Graphium philonoe
{{Short description|Species of butterfly}}
{{Speciesbox
| image = Graphium philonoe.JPG
| image_caption = Upperside
| image2 = Graphium philonoe u.JPG
| image2_caption = Underside
| genus = Graphium (butterfly)
| species = philonoe
| authority = (Ward, 1873)Ward, C. 1873. Descriptions of new species of African lepidoptera.Entomologist’s Monthly Magazine 10: 151-152.[http://www.nic.funet.fi/pub/sci/bio/life/insecta/lepidoptera/ditrysia/papilionoidea/papilionidae/papilioninae/graphium/index.html Graphium], Site of Markku Savela
| synonyms =
- Papilio philonoë Ward, 1873
- Graphium (Arisbe) philonoe
- Papilio philonoë f. dulcinea Stoneham, 1931
- Papilio philonoe whalleyi Talbot, 1929
}}
Graphium philonoe, the eastern white-lady swordtail, is a butterfly in the family Papilionidae. It is found in Sudan, Ethiopia, Uganda, Kenya, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Tanzania, Malawi and Mozambique.[http://atbutterflies.com/downloads/papilionidae_leptocercini.doc Afrotropical Butterflies: File C – Papilionidae - Tribe Leptocercini] Its habitat consists of coastal and riparian forests.
Description
For terms, see External morphology of Lepidoptera
Differs from [related species] in that the discal spots of cellules 1 a and 1 b of the forewing cover the base of these cellules; the submarginal spots of cellules 4—8 of the fore¬wing are single, rounded and rather large, those of the hindwing on the contrary represented in each cellule by two streaks; the basal spots of cellules 2, 3 and 6 of the hindwing are sharply defined distally, transversely cut off or rounded; the cell of the forewing before the middle with three white dots in a transverse line, then a large transverse spot divided into three parts by the dark folds and finally at the apex two white dots; the discal spots of cellules 2—4 of the forewing are usually rounded and more or less separated. — German and British East Africa.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.{{PD-notice}}
Biology
Males may infrequently mud-puddle. Both sexes are attracted to flowers, including Maerua species.
The larvae feed on Uvaria leptocladon, Uvaria chamae and Annona species.
Subspecies
- Graphium philonoe philonoe (Democratic Republic of the Congo, coast of Kenya, eastern Tanzania, Malawi, Mozambique)
- Graphium philonoe whalleyi (Talbot, 1929)Talbot, G. 1929a. New forms of African Lepidoptera. Bulletin of the Hill Museum, Witley 3:72-77. (southern Sudan, south-western Ethiopia, northern Uganda, north-western Kenya)
Taxonomy
It is a member of the tynderaeus -clade (Graphium tynderaeus, Graphium philonoe, Graphium latreillianus).In some works it is seen as the sole member of species group philonoe.
Images
[https://virtualcol.africamuseum.be/providence/pawtucket/index.php/Detail/objects/7652 External images] from Royal Museum of Central Africa.
References
{{Commons}}
{{Wikispecies}}
{{Reflist}}
- Carcasson, R.H 1960 The Swallowtail Butterflies of East Africa (Lepidoptera, Papilionidae). Journal of the East Africa Natural History Society [https://archive.org/details/cbarchive_101755_theswallowtailbutterfliesofeas1960 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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Category:Butterflies described in 1873
Category:Butterflies of Africa
Category:Taxa named by Christopher Ward (entomologist)
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