''Papilio echerioides'', the white-banded swallowtail, is a

butterfly Butterflies are insects in the macrolepidopteran clade Rhopalocera from the order Lepidoptera, which also includes moths. Adult butterflies have large, often brightly coloured wings, and conspicuous, fluttering flight. The group comprises ...

of the family

Papilionidae Swallowtail butterflies are large, colorful butterflies in the family Papilionidae, and include over 550 species. Though the majority are tropical, members of the family inhabit every continent except Antarctica. The family includes the larges ...

. It is found in Sub-Saharan Africa. The

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is 65–75 mm. It has two flight periods, first from January to March and second from September to November. The larvae feed on ''

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'', ''

Toddalia lanceolata ''Zanthoxylum asiaticum'' is a species of plant in the family Rutaceae. Under its synonym ''Toddalia asiatica'', it was the only species in the monotypic genus ''Toddalia'', now included in '' Zanthoxylum''. It is known by the English name orange ...

'', '' Toddalia asiatica'', '' Zanthoxylum capense'', '' Zanthoxylum delagoense'', '' Vepris lanceolata'' and

Citrus ''Citrus'' is a genus of flowering trees and shrubs in the rue family, Rutaceae. Plants in the genus produce citrus fruits, including important crops such as oranges, lemons, grapefruits, pomelos, and limes. The genus ''Citrus'' is nati ...

species.

Description

The male is very similar to '' Papilio cynorta'', but the median band, which is very pale yellow, tapers more strongly towards the apex. The pale spot in area (cell) 6 of the forewing is always present (usually absent in ''P. cynorta''). The female is a mimic of the butterflies '' Amauris echeria'' and '' Amauris albimaculata''. The forewing is black with white spots, the hindwing black with a large pale ochreous discal area and white submarginal spots.

Taxonomy

''Papilio echerioides'' is a member of the ''echerioides''

species group In biology, a species complex is a group of closely related organisms that are so similar in appearance and other features that the boundaries between them are often unclear. The taxa in the complex may be able to hybridize readily with each oth ...

. This clade includes: *''Papilio echerioides'' Trimen, 1868 *'' Papilio fuelleborni'' Karsch, 1900 *'' Papilio jacksoni'' Sharpe, 1891 *'' Papilio sjoestedti'' Aurivillius, 1908

Subspecies

Listed alphabetically: *''P. e. ambangulu'' Clifton & Collins, 1997 (Tanzania) *''P. e. chirindanus'' van Son, 1956 (Mozambique (

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), eastern Zimbabwe) *''P. e. echerioides'' Trimen, 1868 Trimen, R. 1868. On some undescribed species of South African butterflies, including a new genus of Lycaenidae. ''Transactions of the Entomological Society of London'' 1868: 69-96. (South Africa, Eswatini) *''P. e. homeyeri'' Plötz, 1880 (Angola, Democratic Republic of the Congo, south-western Tanzania, northern Zambia) *''P. e. joiceyi'' Gabriel, 1945 – Zoroaster swallowtail – (Sudan, Uganda, western Kenya, western Tanzania, Rwanda, Democratic Republic of the Congo) *''P. e. kiellandi'' Clifton & Collins, 1997 (southern Kenya, northern Tanzania) *''P. e. leucospilus'' Rothschild, 1902 .(Ethiopia: highlands south-east of Rift Valley) *''P. e. nioka'' (Berger, 1974) (Democratic Republic of the Congo) *''P. e. nyiro'' Carcasson, 1962 (Kenya) *''P. e. oscari'' Rothschild, 1902 (Ethiopia: highlands west of the Rift Valley) *''P. e. pseudowertheri'' Kielland, 1990 (eastern and south-eastern Tanzania) *''P. e. shirensis'' (Hancock, 1987) (Malawi) *''P. e. wertheri'' Karsch, 1898 (eastern Kenya, eastern and northern Tanzania) *''P. e. zoroastres'' Druce, 1878 Druce, H. 1878a. Descriptions of two new species of butterflies from West Africa.''Entomologist’s Monthly Magazine'' 14: 226
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References

* Carcasson, R.H., 1960, "The Swallowtail Butterflies of East Africa (Lepidoptera, Papilionidae)". ''Journal of the East Africa Natural History Society'
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Key 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) {{Taxonbar, from=Q7132884 Butterflies described in 1868 echerioides Butterflies of Africa Taxa named by Roland Trimen