Papilio desmondi

Desmond's green-banded swallowtail
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Lepidoptera
Family:	Papilionidae
Tribe:	Papilionini
Genus:	Papilio
Species:	P. desmondi
Binomial name
Papilio desmondi Van Someren, 1939[1]
Synonyms
Papilio magdae Gifford, 1961 Papilio brontes Godman, 1885 Papilio teita van Someren, 1960 Papilio brontes australis van Someren, 1960

Papilio desmondi, the Desmond's green-banded swallowtail, is a butterfly of the family Papilionidae. It is found in Africa.^[2]

The larvae feed on Vepris eugeniifolia, Teclea, Clausena, Zanthoxylum, Calodendrum, and Citrus species.

Subspecies

• Papilio desmondi desmondi (Chyulu Hills of south-eastern Kenya)
• Papilio desmondi magdae Gifford, 1961 (northern Tanzania)
• Papilio desmondi teita van Someren, 1960 (south-eastern Kenya)
• Papilio desmondi usambaraensis (Koçak, 1980) (Tanzania, northern Malawi, north-eastern Zambia)

Taxonomy

Papilio desmondi 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

1. Papilio desmondi, Site of Markku Savela
2. Afrotropical Butterflies: File C – Papilionidae - Tribe Papilionini

• 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)

External links

• Collins, N. Mark; Morris, Michael G. (1985). Threatened Swallowtail Butterflies of the World: The IUCN Red Data Book. Gland & Cambridge: IUCN. ISBN 978-2-88032-603-6.