Papilio thoas
| Thoas swallowtail | |
|---|---|
 | |
 | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Lepidoptera |
| Family: | Papilionidae |
| Genus: | Papilio |
| Species: | P. thoas |
| Binomial name | |
| Papilio thoas Linnaeus, 1771 | |
| Synonyms | |
|
Heraclides thoas | |
Papilio thoas, the king swallowtail or Thoas swallowtail, is a butterfly of the family Papilionidae. It is found in the southernmost United States, Mexico, Central America and South America (as far south as Argentina and Uruguay). The species is easily confused with the giant swallowtail, which it closely resembles in both larval and adult stages. The caterpillars feed on the leaves of citrus plants (Rutaceae). They have also been reported as feeding on a member of the genus Piper.[1]
Dorsal and ventral view
Adult Thoas swallowtails fly year round in the tropics, feeding on nectar of a variety of flowers, including Lantana, Stachytarpheta, and Bougainvillea among other species. The wingspan is 100–130 mm.
Subspecies
Listed alphabetically.[2]
- P. t. autocles Rothschild & Jordan, 1906
- P. t. brasiliensis Rothschild & Jordan, 1906
- P. t. cinyras Ménétriés, 1857
- P. t. nealces Rothschild & Jordan, 1906
- P. t. oviedo Gundlach, 1866
- P. t. thoantiades Burmeister, 1878
- P. t. thoas Linnaeus, 1771
P. t. thoas - Muséum de Toulouse
P. t. thoas, underside
References
External links
| External identifiers for Papilio thoas | |
|---|---|
| Encyclopedia of Life | 131320 |
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Wikispecies has information related to: Papilio thoas |
- Thoas Swallowtail, Butterflies and Moths of North America
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Papilio thoas. |
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 9/13/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.