Papilio rex

Papilio rex
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Papilionidae
Genus: Papilio
Species:
P. rex
Binomial name
Papilio rex
Synonyms
  • Papilio mimeticus Rothschild, 1897
  • Papilio schultzei Aurivillius, 1904
  • Papilio rex var. arnoldi Richelmann, 1909
  • Papilio abyssinicus Poulton, 1926
  • Papilio rex f. commixta Aurivillius, 1908
  • Papilio rexi f. commixta Aurivillius, 1908
  • Papilio rex var. alinderi f. lindblomi Bryk, 1928
  • Papilio rex f. intermediata Bryk, 1930
  • Papilio rex alinderi f. holmi Bryk, 1953
  • Papilio rex barnsi Le Cerf, 1924
  • Papilio rex var. regulus Le Cerf, 1919
  • Papilio rex ab. eisneri Bryk, 1928
  • Papilio rex f. endymion Stoneham, 1951

Papilio rex, the regal swallowtail or king papilio, is a butterfly of the family Papilionidae. It is found in Africa.[3] It is a semi-montane and montane forest (1, 300 m. to 2 600 m.) species. The larvae feed on Teclea tricocarpa, Teclea stuhlmanni, Calodendrum, Citrus, Clausena, Fagara and Toddalia species. In the early morning and late afternoon adults of both sexes descend from the forest canopy to feed from the flowers of Lantana, Impatiens and Bougainvillea. It hilltops on granite outcrops and mud puddles.[4]

The Kenyan forms mimic Tirumala formosa, the forest monarch butterfly.

  1. ^ Oberthür, C. 1886. [No title]. Bulletin de la Société Entomologique de France (6) 6: 114-115.
  2. ^ Papilio, Site of Markku Savela
  3. ^ "Afrotropical Butterflies: File C – Papilionidae - Tribe Papilionini". Archived from the original on 2014-02-22. Retrieved 2012-05-09.
  4. ^ Larsen, 1991 The butterflies of Kenya and their natural history 352, 443 (490 pp.). Oxford.