Papilio thoas (King´s Swallowtail, Thoas Swallowtail, Königs Schwalbenschwanz)

Papilio thoas, also called King´s Swallowtail or Thoas Swallowtail is a common but great butterfly from Neotropic ecozone (South America). The first description was in 1771 by Linnaeus. With a wingspan of 12.0 – 14.0 cm the King Swallowtail is a big member of the family PAPILIONIDAE. The butterfly is dark brown with yellow spots and bands. Hind wings have tails.

Photos for easy identification

: Photo © by Thomas Neubauer

: Photo © by Thomas Neubauer

: Photo © by Thomas Neubauer

: Photo © by Thomas Neubauer

These are nice photos of the King´s Swallowtail (Papilio thoas). Papilio thoas is a member of the family PAPILIONIDAE from Neotropic ecozone (South America).

Description

The forewings are dark brown or black. In the middle of wing there is a broad yellow band. In the pinion the band is dissociate to spots.
The underside is a copy of upside, but there are some differences. At the margin there is a chain of yellow spots. At the wing leading edge there are some yellow lines.

The hind wings are dark brown or black and have long tails. The margin is ridged. At the margin there is a chain of yellow spots. Nearby the body there is a big yellow area. In back there is a whitish eye.
The underside is yellow. The margin is black. The tail has one yellow spot. In the middle of wing there is a black band, which contains a chain of whitish spots.

The body is yellow and black.

Sex differences: None.

Distribution

The King´s Swallowtail (Papilio thoas) is a butterfly of the Neotropic ecozone (South America). The distribution include the whole Neotropic ecozone without Chile, Venezuela and the East of Brazil.

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

Larval food

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General information

The first description of this butterfly was in 1771 by Linnaeus. There are some subspecies.

Papilio thoas autocles [Rothschild & Jordan, 1906]
Papilio thoas brasiliensis [Rothschild & Jordan, 1906] kleinwüchsig
Papilio thoas melonius [Rothschild & Jordan]
Papilio thoas nealces [Rothschild & Jordan, 1906]
Papilio thoas oviedo [Gundlach, 1866]
Papilio thoas thoantiades [Burmeister]

Protection provisions / Red List

CITES: (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora):

-no entry- (as at 23.06.2005)
EU regulation on trading with species of wild Fauna and Flora

-no entry- (as at 19.08.2005)
IUCN Red List of threatened species:

-no entry- (as at 2004) (see: www.redlist.org/)