Papilio

Blue Mountain butterfly Papilio ulysses, photographed by Gary Fortington.

Belongs within: Papilioninae.

Papilio is a cosmopolitan genus of butterflies including the swallowtails and related taxa. Over 200 species are currently recognised; a number of authors have attempted to divide Papilio into smaller genera but these systems have not become widely recognised. Larvae usually feed on plants of the family Rutaceae and may sequester terpenoids from their diet to produce defensive secretions.

Papilio Linnaeus 1758 L58
    |--P. (Papilio) G20
    |    |--P. (P.) hector Linnaeus 1758 G20, L58
    |    |--P. (P.) machaon Linnaeus 1758 G20, S-BF05
    |    |    |--P. m. machaon P93
    |    |    |--P. m. bairdii P93
    |    |    `--P. m. oregonius P93
    |    `--P. (P.) priamus Linnaeus 1758 G20, L58
    `--P. (Zelima) pylades G20

Papilio incertae sedis:
  P. acastus Linnaeus 1758 L58
  P. acesta Linnaeus 1758 L58
  P. achates L02
  P. achilles Linnaeus 1758 L58
  P. adippe L02
  P. admetus Esper 1785 B08
  P. aegeria Linnaeus 1758 L58
  P. aegeus Donovan 1805 B00a
    |--P. a. aegeus B00a
    `--P. a. ormenus Guérin-Méneville 1830 B00a
  P. aeneas Linnaeus 1758 L58
  P. aeropa Linnaeus 1758 L58
  P. agamemnon Linnaeus 1758 L58
  P. agenor Linnaeus 1758 L58
  P. aglaja Linnaeus 1758 L58
  P. ajax Linnaeus 1758 L58
  P. alexanor P93
  P. alimena Linnaeus 1758 L58
  P. almana Linnaeus 1758 L58
  P. amathea Linnaeus 1758 L58
  P. ambrax Boisduval 1832 B00a
    |--P. a. ambrax B00a
    `--P. a. egipius Miskin 1876 B00a
  P. amphion Linnaeus 1758 L58
  P. amynthor Boisduval 1859 B00b
    |--P. a. amynthor B00b
    `--P. a. amphiaraus Felder & Felder 1864 B00b
  P. anacardii Linnaeus 1758 L58
  P. anactus Macleay 1826 [=Eleppone anactus] B00a
  P. ancaeus Linnaeus 1758 L58
  P. anchises Linnaeus 1758 L58
  P. anchisiades Esper 1788 S55
  P. andraemon USDI77
    |--P. a. andraemon USDI77
    `--P. a. bonhotei USDI77
  P. androgeus [incl. P. a. androgeus f. piranthus Cramer 1779] S55
  P. antilochus Linnaeus 1758 L58
  P. antiopa Linnaeus 1758 L58
  P. aonis Linnaeus 1758 L58
  P. apollo Linnaeus 1758 L58
  P. arethusus L02
  P. argentus B66
  P. argiolus Linnaeus 1758 L58
  P. argus Linnaeus 1758 L58
  P. arion Linnaeus 1758 L58
  P. aristodemus USDI77
    |--P. a. aristodemus USDI77
    `--P. a. ponceanus USDI77
  P. arsalte Linnaeus 1758 L58
  P. assimilis Linnaeus 1758 L58
  P. asterie Linnaeus 1758 L58
  P. atalanta Linnaeus 1758 L58
  P. athemon Linnaeus 1758 L58
  P. bates Linnaeus 1758 L58
  P. betulae Linnaeus 1758 L58
  P. bianor TYM08
    |--P. b. bianor TYM08
    `--P. b. kawauchii Nakamura 1932 TYM08
  P. bixae Linnaeus 1758 L58
  P. bolina Linnaeus 1758 L58
  P. brassicae Linnaeus 1758 L58
  P. brevicauda P93
  P. brontes B01b
  P. brucei P27
  P. cadmus L02
  P. c-album Linnaeus 1758 L58
  P. calliope Linnaeus 1758 L58
  P. cardamines Linnaeus 1758 L58
  P. cardui Linnaeus 1758 L58
  P. caricae Linnaeus 1758 L58
  P. cassiae Linnaeus 1758 L58
  P. castor L02
  P. caudius B66
  P. c-aureum Linnaeus 1758 L58
  P. ceneus Linnaeus 1758 L58
  P. cepheus Linnaeus 1758 L58
  P. ceres L02
  P. ceronus Esper 1793 B08
  P. charitonia L02
  P. cinxia Linnaeus 1758 L58
  P. clio Linnaeus 1758 L58
  P. clytia Linnaeus 1758 L58
  P. comma Linnaeus 1758 L58
  P. constantinus B01a
  P. corinneus B01a
  P. crataegi Linnaeus 1758 L58
  P. crisia L02
  P. cupido Linnaeus 1758 L58
  P. cyrene Linnaeus 1758 L58
  P. cytherea Linnaeus 1758 L58
  P. damone Linnaeus 1758 L58
  P. daplidice Linnaeus 1758 L58
  P. dardanus Ca96
  P. dasarada DS73
  P. deiphobus Linnaeus 1758 L58
  P. demetrius TYM08
    |--P. d. demetrius TYM08
    `--P. d. kariyai Nakamura 1934 TYM08
  P. demodocus B01c
  P. demoleus Linnaeus 1758 L58
    |--P. d. demoleus B12
    |--P. d. malayanus B00a
    `--P. d. sthenelus Macleay 1826 B12
  P. demolion Cramer 1776 BF08
  P. demophon Linnaeus 1758 L58
  P. dia L02
  P. diomedes Linnaeus 1758 L58
  P. diphilus [incl. P. polydorus] WM66
  P. dirce Linnaeus 1758 L58
  P. dissimilis Linnaeus 1758 L58
  P. echerioides B01b
  P. eleus Linnaeus 1758 L58
  P. encedon Linnaeus 1758 L58
  P. enceladus Linnaeus 1758 L58
  P. epidaus Doubleday 1846 FS54
  P. erato Linnaeus 1758 L58
  P. eribotes Linnaeus 1758 L58
  P. erithonius WM66
  P. euippe Linnaeus 1758 L58
  P. euphrosyne Linnaeus 1758 L58
  P. eurypylus Linnaeus 1758 L58
  P. euterpe Linnaeus 1758 L58
  P. feronia Linnaeus 1758 L58
  P. fuscus Goeze 1779 B00a
    |--P. f. fuscus B00a
    |--P. f. canopus Westwood 1842 B00a
    |--P. f. capaneus Westwood 1843 B00a
    `--P. f. indicatus Butler 1876 B00a
  P. galathea Linnaeus 1758 L58
  P. garleppi Staudinger 1892 S55
  P. glaucippe Linnaeus 1758 L58
  P. glaucus Linnaeus 1758 S-BF05 [=Pterourus glaucus P93]
  P. hecabe Linnaeus 1758 L58
  P. helena Linnaeus 1758 L58
  P. helenus Linnaeus 1758 L58
    |--P. h. helenus TYM08
    `--P. h. nicconicolens [incl. P. helenus nicconicolens ab. kiiensis Nakamura 1936] TYM08
  P. helie Linnaeus 1758 L58
  P. homerus HT01
  P. hospiton P93
  P. hyale Linnaeus 1758 L58
  P. hylas Linnaeus 1758 L58
  P. hyparete Linnaeus 1758 L58
  P. hyperantus Linnaeus 1758 L58
  P. hypsipyle L02
  P. idas Linnaeus 1758 L58
  P. idmon Linnaeus 1758 L58
  P. idomeneus Linnaeus 1758 L58
  P. indra P93
  P. io Linnaeus 17568 L58
  P. iphiclus Linnaeus 1758 L58
  P. iris Linnaeus 1758 L58
  P. ixilion Linnaeus 1758 L58
  P. janira Linnaeus 1758 L58
  P. jasius L02
  P. jason Linnaeus 1758 L58
  P. jatrophae L02
  P. joanae P93
  P. juno L02
  P. jurtina Linnaeus 1758 L58
  P. laglaizei DS73
  P. lampetia Linnaeus 1758 L58
  P. laomedia L02
  P. lathonia Linnaeus 1758 L58
  P. leda Linnaeus 1758 L58
  P. levana Linnaeus 1758 L58
  P. leilus Linnaeus 1758 L58
  P. lemonias Linnaeus 1758 L58
  P. leucothoe Linnaeus 1758 L58
  P. ligea Linnaeus 1758 L58
  P. lucina Linnaeus 1758 L58
  P. lysippus Linnaeus 1758 L58
  P. macleayanus P27
  P. maera Linnaeus 1758 L58
  P. malvae Linnaeus 1758 L58
  P. martyas Linnaeus 1758 L58
  P. maturna Linnaeus 1758 L58
  P. melpomene Linnaeus 1758 L58
  P. memnon Linnaeus 1758 L58
    |--P. m. memnon Ch96
    `--P. m. heronus Ch96
  P. menelaus Linnaeus 1758 L58
  P. merope B01a
  P. mineus Linnaeus 1758 L58
  P. mnemosyne Linnaeus 1758 L58
  P. mopsus Linnaeus 1758 L58
  P. napi Linnaeus 1758 L58
  P. nauplius Linnaeus 1758 L58
  P. neaerea Linnaeus 1758 L58
  P. neleus Linnaeus 1758 L58
  P. nestor Linnaeus 1758 L58
  P. niobe Linnaeus 1758 L58
  P. nireus Linnaeus 1758 L58
  P. nobilis B01c
  P. obrinus Linnaeus 1758 L58
  P. oenone Linnaeus 1758 L58
  P. orithya Linnaeus 1758 L58
  P. pammon Linnaeus 1758 L58
  P. pamphilus Linnaeus 1758 L58
  P. pandarus Linnaeus 1758 L58
  P. panope Linnaeus 1758 L58
  P. panthous Linnaeus 1758 L58
  P. paphia Linnaeus 1758 L58
  P. paris Linnaeus 1758 L58
  P. passisflorae L02
  P. patroclus Linnaeus 1758 L58
  P. perius Linnaeus 1758 L58
  P. petreus L02
  P. phaetusa Linnaeus 1758 L58
  P. phereclus Linnaeus 1758 L58
  P. phidias Linnaeus 1758 L58
  P. philocles Linnaeus 1758 L58
  P. philoctetes Linnaeus 1758 L58
  P. philolaus Boisduval 1836 FS54
  P. philonoe B01a
  P. philoxenus DS73
  P. photinus Doubleday 1844 FS54
  P. piera Linnaeus 1758 L58
  P. pinthous Linnaeus 1758 L58
  P. pipleis Linnaeus 1758 L58
  P. podalirius L02
  P. polychloros Linnaeus 1758 L58
  P. polycletus Linnaeus 1758 L58
  P. polydamas Linnaeus 1758 FS54
  P. polymnia Linnaeus 1758 L58
  P. polytes Linnaeus 1758 L58
  P. polyxenes FS54
    |--P. p. polyxenes FS54
    `--P. p. stabilis Rothschild & Jordan 1906 FS54
  P. populi Linnaeus 1758 L58
  P. priassus Linnaeus 1758 L58
  P. prorsa Linnaeus 1758 L58
  P. protesilaus Linnaeus 1758 L58
  P. proteus Linnaeus 1758 L58
  P. pruni Linnaeus 1758 L58
  P. psidii Linnaeus 1758 L58
  P. pyranthe Linnaeus 1758 L58
  P. pyrrhus Linnaeus 1758 L58
  P. quercus Linnaeus 1758 L58
  P. rapae Linnaeus 1758 L58
  P. rhamni Linnaeus 1758 L58
  P. rhetenor DS73
  P. ricini Linnaeus 1758 L58
  P. rubi Linnaeus 1758 L58
  P. rumina Linnaeus 1758 L58
  P. saharae P93
  P. sarpedon Linnaeus 1758 L58
  P. schmeltzi PP02
  P. semele Linnaeus 1758 L58
  P. sennae Linnaeus 1758 L58
  P. sinapis Linnaeus 1758 L58
  P. sophorae Linnaeus 1758 L58
  P. stelenes Linnaeus 1758 L58
  P. tages Linnaeus 1758 L58
  P. telamon Linnaeus 1758 L58
  P. telemachus Linnaeus 1758 L58
  P. terpsicore Linnaeus 1758 L58
  P. teucer Linnaeus 1758 L58
  P. thalia Linnaeus 1758 L58
  P. thamyras Linnaeus 1758 L58
  P. thoas [incl. P. thoas var. cinyras Ménétriés 1857] S55
    |--P. t. thoas FS54
    |--P. t. autocles Rothschild & Jordan 1906 FS54
    `--P. t. nealces Rothschild & Jordan 1906 FS54
  P. timantes Linnaeus 1758 L58
  P. tiphus Linnaeus 1758 L58
  P. torquatus B66
  P. trite Linnaeus 1758 L58
  P. troilus Linnaeus 1758 L58
  P. ulysses Linnaeus 1758 L58
    |--P. u. ulysses B00a
    `--P. u. joesa Butler 1869 B00a
  P. urania Linnaeus 1758 L58
  P. urticae Linnaeus 1758 L58
  P. vanillae Linnaeus 1758 L58
  P. venilia Linnaeus 1758 L58
  P. violae L02
  P. virgaureae Linnaeus 1758 L58
  P. xanthus Linnaeus 1758 L58
  P. xuthus P01
  P. zelicaon P93
  P. zetes Linnaeus 1758 L58

*Type species of generic name indicated

REFERENCES

[B08] Bálint, Z. 2008. Lepidoptera collections of historical importance in the Hungarian Natural History Museum. Annales Historico-Naturales Musei Nationalis Hungarici 100: 17–35.

[BF08] Bálint, Z., & C. Faynel. 2008. Review of the genus Brangas Hübner, 1819 (Lepidoptera: Lycaenidae) with description of a new genus. Annales Historico-Naturales Musei Nationalis Hungarici 100: 271–306.

[B00a] Braby, M. F. 2000a. Butterflies of Australia: their identification, biology and distribution vol. 1. CSIRO Publishing: Collingwood (Victoria).

[B00b] Braby, M. F. 2000b. Butterflies of Australia: their identification, biology and distribution vol. 2. CSIRO Publishing: Collingwood (Victoria).

[B12] Braby, M. F. 2012. The butterflies of El Questro Wilderness Park, with remarks on the taxonomy of the Kimberley fauna, Australia. Records of the Western Australian Museum 27 (2): 161–175.

[B66] Butler, A. G. 1866. Corrections and addenda to certain papers on Lepidoptera published during the years 1865–66; with additional notes on some of the species described. Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London 1866: 451–458.

[B01a] Butler, A. G. 1901a. An account of a collection of butterflies made by the Rev. K. St. Aubyn Rogers between Mombasa and the forests of Taveta. Annals and Magazine of Natural History, series 7, 7: 22–35.

[B01b] Butler, A. G. 1901b. An account of a collection of butterflies obtained by Lord Delamere, chiefly at Munisu, near Mount Kenya. Annals and Magazine of Natural History, series 7, 7: 197–203.

[B01c] Butler, A. G. 1901c. On a collection of butterflies from the Uganda Protectorate, forwarded by C. Steuart Betton, Esq., in 1900. Annals and Magazine of Natural History, series 7, 7: 562.

[Ca96] Campbell, N. A. 1996. Biology 4^th ed. The Benjamin/Cummings Publishing Company, Inc.: Menlo Park (California).

[Ch96] Chow, Y. S. 1996. Biology and life stages of Charletonia taiwanensis Tsai and Chow (Erythraeidae) in Taiwan. In: Mitchell, R., D. J. Horn, G. R. Needham & W. C. Welbourn (eds) Acarology IX vol. 1. Proceedings pp. 359–361. Ohio Biological Survey: Columbus (Ohio).

[DS73] Dickens, M., & E. Storey. 1973. The World of Moths. Macmillan Publishing Co., Inc.: New York.

[FS54] Franz, E., & H. Schröder. 1954. Tagfalter (Lep. Rhopalocera) aus El Salvador. Senckenbergiana Biologica 35: 75–87.

[G20] Goldfuss, G. A. 1820. Handbuch der Naturgeschichte vol. 3. Handbuch der Zoologie pt 1. Johann Leonhard Schrag: Nürnberg.

[HT01] Hedges, S. B., & R. Thomas. 2001. At the lower size limit in amniote vertebrates: a new diminutive lizard from the West Indies. Caribbean Journal of Science 37 (3–4): 168–173.

[L02] Latreille, P. A. 1802. Histoire Naturelle, générale et particulière des crustacés et des insectes vol. 3. Familles naturelles des genres. F. Dufart: Paris.

[L58] Linnaeus, C. 1758. Systema Naturae per Regna Tria Naturae, secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, differentiis, synonymis, locis. Tomus I. Editio decima, reformata. Laurentii Salvii: Holmiae.

[PP02] Patrick, B., & H. Patrick. 2002. Butterflies of Fiji. Weta 24: 5–12.

[P01] Pável, J. 1901. Lepkék [Lepidopteren]. In: Horváth, G. (ed.) Zichy Jenő Gróf Harmadik Ázsiai Utazása [Dritte Asiatische Forschungsreise des Grafen Eugen Zichy] vol. 2. Zichy Jenő Gróf Harmadik Ázsiai Utazásának Állattani Eredményei [Zoologische Ergebnisse der Dritten Asiatischen Forschungsreise des Grafen Eugen Zichy] pp. 171–177. Victor Hornyánszky: Budapest, and Karl W. Hierseman: Leipzig.

[P27] Philpott, A. 1927. The maxillae in the Lepidoptera. Transactions and Proceedings of the New Zealand Institute 57: 721–746.

[P93] Pittaway, A. R. 1993. The Hawkmoths of the Western Palaearctic. Harley Books: Colchester.

[S55] Schröder, H. 1955. Eine Falter-Ausbeute aus dem westlichen Bolivien. (Ins. Lepid. Rhopal.) Senckenbergiana Biologica 36: 329–338.

[S-BF05] Silva-Brandão, K. L., A. V. L. Freitas, A. V. Z. Brower & V. N. Solferini. 2005. Phylogenetic relationships of the New World Troidini swallowtails (Lepidoptera: Papilionidae) based on COI, COII, and EF-1α genes. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 36: 468–483.

[TYM08] Tennent, W. J., M. Yasuda & K. Morimoto. 2008. Lansania Journal of arachnology and zoology—a rare and obscure Japanese natural history journal. Archives of Natural History 35 (2): 252–280.

[USDI77] United States Department of the Interior. 1977. Endangered and threatened wildlife and plants—republication of list of species. Federal Register 42: 36420–36431.

[WM66] Wallace, A. R., & F. Moore. 1866. List of lepidopterous insects collected at Takow, Formosa, by Mr. R. Swinhoe. Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London 1866: 355–365.

Last updated: 1 March 2021.