World: The IUCN Red Data Book . 1985 . . Gland & Cambridge . 978-2-88032-603-6 . Biodiversity Heritage Library.

Notes and References

1. Book: West-Eberhard, Mary Jane . 2003-03-13 . Developmental Plasticity and Evolution . en . 10.1093/oso/9780195122343.001.0001. 978-0-19-512234-3 .
2. Stavenga . Doekele G. . Leertouwer . Heinrich L. . Arikawa . Kentaro . 2023-02-26 . Butterfly Wing Translucence Enables Enhanced Visual Signaling . Insects . 14 . 3 . 234 . 10.3390/insects14030234 . 36975919 . 10057065 . 2075-4450 . free .
3. Storace, L. 1963Osservazioni sul Papilio hesperus Westwood Mem. Soc. Ent. Italiana 42 : 98-101
4. Gabriel, A.G. 1945. Notes on some Papilionidae (Lep. Rhopalocera), with descriptions of five new subspecies. Entomologist 78: 151-152.