''Papilio ophidicephalus'', the emperor swallowtail, is a

butterfly Butterflies are insects in the macrolepidopteran clade Rhopalocera from the Order (biology), order Lepidoptera, which also includes moths. Adult butterflies have large, often brightly coloured wings, and conspicuous, fluttering flight. The ...

of the family

Papilionidae Swallowtail butterflies are large, colorful butterflies in the family Papilionidae, and include over 550 species. Though the majority are tropical, members of the family inhabit every continent except Antarctica. The family includes the larges ...

. It is found in

Sub-Saharan Africa Sub-Saharan Africa is, geographically, the area and regions of the continent of Africa that lies south of the Sahara. These include West Africa, East Africa, Central Africa, and Southern Africa. Geopolitically, in addition to the List of sov ...

. The

wingspan The wingspan (or just span) of a bird or an airplane is the distance from one wingtip to the other wingtip. For example, the Boeing 777–200 has a wingspan of , and a wandering albatross (''Diomedea exulans'') caught in 1965 had a wingspan of ...

is 90–110 mm in males and 100–120 mm in females. It has two broods, one from August to December and the second from January to April. The larvae feed on '' Clausena inqequalis'', ''

Calodendrum capense ''Calodendrum capense'', the Cape chestnut, is an African tree which was first studied at The Cape in South Africa and cultivated widely for its prolific flower display. The tree obtained the common name of "Cape chestnut" because explorer Willi ...

'', ''

Citrus ''Citrus'' is a genus of flowering plant, flowering trees and shrubs in the rue family, Rutaceae. Plants in the genus produce citrus fruits, including important crops such as Orange (fruit), oranges, Lemon, lemons, grapefruits, pomelos, and lim ...

'' species, ''

Clausena anisata :''Should not be confused with syzygium anisatum, a tree native to eastern Australian rainforests, used as a culinary herb.'' ''Clausena anisata'' (Willd.) Hook.f. ex Benth. is a deciduous shrub or small tree, belonging to the Rutaceae or Citrus ...

'', '' Zanthoxylum capense'' and other ''

Zanthoxylum ''Zanthoxylum'' is a genus of about 250 species of deciduous and evergreen trees, shrubs and climbers in the family Rutaceae that are native to warm temperate and subtropical areas worldwide. It is the type genus of the tribe Zanthoxyleae in ...

'' species.

Taxonomy

''Papilio ophidicephalus'' is a member of the ''menestheus''

species group In biology, a species complex is a group of closely related organisms that are so similar in appearance and other features that the boundaries between them are often unclear. The taxa in the complex may be able to hybridize readily with each oth ...

. The members of the

clade A clade (), also known as a monophyletic group or natural group, is a group of organisms that are monophyletic – that is, composed of a common ancestor and all its lineal descendants – on a phylogenetic tree. Rather than the English term, ...

are: *'' Papilio menestheus'' Drury, 1773 *'' Papilio lormieri'' Distant, 1874 *''Papilio ophidicephalus'' Oberthür, 1878

Subspecies

Listed alphabetically: *''P. o. ayresi'' van Son, 1939 (South Africa, Eswatini) *''P. o. chirinda'' van Son, 1939 (west-central Mozambique, eastern Zimbabwe) *''P. o. cottrelli'' van Son, 1966 (south-central Zambia) *''P. o. entabeni'' van Son, 1939 (South Africa: Limpopo Province) *''P. o. mkuwadzi'' Gifford, 1961 (south-western Tanzania, northern Malawi, north-eastern Zambia) *''P. o. niassicola'' Storace, 1955 (southern and central Malawi) *''P. o. ophidicephalus'' Oberthür, 1878 (eastern Kenya, Tanzania, north-eastern Zambia, south-eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo) *''P. o. phalusco'' Suffert, 1904 Suffert, F. 1904 ''Dt. Ent. Z. Iris'' 17 (1): 103;
Full text
(South Africa) *''P. o. transvaalensis'' van Son, 1939 (South Africa: Limpopo Province) *''P. o. zuluensis'' van Son, 1939 (South Africa: KwaZulu-Natal to the north-east)

References

*Carcasson, R.H., 1960, "The Swallowtail Butterflies of East Africa (Lepidoptera, Papilionidae)". ''Journal of the East Africa Natural History Society'
pdf
Key to East Africa members of the species group, diagnostic and other notes and figures. (Permission to host granted by The East Africa Natural History Society) * *Storace, L.,1955 Su alcune Papilionidae Africane, con descrizioni di nuove forme (Lepidoptera, Diurna). ''Memorie della Societa Entomologica Italiana'' 33:120-137.

External links

Images from

Naturhistorisches Museum Wien The Natural History Museum Vienna (german: Naturhistorisches Museum Wien) is a large natural history museum located in Vienna, Austria. It is one of the most important natural history museums worldwide. The NHM Vienna is one of the largest museum ...

Butterflies described in 1878 ophidicephalus Butterflies of Africa Taxa named by Charles Oberthür {{Papilionidae-stub