Papilio menatius

Papilio menatius is a butterfly of the family Papilionidae.

Papilio menatius
P. m. syndemis
P. m. lenaeus, at the National Museum in Prague
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Lepidoptera
Family:	Papilionidae
Genus:	Papilio
Species:	P. menatius
Binomial name
Papilio menatius (Hübner, [1819])
Synonyms
Calaides menatius Hübner, [1819] Pyrrhosticta menatius Pterourus menatius Papilio aristeus Stoll, [1781] (preocc. Stoll, 1780) Papilio coristheus Boisduval, 1836 Papilio felicis Strand, 1930 Papilio cleotas Gray, 1832 Papilio lycorta C. Felder & R. Felder, 1861 Papilio coroebus C. Felder & R. Felder, 1861 Papilio clearchus C. Felder & R. Felder, 1865 Papilio philocleon C. Felder & R. Felder, 1865 Pterourus coroebus Papilio eurotas C. Felder & R. Felder, 1862 Papilio bitias Godart, 1819 (preocc. Cramer, 1777) Papilio ctesias C. Felder & R. Felder, 1865 Papilio lacordairei Borre, 1884 Papilio laetitia Butler, 1872 Papilio archytas Hopffer, 1866 Papilio phaëton Doubleday, [1845] Papilio phaeton Lucas, [1859] Papilio victorinus Doubleday, 1844 Papilio helleri C. Felder & R. Felder, 1864 Papilio amphissus Hopffer, 1866 Papilio vulneratus Butler, 1872

Description

Papilio menatius is a large butterfly with a wingspan of about 95–110 millimetres (3.7–4.3 in). The uppersides of the wings are black with yellowish bands and yellowish submarginal lines of spots.

The subspecies P. m. menatius present in Guyana is black with white spots at the center of the forewings. On the hindwings there are a submarginal row of red lines and a line of spots partly red and partly white. Subspecies P. m. victorinus is treated as a species by some authors.

The larvae of P. m. victorinus feed on Persea americana. Adults feed on flower nectar of various plants, including Lantana and Impatiens species.

Taxonomy

Papilio menatius is in the subgenus Pterourus Scopoli, 1777 which also includes the species groups: troilus species group, glaucus species group, the zagreus species group and the scamander species group. Papilio menatius is a member of the homerus species group. The members of this clade are:

• Papilio cacicus Lucas, 1852
• Papilio euterpinus Salvin & Godman, 1868
• Papilio garamas (Geyer, [1829])
• Papilio homerus Fabricius, 1793
• Papilio menatius (Hübner, [1819])
• Papilio warscewiczii Hopffer, 1865

and the enigmatic Papilio judicael known only from a handful of specimens and either a valid species from the Andean region, or a hybrid P. menatius × P. warscewiczii.

Subspecies

The following subspecies of Papilio menatius are recognised:

• P. m. menatius (Surinam, French Guiana)
• P. m. cleotas Gray, 1832 (Brazil (Santa Catarina, Rio de Janeiro) to Argentina)
• P. m. coelebs Rothschild & Jordan, 1906 (Peru)
• P. m. coroebus C. Felder & R. Felder, 1861 (Colombia, Venezuela)
• P. m. ctesiades Rothschild & Jordan, 1906 (Peru, Brazil (Amazonas, São Paulo))
• P. m. eurotas C. Felder & R. Felder, 1862 (Ecuador, Peru)
• P. m. laetitia Butler, 1872 (Costa Rica, Panama)
• P. m. lemoulti Rousseau-Decelle, 1933 (Venezuela)
• P. m. lenaeus Doubleday, 1846 (Bolivia, Peru)
• P. m. morelius Rothschild & Jordan, 1906 (western Mexico)
• P. m. syndemis (Tyler, Brown & Wilson, 1994) (Colombia)
• P. m. victorinus Doubleday, 1844 (eastern Mexico to Nicaragua) - victorine swallowtail
• P. m. vulneratus Butler, 1872 (Costa Rica)

Distribution

This species can be found in southern North America and in most of South America (Mexico, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, Ecuador, Suriname, Guyana, Colombia, Bolivia, Venezuela, Argentina, Brazil and Peru).

Gallery

• 
  Papilio menatius ssp. morelius
• 
  Papilio menatius ssp. victorinus

References

• Savela, Markku (March 20, 2019). "Papilio menatius (Hübner, [1819])". Lepidoptera and Some Other Life Forms. Retrieved February 5, 2020.
• "Papilio menatius (Hübner, [1819])". Insecta.pro. Retrieved February 5, 2020.
• "Pterourus m. menatius (Hübner, [1819])". Butterflies of America. Retrieved February 5, 2020.
• Lewis, H. L. (1974). Butterflies of the World. ISBN 0-245-52097-X Page 24, figure 18 (ssp. cleotas): page 25 figure 14 (ssp. victorinus).

External links

• Collins, N. Mark; Morris, Michael G. (1985). Threatened Swallowtail Butterflies of the World: The IUCN Red Data Book. Gland & Cambridge: IUCN. ISBN 978-2-88032-603-6 – via Biodiversity Heritage Library.