Biology:Papilio hornimani

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Short description: Species of butterfly

Hornimans green-banded swallowtail
PapilioHornimaniAchilles.jpg
Scientific classification edit
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Papilionidae
Genus: Papilio
Species:
P. hornimani
Binomial name
Papilio hornimani
Distant, 1879

Papilio hornimani, the Hornimans green-banded swallowtail or Horniman's swallowtail, is a species of swallowtail butterfly from the genus Papilio that is found in the highland forests of Kenya and Tanzania.[1]

The larvae feed on Vepris and possibly Citrus species.[2]

Subspecies

  • Papilio hornimani hornimani (Kenya, Tanzania)
  • Papilio hornimani mwanihanae Kielland, 1987[3] (Tanzania)
  • Papilio hornimani mbulu Kielland, 1990[4] (Tanzania)

Description

The ground colour is black. The markings are metallic blue. The blue band does not reach the hind wing margin in area 1b.Seitz-Only differs from Papilio charopus in that the median band of the upper surface is only a little widened posteriorly, so that the spots of cellules 2 and 8 of the hindwing cover but a third or a quarter of the cellules and are scarcely twice as long as broad; the submarginal spots of the hindwing beneath in the male yellow, very prominent, in the female as in charopus. — German East Africa. [5]

Taxonomy

Papilio hornimani belongs to a clade called the nireus species group with 15 members. The pattern is black with green bands and spots and the butterflies, although called swallowtails lack tails with the exception of Papilio charopus and Papilio hornimani. The clade members are:

Etymology

They are named for Frederick John Horniman.

References

  1. Papilio hornimani, Funet.fi
  2. "Afrotropical Butterflies: File C – Papilionidae - Tribe Papilionini". http://atbutterflies.com/downloads/papilionidae_papilionini.doc. 
  3. Kielland, 1987, J. 1987 New taxa of Rhopalocera from Tanzania (Lepidoptera: Papilionidae). Lambillionea 87 (9-10): 114-126
  4. Kielland, 1990 Butterflies of Tanzania. Hill House, Melbourne and London: 1-363
  5. Aurivillius, [P.O.]C. 1908-1924. In: Seitz, A. Die Großschmetterlinge der Erde Band 13: Abt. 2, Die exotischen Großschmetterlinge, Die afrikanischen Tagfalter, 1925, 613 Seiten, 80 Tafeln (The Macrolepidoptera of the World 13).Alfred Kernen Verlag, Stuttgart. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.

Wikidata ☰ Q7132914 entry