Papilio antimachus

Papilio antimachus, the African giant swallowtail, is a butterfly in the family Papilionidae. With a wingspan between 18 and 23 centimetres (7.1 and 9.1 in), it is the largest butterfly in Africa and among the largest butterflies in the world. The wings are long and narrow and the ground colour is orange brown with black markings. P. antimachus live in the tropical rainforests of west and central Africa. The distribution area (range) stretches from Angola, Cameroon, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Republic of the Congo, Gabon, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, and Uganda. It is much rarer in the west of its range (Guinea to Cameroon) than in the eastern parts of its range. It probably stays in forest canopy but males come down to mud-puddle. The male is larger than the female and can be seen in groups at nectar. The females show themselves less, continually flying high above the tree tops. It has been seen hill-topping in Liberia.[3] The butterfly may have no natural enemies because it is very toxic.The larval foodplant is unknown and nothing is published on the early stages (egg, larva, pupa).Cardiac glycosides found in the larva indicate that the larval foodplant is an asclepiad vine.

Female

African giant swallowtail
Male, upperside
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Papilionidae
Genus: Papilio
Species:
P. antimachus
Binomial name
Papilio antimachus
Synonyms
  • Drurya antimachus var. gigantea Watkins, 1899
  • Drurya antimachus ab. plagiata Stichel, 1903
  • Papilio antimachus f. parvus Reuss, 1922
  • Papilio antimachus f. karschi Reuss, 1922
  • Papilio antimachus f. rothschildiana Reuss, 1922
  • Papilio antimachus f. staudingeri Reuss, 1922
  • Papilio antimachus f. centrispila Le Cerf, 1924
  • Papilio antimachus f. melanescens Le Cerf, 1924
  • Papilio antimachus congolanus Dufrane, 1929
  • Papilio antimachus congolanus ab. vreuricki Dufrane, 1929
  • Papilio antimachus congolanus ab. pupillata Dufrane, 1929
  • Papilio antimachus congolanus ab. obsoleta Dufrane, 1929
  • Papilio antimachus congolanus ab. lagai Dufrane, 1929
  • Papilio antimachus congolanus ab. virgularia Dufrane, 1929
  • Papilio antimachus coffea Talbot, 1936
  • Papilio antimachus congolanus ab. burgeoni Dufrane, 1946

Subspecies
  • Papilio antimachus antimachus (Guinea, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Togo, southern Nigeria, Cameroon, Gabon, Congo, Central African Republic, western Democratic Republic of the Congo, southern Sudan, northern Angola)
  • Papilio antimachus parva Jackson, 1956 (eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda) [4][5]

References
  1. Drury, D. 1782. Illustrations of Natural History 3: xxvi, 1-769 + 2pp. London.
  2. Papilio, Site of Markku Savela
  3. Sáfián, Sz. (2013). Observation of hill-topping behaviour by the Giant African Swallowtail - Papilio antimachus Drury, 1782 and other recent records from Liberia (West Africa) (Lepidoptera: Papilionidae). Shilap Revista de Lepidopterología. 41(163):323-329..
  4. Jackson, 1956 Notes on the Rhopalocera of the Kigezi District of Uganda with descriptions of new species and subspecies J. E Afr. Nat. Hist. Soc. 23 (1) : 63-102, pl. 1-13 Full text
  5. "Afrotropical Butterflies: File C – Papilionidae - Tribe Papilionini". Archived from the original on 2014-02-22. Retrieved 2012-05-09.


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