Papilio echerioides
Papilio echerioides, the white-banded swallowtail, is a butterfly of the family Papilionidae. It is found in Sub-Saharan Africa.
The wingspan is 65–75 mm. It has two flight periods, first from January to March and second from September to November.
The larvae feed on Clausena inaequalis, Toddalia lanceolata, Toddalia asiatica, Zanthoxylum capense, Zanthoxylum delagoense, Vepris lanceolata and Citrus species.
Description
The male is very similar to Papilio cynorta, but the median band, which is very pale yellow, tapers more strongly towards the apex. The pale spot in area 6 of the forewing is always present. The female is a mimic of the butterflies Amauris echeria and Amauris albimaculata. The forewing is black with white spots, the hindwing black with a large pale ochreous discal area and white submarginal spots.Taxonomy
Papilio echerioides is a member of the echerioides species group. This clade includes:- Papilio echerioides Trimen, 1868
- Papilio fuelleborni Karsch, 1900
- Papilio jacksoni Sharpe, 1891
- Papilio sjoestedti Aurivillius, 1908
Subspecies
Listed alphabetically:- P. e. ambangulu Clifton & Collins, 1997
- P. e. chirindanus van Son, 1956
- P. e. echerioides Trimen, 1868
- P. e. homeyeri Plötz, 1880
- P. e. joiceyi Gabriel, 1945 – Zoroaster swallowtail –
- P. e. kiellandi Clifton & Collins, 1997
- P. e. leucospilus Rothschild, 1902.
- P. e. nioka
- P. e. nyiro Carcasson, 1962
- P. e. oscari Rothschild, 1902
- P. e. pseudowertheri Kielland, 1990
- P. e. shirensis
- P. e. wertheri Karsch, 1898
- P. e. zoroastres Druce, 1878