Papilio constantinus
| Constantine's swallowtail | |
|---|---|
| File:Papilio constantinus.jpg | |
| File:Constantine's swallowtail (Papilio constantinus constantinus) female underside Maputo 2.jpg | |
| Scientific classification Edit this classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Lepidoptera |
| Family: | Papilionidae |
| Genus: | Papilio |
| Species: | P. constantinus
|
| Binomial name | |
| Papilio constantinus | |
| Synonyms | |
| |
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Papilio constantinus, the Constantine's swallowtail, is a butterfly of the family Papilionidae. It is found in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Males have a wingspan of 70–90 mm and females a wingspan of 80–95 mm. The female is a larger than the male on average but the sexual dimorphism remains low.
On the obverse, the wings are a rather dull brown colour. The forewings are paler at the base, they bear a broken white or cream band, a macule of the same colour in the cell, a few macules at the apex, and a series of small submarginal macules. The hindwings have spoon-shaped tails. They are paler at the base and have a white or cream band and a series of submarginal macules of the same color.
On the reverse the motifs are similar but the wings are lighter. The brown parts are faded but the veins remain dark brown and there are some dark brown lines in the intravenous spaces and in the forewing cell. The hindwings have an orange dot in the anal angle.
The body is cream coloured underneath, with black lines on the abdomen, and dark brown above.
Its flight period is during the warmer months peaking from November to February.[4]
The larvae feed on Vepris Reflexi, Vepris lanceolata, Vepris undulata, Clausena species, Citrus species, Teclea trifoliatum, Teclea nobilis, and Teclea gerrardii.[2][4]
Taxonomy
[edit | edit source]Papilio constantinus is a member of the dardanus species group. The members of the clade are:
- Papilio dardanus Brown, 1776
- Papilio constantinus Ward, 1871
- Papilio delalandei Godart, [1824]
- Papilio phorcas Cramer, [1775]
- Papilio rex Oberthür, 1886
Subspecies
[edit | edit source]
Listed alphabetically:[2]
- Papilio constantinus constantinus Ward, 1871 (south-eastern Ethiopia, southern Somalia, coast of Kenya, Tanzania, Malawi, southern and north-eastern Zambia, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, eastern Botswana, South Africa, Eswatini)
- Papilio constantinus lecerfi Koçak, 1996[5] (Kenya: central highlands and the Mau Escarpment)
- Papilio constantinus mweruanus Joicey & Talbot, 1927 [6] (Democratic Republic of the Congo, western Tanzania, Zambia)
Biogeographic realm
[edit | edit source]References
[edit | edit source]- ^ Ward, C. 1871. Description of new species of African diurnal lepidoptera. Entomologist’s Monthly Magazine 8: 34-36; 58-60; 81-82; 118-122.
- ^ a b c Papilio, funet.fi
- ^ Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ a b Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
- ^ Koçak, A.Ö., 1996, "Carcasson's African Butterflies" adlı yayına tamamlayıcı notlar (Lepidoptera). Cent. ent. Stud., Misc. Pap. 27/28: 10-16.
- ^ Joicey. J. J. & Talbot, G., 1927 New forms of Lepidoptera Rhopalocera Encycl. Ent. (B3) 2 (1) : 1-14
- 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)
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External links
[edit | edit source]- Error creating thumbnail: File missing Media related to Lua error in Module:Commons_link at line 62: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value). at Wikimedia Commons
- File:Wikispecies-logo.svg Data related to Papilio constantinus at Wikispecies
- Butterflycorner Images from Naturhistorisches Museum Wien
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