Papilio nireus (Narrow Green Banded Swallowtail)

Papilio nireus, also called Narrow Green Banded Swallowtail is a butterfly from Afrotropic ecozone (Africa). The first description was in 1758 by Linnaeus. The wingspan is about 10 – 12 cm. This butterfly is a member of the family PAPILIONIDAE. The basic colour of Papilio nireus is black. Green bands and spots dominate the wings.

Photos for easy identification

: Photo © by Naturhistorisches Museum Wien; Photographer Thomas Neubauer

: Photo © by Naturhistorisches Museum Wien; Photographer Thomas Neubauer

: Photo © by Naturhistorisches Museum Wien; Photographer Thomas Neubauer

: Photo © by Naturhistorisches Museum Wien; Photographer Thomas Neubauer

These are nice photos of Papilio nireus (Narrow Green Banded Swallowtail) (male above / female below). Papilio nireus is a member of the family PAPILIONIDAE from Afrotropic ecozone (Africa).

Description

The fore wings are black. At the wing-tip there is a little, green spots. A green band dominates the wing.
The underside of Papilio nireus is dark-brown.

The hind wings of Papilio nireus are black. The edge is wavy. At the outer edge there is a chain of little, green spots. A broad, green band dominates the wing.
The underside is dark-brown. At the outer edge there is a chain of golden spots. At the inner edge there are two golden spots.

The body (abdomen) is black. The thorax and the head are black. The underside of all parts is dark-brown.

Sex differences: The basic colour of the female is brown. It has no golden spots on the underside.

Distribution

Papilio nireus is a butterfly from the Afrotropic (Africa) ecozone. You can observe this butterfly from Senegal until Somalia and South Africa.

: This world map shows the ecozones in which this butterfly is distributed.

Larval food

Rutaceae:

Calodendrum capense
Citrus aurantium
Citrus limonia
Clausena anisata
Teclea natalensis
Teclea swynnertonii
Toddalia asiatica
Vepris undulata
Zanthoxylum

General information

The first description of this butterfly was in 1758 by Linnaeus. There are only three subspecies.

Papilio nireus lyaeus [Doubleday, 1845]
Papilio nireus pseudonireus [Felder, 1865]
Papilio nireus wilsoni [Rothschild]

The caterpillar live on citrus-plants. The Narrow Green Banded Swallowtail is easy to find on flowers, because it is not shy. There are some very similar species.

: Photo © by Thomas Neubauer; House of butterflies, Vienna

: Photo © by Thomas Neubauer; House of butterflies, Vienna

Here you can see Papilio nireus alive.

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-