Papilio nireus
Appearance
Green-banded swallowtail | |
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Papilio nireus subsp. lyaeus | |
P. n. subsp. pseudonireus from Eritrea Mounted specimens | |
Scientific classification | |
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Species: | P. nireus
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Binomial name | |
Papilio nireus | |
Synonyms | |
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The Green-banded swallowtail, Narrow-banded green swallowtail,[2] or African blue-banded swallowtail (Papilio nireus) is a butterfly of the family Papilionidae. It is found in Subsaharan Africa.
The wingspan is 75–90 millimetres (3.0–3.5 in) in males and 85–95 mm (3.3–3.7 in) in females. Flies year-round, peaks from November to February.[3]
The larvae feed on Calodendrum capense, Teclea spp., Vepris spp., and Citrus spp.[1]
Subspecies
Listed alphabetically.[1]
- P. n. aristophontes Oberthür, 1897 – (Comoro Is. (Grand Comore))
- P. n. lyaeus Doubleday, 1845 – Narrowly green-banded swallowtail (Sudan, Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Malawi, Zambia, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Namibia, South Africa, Swaziland)
- P. n. nireus Linnaeus, 1758 – (Senegal, Gambia, Guinea-Bissau, Guinea, Burkina Faso, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Togo, Benin, southern Nigeria, Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Congo, Angola, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of Congo, Uganda, western Tanzania, Zambia)
- P. n. pseudonireus C. & R. Felder, 1865 – (northern Kenya, northern Uganda, southern Sudan, Somalia, Ethiopia, Eritrea)
- P. n. wilsoni Rothschild, 1926 – (Ethiopia)
Taxonomy
Papilio nireus belongs to a clade called the nireus species-group with 13 members. The pattern is black with green bands and spots and the butterflies, although called swallowtails lack tails with the exception of Papilio charopus. The clade members are:
- Papilio aristophontes Oberthür, 1897
- Papilio nireus Linnaeus, 1758
- Papilio charopus Westwood, 1843
- Papilio chrapkowskii Suffert, 1904
- Papilio chrapkowskoides Storace, 1952
- Papilio desmondi van Someren, 1939
- Papilio hornimani Distant, 1879
- Papilio interjectana Vane-Wright, 1995
- Papilio sosia Rothschild & Jordan, 1903
- Papilio thuraui Karsch, 1900
- Papilio ufipa Carcasson, 1961
- Papilio wilsoni Rothschild, 1926
References
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Wikispecies has information related to Papilio nireus.
- ^ a b c Papilio nireus, funet.fi
- ^ Narrow-banded green swallowtail, Learn about Butterflies
- ^ Woodhall, S. (2005) Field Guide to Butterflies of South Africa, Cape Town: Struik Publishers, p.352
- 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)
- Hancock, David Lawrence. (1984) The Princeps nireus group of swallowtails (Lepidoptera: Papilionidae): systematics, phylogeny and biogeography. Arnoldia Zimbabwe 9(12):181-215.
External links
- Linnean collections Photographs of the holotype.