''Papilio rex'', the regal swallowtail or king papilio, is a
butterfly of the family
Papilionidae. It is found in
Africa.
It is a semi-montane and montane forest (1, 300 m. to 2 600 m.) species.
The larvae feed on ''
Teclea tricocarpa
''Vepris'' is a genus of plant in family Rutaceae. It comprises around 90 species, mainly from tropical Africa, Madagascar and the Mascarene Islands and at a lesser extent Arabia and India.
Species
, Plants of the World Online (PoWO) accepted th ...
'', ''
Teclea stuhlmanni
''Vepris'' is a genus of plant in family Rutaceae. It comprises around 90 species, mainly from tropical Africa, Madagascar and the Mascarene Islands and at a lesser extent Arabia and India.
Species
, Plants of the World Online (PoWO) accepted th ...
'', ''
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
''Impatiens'' is a genus of more than 1,000 species of flowering plants, widely distributed throughout the Northern Hemisphere and the tropics. Together with the genus ''Hydrocera'' (one species), ''Impatiens'' make up the family Balsaminaceae. ...
'' and ''
Bougainvillea''.It
hilltops on granite outcrops and
mud puddles.
The Kenyan forms
mimic ''
Tirumala formosa
''Tirumala formosa'', the forest monarch or beautiful tiger, is a butterfly of the family Nymphalidae.
Description
''Tirumala formosa'' has a wingspan reaching about . The uppersides of the forewings are black with several white spots and a redd ...
'', the forest monarch butterfly.
Description
The ground colour is black. There are numerous white markings and the base of the forewing is orange brown (sometimes black with a white streak in males).
Taxonomy
''Papilio rex'' is a member of the ''dardanus''
species group. 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 dardanus''
Brown, 1776
*''
Papilio constantinus''
Ward, 1871
*''
Papilio delalandei
''Papilio delalandei'' is a butterfly of the family Papilionidae. It is endemic to Madagascar.
Taxonomy
''Papilio delalandei'' is a member of the ''dardanus'' species-group. The
members of the clade are
*''Papilio dardanus'' Brown, 1776
*''Pap ...
''
Godart, 824
__NOTOC__
Year 824 ( DCCCXXIV) was a leap year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar.
Events
By place
Europe
* November 11 – The '' Constitutio Romana'' establishes the authority of the ...
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*'' Papilio phorcas'' Cramer, 775
__NOTOC__
Year 775 (Roman numerals, DCCLXXV) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. The denomination 775 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domi ...
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*''Papilio rex'' Oberthür, 1886
Subspecies
*''Papilio rex rex'' (Kenya (east of the Rift Valley), north-eastern Tanzania, central Tanzania)
*''Papilio rex mimeticus''
Rothschild, 1897 (Congo Republic, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, north-western Tanzania, western Kenya)
*''Papilio rex franciscae''
Carpenter, 1928 (southern Sudan, south-western Ethiopia)
*''Papilio rex alinderi''
Bryk, 1928 (Kenya (highlands west of the Rift Valley))
*''Papilio rex schultzei''
Aurivillius, 1904 (eastern Nigeria, highlands of Cameroon)
*''Papilio rex abyssinicana''
Vane-Wright, 1995[ Ackery, P.R., Smith, C.R., Vane-Wright, R.I. 1995. ''Carcasson's African Butterflies'': An annotated Catalogue of the Papilionoidea and Hesperioidea of the Afrotropical Region. British Museum (Natural History), London: i-xi, 1-803. ISBN 978-0-643-05561-2 ] (highlands of south-eastern Ethiopia)
*''Papilio rex regulana''
Vane-Wright, 1995 (Kenya (highlands east of the Rift Valley))
Biogeographic realm
Afrotropical realm
The Afrotropical realm is one of Earth's eight biogeographic realms. It includes Africa south of the Sahara Desert, the majority of the Arabian Peninsula, the island of Madagascar, southern Iran and extreme southwestern Pakistan, and the island ...
References
*Carcasson, R.H. 1960 "The Swallowtail Butterflies of East Africa (Lepidoptera, Papilionidae)". ''Journal of the East Africa Natural History Society'
pdfKey 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)
*
External links
*
*
Images from
Naturhistorisches Museum Wien
Butterflies described in 1886
rex
Butterflies of Africa
Taxa named by Charles Oberthür
{{papilionidae-stub