Papilio ophidicephalus
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Emperor swallowtail | |
|---|---|
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Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Lepidoptera |
| Family: | Papilionidae |
| Genus: | Papilio |
| Species: | P. ophidicephalus |
| Binomial name | |
| Papilio ophidicephalus | |
| Synonyms | |
| |
Papilio ophidicephalus, the emperor swallowtail, is a butterfly of the family Papilionidae. It is found in Sub-Saharan Africa.
The wingspan is 90–110 mm in males and 100–120 mm in females. It has two broods, one from August to December and the second from January to April.[3]
The larvae feed on Clausena inqequalis, Calodendrum capense, Citrus species, Clausena anisata, Zanthoxylum capense and other Zanthoxylum species.[2]
Papilio ophidicephalus is a 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
Listed alphabetically:[2]
- P. o. ayresi van Son, 1939 [4] (South Africa, Eswatini)
- P. o. chirinda van Son, 1939 (west-central Mozambique, eastern Zimbabwe)
- P. o. cottrelli van Son, 1966 [5](south-central Zambia)
- P. o. entabeni van Son, 1939 (South Africa: Limpopo Province)
- P. o. mkuwadzi Gifford, 1961 [6] (south-western Tanzania, northern Malawi, north-eastern Zambia)
- P. o. niassicola Storace, 1955 [7] (southern and central Malawi)
- P. o. ophidicephalus Oberthür, 1878 (eastern Kenya, Tanzania, north-eastern Zambia, south-eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo)
- P. o. phalusco Suffert, 1904 [8] (South Africa)
- P. o. transvaalensis van Son, 1939 (South Africa: Limpopo Province)
- P. o. zuluensis van Son, 1939 (South Africa: KwaZulu-Natal to the north-east)
