Papilio cresphontes (Giant Swallowtail)
Papilio cresphontes, also called Giant Swallowtail is a butterfly from Neotropic ecozone (South America). The first description was in 1777 by Cramer. The wingspan is about 9 – 10 cm. Papilio cresphontes is a member of the family PAPILIONIDAE. The basic colour of this butterfly is dark brown. Yellow bands and spots dominate the wings. The hind wings have tails.
Photos for easy identification
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Here you can see some photos of Papilio cresphontes (Giant Swallowtail) (male above / female below). Papilio cresphontes is a member of the family PAPILIONIDAE from Neotropic ecozone (South America).
Description
The forewings are dark brown. Two chains of large, yellow spots dominate the wing.
The underside of Papilio cresphontes is very similar to the upside. But, the yellow spots are larger. And there are many additional yellow spots.
The hind wings of Papilio cresphontes are dark brown and they have tails. The edge is wavy. Next to the body there is a yellow area. At the outer edge there is a chain of yellow spots. At the inner edge there is a black-red-blue eye-spot.
The underside is yellow. The outer edge is brown. In the middle of the wing there is a chain of brown-blue spots and there are two red spots.
The body (abdomen) is yellow and has a brown stripe. The thorax is dark brown and has two yellow stripes. The head is dark brown and has two yellow stripes. The underside of all parts is yellow.
Sex differences: The female has a smaller yellow area at the upside of hind wings.
Distribution
Papilio cresphontes is a butterfly from the Neotropic (South America). You can observe this butterfly from the South of USA until Colombia.
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Larval food
Rutaceae:
- Amyris elemifera
- Casimiroa edulis
- Citrus aurantium
- Citrus grandis
- Citrus limon
- Citrus sinensis
- Dictamnus albus
- Ptelea trifoliata
- Ruta graveolens
- Zanthoxylum americanum
- Zanthoxylum clava-herculisv
- Zanthoxylum fagara
- Zanthoxylum hirsutum
General information
The first description of this butterfly was in 1777 by Cramer. There are no subspecies.
Macro photos
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Here you can see some macro photos of Papilio cresphontes.
Protection provisions / Red List
- CITES: (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora):
-no entry- - EU regulation on trading with species of wild Fauna and Flora
-no entry- - IUCN Red List of threatened species:
-no entry-
Scientific name
Papilio cresphontes Cramer 1777
Other names
Giant Swallowtail
Classification / Taxonomy / Family tree
- Kingdom: ANIMALIA
- Phylum: ARTHROPODA
- Class: INSECTA
- Order: LEPIDOPTERA
- Suborder: DITRYSIA
- Superfamily: PAPILIONOIDEA
- Family: PAPILIONIDAE
- Subfamily: PAPILIONINAE
- Tribe: PAPILIONINI
- Genus: PAPILIO
- Specific name: CRESPHONTES
