Papilio menatius

Papilio menatius
Papilio menatius syndemis
Papilio menatius lenaeus, at National Museum (Prague)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Division:	Rhopalocera
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Lepidoptera
Family:	Papilionidae
Tribe:	Papilionini
Genus:	Papilio
Species:	P. menatius
Binomial name
Papilio menatius (Hübner, [1819])
Synonyms
Calaides menatius Hübner, [1819] Pyrrhosticta menatius Pterourus menatius Papilio aristeus Stoll, [1781] (preocc. Stoll, 1780) Papilio coristheus Boisduval, 1836 Papilio felicis Strand, 1930 Papilio cleotas Gray, 1832 Papilio lycorta C. & R. Felder, 1861 Papilio coroebus C. & R. Felder, 1861 Papilio clearchus C. & R. Felder, 1865 Papilio philocleon C. & R. Felder, 1865 Pterourus coroebus Papilio eurotas C. & R. Felder, 1862 Papilio bitias Godart, 1819 (preocc. Cramer, 1777) Papilio ctesias C. & R. Felder, 1865 Papilio lacordairei Borre, 1884 Papilio laetitia Butler, 1872 Papilio archytas Hopffer, 1866 Papilio phaëton Doubleday, [1845] Papilio phaeton Lucas, [1859] Papilio victorinus Doubleday, 1844 Papilio helleri C. & R. Felder, 1864 Papilio amphissus Hopffer, 1866 Papilio vulneratus Butler, 1872

Papilio menatius is a butterfly of the Papilionidae family.

Description

Papilio menatius is a large butterfly with wingspan of about 95–110 millimetres (3.7–4.3 in). Uppersides of the wings are blak with yellowish bands and yellowish submarginal lines of spots.

The subspecies Papilio menatius menatius present in Guyana is black with white spots at the center of the forewings. On the hind wings there are a submarginal row of red lines and a line of spots partly red and partlywhite. Subspecies Papilio menatius victorinus is treated as a species by some authors.

The larvae of ssp. victorinus feed on Persea americana. Adults feed on flower nectar of various plants, including Lantana and Impatiens species.

Distribution

This species can be found in southern North America and in most of South America (Mexico, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, Ecuador Surinam, Guyana, Colombia, Bolivia, Venezuela, Argentina, Brazil and Peru.

Subspecies

• Papilio menatius menatius (Surinam, French Guiana)
• Papilio menatius cleotas Gray, 1832 (Brazil (Santa Catarina, Rio de Janeiro) to Argentina)
• Papilio menatius coelebs Rothschild & Jordan, 1906 (Peru)
• Papilio menatius coroebus C. & R. Felder, 1861 (Colombia, Venezuela)
• Papilio menatius ctesiades Rothschild & Jordan, 1906 (Peru, Brazil (Amazonas, São Paulo))
• Papilio menatius eurotas C. & R. Felder, 1862 (Ecuador, Peru)
• Papilio menatius laetitia Butler, 1872 (Costa Rica, Panama)
• Papilio menatius lemoulti Rousseau-Decelle, 1933 (Venezuela)
• Papilio menatius lenaeus Doubleday, 1846 (Bolivia, Peru)
• Papilio menatius morelius Rothschild & Jordan, 1906 (western Mexico)
• Papilio menatius syndemis (Tyler, Brown & Wilson, 1994) (Colombia)
• Papilio menatius victorinus Doubleday, 1844 (eastern Mexico to Nicaragua) -Victorine Swallowtail
• Papilio menatius vulneratus Butler, 1872 (Costa Rica)

Taxonomy

Papilio menatius is a member of the homerus species-group. The members of this clade are

• Papilio cacicus Lucas, 1852
• Papilio euterpinus Salvin & Godman, 1868
• Papilio garamas (Geyer, [1829])
• Papilio homerus Fabricius, 1793
• Papilio menatius (Hübner, [1819])
• Papilio warscewiczii Hopffer, 1865

Papilio menatius is in the subgenus Pterourus Scopoli, 1777 which also includes the species-groups:- troilus species-group, glaucus species-group, the zagreus species-group and the scamander species-group.

References

• Funet
• Lepidoptera.pro
• Butterflies of America
• Lewis, H. L., 1974 Butterflies of the World ISBN 0-245-52097-X Page 24, figure 18 (ssp. cleotas):page 25 figure 14(ssp. victorinus).

External links

• Collins, N.M., Morris, M.G., IUCN, 1985 Threatened Swallowtail Butterflies of the World: the IUCN Red Data Book 1985 IUCN pdf
• Butterflies and Moths of North America
• Butterfly Corner
• Nearctica