Papilio menestheus explained

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]

The larvae feed on Citrus species and Fagara macrophylla.

Taxonomy

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

• Papilio menestheus Drury, 1773
• Papilio lormieri Distant, 1874
• Papilio ophidicephalus Oberthür, 1878

Subspecies

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

Notes and References

1. http://www.nic.funet.fi/pub/sci/bio/life/insecta/lepidoptera/ditrysia/papilionoidea/papilionidae/papilioninae/papilio/index.html Papilio at Funet