''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
The giant swallowtail (''Papilio cresphontes'') is the largest butterfly in North America. It is abundant through many parts of eastern North America; populations from western North America and down into Panama are now (as of 2014) considered t ...
, 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''.
Adult Thoas swallowtails fly year round in the tropics, feeding on nectar of a variety of flowers, including ''
Lantana'', ''
Stachytarpheta
''Stachytarpheta'' is a plant genus in the verbena family (Verbenaceae). The flowers are rich in nectar and popular with many butterflies, such as the South Asian crimson rose (''Atrophaneura hector''), Malabar banded swallowtail (''Papilio lio ...
'', and ''
Bougainvillea'' among other species. The
wingspan is 100–130 mm.
Subspecies
Listed alphabetically.
''Papilio''
funet.fi
*''P. t. autocles'' Rothschild & Jordan, 1906
*''P. t. brasiliensis'' Rothschild & Jordan, 1906
*''P. t. cynrias'' Ménétriés, 1857
*''P. t. nealces'' Rothschild & Jordan, 1906
*''P. t. oviedo'' Gundlach, 1866
*''P. t. thoantiades'' Burmeister, 1878
*''P. t. thoas'' Linnaeus, 1771
File:Papilio thoas thoas MHNT dos.jpg, ''P. t. thoas''
File:Papilio thoas thoas MHNT ventre.jpg, ''P. t. thoas'', underside
File:Papilio thoas thoas MHNT.jpg, Dorsal and ventral view
File:Papilio_thoas-ventral.jpg, Underside Iguazu Falls
References
External links
Thoas Swallowtail
Butterflies and Moths of North America
*
thoas
Butterflies described in 1771
Butterflies of North America
Butterflies of Central America
Butterflies of the Caribbean
Papilionidae of South America
Butterflies of Cuba
Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus
{{papilionidae-stub