Papilio plagiatus

Last updated

Papilio plagiatus
Papilioplagiatus Aurivillius, 1898Male.JPG
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Papilionidae
Genus: Papilio
Species:
P. plagiatus
Binomial name
Papilio plagiatus

Papilio plagiatus, the mountain mimetic swallowtail, is a butterfly of the family Papilionidae. It is found in the forests of Nigeria, Cameroon, the Central African Republic, southern Sudan, the Republic of the Congo, Uganda and the northern part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The habitat mainly consists of submontane forests but adults may also be found flying in lowland forests. [3]

Contents

Description

Papilio plagiatus looks very similar to Papilio cynorta , but the male has pure white discal bands, with no traces of ivory, and the female's patterns are a bit different.

There is a clear sexual dimorphism. On the obverse, the wings of the male are black or dark brown. The forewings bear a wide white band crossed by dark veins and a white macula at the apex. The hindwings bear a white disc band. On the reverse the wings are a little lighter. The forewings bear the same patterns. The hindwings have black veins and black lines between the veins, the base is orange with two black dots, the dical white band has more blurred contours and is crossed by black veins.

The female mimics species of the genus Acraea , such as Acraea macaria and Acraea alcinoe . On the obverse the wings are dark brown. The forewings bear a large white macula and a series of very small submarginal white macules. The hind wings are dark brown at the base and in the margin and cream in the discal part. They have well marked black veins as well as black lines between the veins. On the reverse the wings are lighter. The forewings bear the same motifs as on the obverse. The hindwings have similar patterns to those of the obverse but the base is distinctly orange and bears two black dots 1 , 2 .

In both sexes the body is black and the thorax bears white macules.


Taxonomy

Papilio plagiatus is a member of the cynorta species group. The members of the clade are:

Related Research Articles

<i>Papilio crino</i> Species of butterfly

Papilio crino, the common banded peacock, is a species of swallowtail (Papilionidae) butterfly found in parts of the Indian subcontinent, including India, Nepal, Bhutan and Sri Lanka.

<i>Acraea cepheus</i> Species of butterfly

Acraea cepheus, the Cepheus acraea, is a butterfly of the family Nymphalidae. It is found in Africa, from Nigeria and Angola to Uganda, western Tanzania and Zambia.

<i>Papilio echerioides</i> Species of butterfly

Papilio echerioides, the white-banded swallowtail, is a butterfly of the family Papilionidae. It is found in Sub-Saharan Africa.

<i>Papilio nireus</i> Species of butterfly

Papilio nireus, the green-banded swallowtail, narrow-banded blue swallowtail, or African blue-banded swallowtail, is a butterfly of the family Papilionidae. It is found in Sub-Saharan Africa.

<i>Graphium angolanus</i> Species of butterfly

Graphium angolanus, the Angola white lady, is a species of butterfly in the family Papilionidae (swallowtails). It is found in Sub-Saharan Africa.

<i>Graphium colonna</i> Species of butterfly

Graphium colonna, the black swordtail or mamba swordtail, is a species of butterfly in the family Papilionidae (swallowtails). It is found in Africa.

<i>Papilio cynorta</i> Species of butterfly

Papilio cynorta, the mimetic swallowtail or common white banded papilio, is a butterfly of the family Papilionidae. It is found in Africa, including Sierra Leone, Liberia, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Togo, southern Nigeria, Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Angola, the Republic of the Congo, Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania.

<i>Papilio mechowi</i> Species of butterfly

Papilio mechowi is a butterfly of the family Papilionidae found in Africa.

<i>Papilio ornythion</i> Species of butterfly

Papilio ornythion, the ornythion swallowtail, is a swallowtail butterfly of the subfamily Papilioninae. It is found in Mexico and Guatemala. It is occasionally recorded from central and southern Texas and New Mexico and rarely from southern Arizona and Kansas.

<i>Papilio gallienus</i> Species of butterfly

Papilio gallienus, the narrow-banded swallowtail, is a butterfly of the family Papilionidae. It is found in Nigeria, Cameroon, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the central part of the Republic of the Congo.

<i>Papilio astyalus</i> Species of butterfly

Papilio astyalus, the broad-banded swallowtail or Astyalus swallowtail, is a butterfly of the family Papilionidae. It is found from Mexico south to Argentina. It is occasionally reported from southern Texas and rare strays can be found up to southern Arizona and northern Texas.

<i>Papilio andraemon</i> Species of butterfly

Papilio andraemon, the Bahaman swallowtail, is a swallowtail butterfly of the subfamily Papilioninae. It is found on the Bahamas, Cuba, Jamaica and the Cayman Islands. It is a rare stray or temporary colonist of the Florida Keys or the mainland near Miami.

<i>Papilio charopus</i> Species of butterfly

Papilio charopus, the tailed green-banded swallowtail, is a species of swallowtail butterfly from the genus Papilio that is found in Nigeria, Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, Republic of the Congo, Uganda, Rwanda, and Burundi.

<i>Papilio zenobia</i> Species of butterfly

Papilio zenobia, the Zenobia swallowtail or Volta swallowtail, is a species of swallowtail butterfly from the genus Papilio that is found in Guinea, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Nigeria, Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, the Republic of the Congo and Uganda. It was first described by Johan Christian Fabricius in 1775. The habitat consists of wetter forest in good to reasonable condition.

<i>Papilio paeon</i> Species of butterfly

Papilio paeon is a species of swallowtail butterfly from the genus Papilio that is found in Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Costa Rica, Venezuela and Colombia.

<i>Graphium ridleyanus</i> Species of butterfly

Graphium ridleyanus, the acraea swordtail, is a butterfly in the family Papilionidae (swallowtails). It is found in eastern Nigeria, Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, Sao Tome and Principe, Gabon, the Republic of the Congo, Angola, the Central African Republic, the DRC, Chad, southern Sudan, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, western Tanzania and Zambia. Its habitat consists of the forest/savanna transition zone.

<i>Graphium agamedes</i> Species of butterfly

Graphium agamedes, the Westwood's white lady, is a butterfly in the family Papilionidae (swallowtails). It is found in Ivory Coast, Ghana, Togo, Benin, Nigeria, Cameroon, the Central African Republic and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The habitat consists of the forest/savanna transition zone.

<i>Graphium fulleri</i> Species of butterfly

Graphium fulleri is a butterfly in the family Papilionidae (swallowtails). It is found in Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, the Republic of the Congo, Angola, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Chad.

<i>Bematistes consanguinea</i> Species of butterfly

Bematistes consanguinea, the blood-brother bematistes, is a butterfly in the family Nymphalidae. It is found in Sierra Leone, Liberia, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Nigeria, Cameroon, Gabon, the Republic of the Congo, Angola, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda, Tanzania and Zambia.

<i>Acraea peneleos</i> Species of butterfly

Acraea peneleos, the Peneleos acraea, is a butterfly in the family Nymphalidae, which is native to the tropics and northern subtropics of sub-Saharan Africa.

References

  1. ↑ Aurivillius, Olof Christopher 1898 Diagnosen neuer Lepidopteren aus Afrika Entomologisk Tidskriftr. 19: 177–186
  2. ↑ Papilio, Site of Markku Savela
  3. ↑ "Afrotropical Butterflies: File C – Papilionidae - Tribe Papilionini". Archived from the original on 2014-02-22. Retrieved 2012-05-09.


This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.