Papilio erostratus

Papilio erostratus, the Erostratus swallowtail, is a species of Neotropical swallowtail butterfly from the genus Papilio that is found in Guatemala, Costa Rica, Belize and Mexico.^[1][2]

Erostratus swallowtail
Plate accompanying Westwood's 1847 description
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Lepidoptera
Family:	Papilionidae
Genus:	Papilio
Species:	P. erostratus
Binomial name
Papilio erostratus Westwood, 1847
Synonyms
Papilio rhetus Gray, [1853]

Description

Plate from Adalbert Seitz's The Macrolepidoptera of the World showing both Papilio erostratus and Papilio rogeri pharnaces

It is very similar to Papilio pharnaces but in the male the spots on the upper surface of the hindwing are yellowish white. In the female the spots are red also above, larger than in the female of P. pharnaces the marginal spots of both wings also somewhat larger than in the foregoing species. Tail long and narrow. Sympatric with P. pharnaces in western Mexico.^[3]

Habitat

It is most common in hilly country at a height of about 1500 m (approximately 5,000 ft).

Subspecies

• Papilio erostratus erostratus – (Guatemala, Costa Rica, Belize)
• Papilio erostratus erostratinus Vázquez, 1947 – (Mexico)
• Papilio erostratus vazquezae Beutelspacher, 1986 – (Mexico

Taxonomy

Papilio erostratus is a member of the anchisiades species group