Papilio thoas


Papilio thoas, the king swallowtail or Thoas swallowtail, is a butterfly of the family Papilionidae. It is found in the southernmost United States, Mexico, Central America and South America. The species is easily confused with the giant swallowtail, which it closely resembles in both larval and adult stages. The caterpillars feed on the leaves of citrus plants. They have also been reported as feeding on a member of the genus Piper.

Description

A large species occurs on Cuba. The upper surface of the forewing, and especially the under surface, are more extended yellow and have also a deeper tint than in the other subspecies. — autocles R. & J., occurring from Texas to Nicaragua, has no cell-spot; the yellow areas are pale. — nealces R. & J. is distributed from Nicaragua to North-West Ecuador and eastward, to Trinidad and the Lower Orinoco. The forewing has always a cell-spot: the yellow tint is somewhat deeper than in autocles, but less deep than in the next subspecies; very common in Bogoti-collections. — thoas L. comes from the Guianas and the Lower Amazon. Deep yellow; forewing with cell-spot, the first spot near the apex of the wing usually small. — cinyras Men. is a large form, which inhabits the Middle and Lower Amazon and the eastern slopes of Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia; the submarginal spots of the forewing are almost always absent. — brasiliensis R: & J., from Brazil, Paraguay and North Argentina, is often still larger than cinyras; the cell-spot of the forewing is absent or small, the first spot near the apex of the wing is mostly large and produced into a point. — thoantiades Burm. occurs in Argentina, especially in the province of Buenos Aires. It is a small form, usually with narrow, pale yellow band. Papilio cresphontes formerly considered a subspecies of thoas is very similar.

Biology

Adult Thoas swallowtails fly year round in the tropics, feeding on nectar of a variety of flowers, including Lantana, Stachytarpheta, and Bougainvillea among other species.

Subspecies

Listed alphabetically.
  • P. t. autocles Rothschild & Jordan, 1906
  • P. t. brasiliensis Rothschild & Jordan, 1906
  • P. t. cynrias Ménétriés, 1857
  • P. t. nealces Rothschild & Jordan, 1906
  • P. t. oviedo Gundlach, 1866
  • P. t. thoantiades Burmeister, 1878
  • P. t. thoas Linnaeus, 1771

    Taxonomy

It is the nominal member of the species group thoas
the members are:
Papilio andraemon
Papilio androgeus Cramer,
Papilio aristodemus Esper, 1794
Papilio aristor Godart, 1819
Papilio astyalus Godart, 1819
Papilio cresphontes Cramer,
Papilio homothoas Rothschild & Jordan, 1906
Papilio machaonides Esper, 1796
Papilio melonius Rothschild & Jordan, 1906
Papilio ornythion Boisduval, 1836
Papilio rumiko
Papilio thersites Fabricius, 1775
Papilio paeon Boisduval, 1836
Papilio caiguanabus
Papilio thoas Linnaeus, 1771