Papilio pelodurus explained

Papilio pelodurus is a species of swallowtail butterfly from the genus Papilio that is found in Malawi, Tanzania and Zambia.^[1]

The larvae feed on Cryptocarya liebertiana and Ocotea usambarensis.^[2]

Taxonomy

Papilio pelodurus is a 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 pelodurus pelodurus (highland forest of Malawi)
• Papilio pelodurus vesper Le Cerf, 1924^[3] (eastern and southern Tanzania, north-eastern Zambia, northern Malawi)

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
2. Web site: Afrotropical Butterflies: File C – Papilionidae - Tribe Papilionini. 2012-05-10. 2014-02-22. https://web.archive.org/web/20140222060901/http://atbutterflies.com/downloads/papilionidae_papilionini.doc. dead.
3. Le Cerf, F. 1924 Catalogue annote des “types” et formes nouvelles des Papilios d’Afrique contenus dans la collection du “Hill Museum”. Bulletin of the Hill Museum, Wiley