''Eurytides dolicaon'', the dolicaon kite swallowtail, is a

butterfly Butterflies are winged insects from the lepidopteran superfamily Papilionoidea, characterized by large, often brightly coloured wings that often fold together when at rest, and a conspicuous, fluttering flight. The oldest butterfly fossi ...

of the family

Papilionidae Swallowtail butterflies are large, colorful Butterfly, 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 includ ...

Description

''Eurytides dolicaon'' is a large butterfly with a wingspan of about . The basic colour of the wings is creamy white with black veins. The hindwings have very long and thin tails, generally dark brown or black with yellow tips. The edges of the uppersides of the wings are dark brown or black. The undersides of the hindwings have brown bands forming large creamy white areas. On the margins of the hindwings there are a series of blue lunules. Larvae feed on ''

Guatteria ''Guatteria'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Annonaceae. It is the largest genus in the family in South America, and the dominant genus in mature forest. The fruits are berries, borne in clusters on short stalks. Species include:

'' species, ''

Ocotea ''Ocotea'' is a genus of flowering plants belonging to the family Lauraceae. Many are evergreen trees with lauroid leaves. There are over 520 species currently accepted within the genus, distributed mostly in tropical and subtropical areas of ...

'' species and '' Nectandra membranacea''.

Distribution

''Eurytides dolicaon'' can be found in Central and

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a considerably smaller portion in the Northern Hemisphere. It can also be described as the southern Subregion#Americas, subregion o ...

(

Guyana Guyana, officially the Co-operative Republic of Guyana, is a country on the northern coast of South America, part of the historic British West Indies. entry "Guyana" Georgetown, Guyana, Georgetown is the capital of Guyana and is also the co ...

, south-eastern

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

Paraguay Paraguay, officially the Republic of Paraguay, is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the Argentina–Paraguay border, south and southwest, Brazil to the Brazil–Paraguay border, east and northeast, and Boli ...

Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...

, eastern

Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...

, eastern

Ecuador Ecuador, officially the Republic of Ecuador, is a country in northwestern South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and the Pacific Ocean on the west. It also includes the Galápagos Province which contain ...

, and north-western

Venezuela Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It com ...

Habitat

This species is present in lowlands with wet

rainforest Rainforests are forests characterized by a closed and continuous tree Canopy (biology), canopy, moisture-dependent vegetation, the presence of epiphytes and lianas and the absence of wildfire. Rainforests can be generally classified as tropi ...

at an elevation of about above sea level.

Subspecies

* ''Eurytides dolicaon dolicaon'' (

) * ''Eurytides dolicaon deicoon'' (C. Felder & R. Felder, 1864) (south-eastern

) * ''Eurytides dolicaon deileon'' (C. Felder & R. Felder, 1865) (eastern

, eastern

) * ''Eurytides dolicaon tromes'' (Rothschild & Jordan, 1906) (north-western

) * ''Eurytides dolicaon septentrionalis'' Brown, 1994 (

Panama Panama, officially the Republic of Panama, is a country in Latin America at the southern end of Central America, bordering South America. It is bordered by Costa Rica to the west, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north, and ...

) * ''Eurytides dolicaon hebreus'' Brown & Lamas, 1994 (

) * ''Eurytides dolicaon cauraensis'' Möhn, 2002 (south-eastern

)

References

*
"''Eurytides dolicaon'' Cramer, 1775"
''Insecta.pro''. Retrieved February 5, 2020. * * *Lewis, H. L., 1974 ''Butterflies of the World'' Page 23, figure 13. *Edwin Möhn, 2002 ''Schmetterlinge der Erde, Butterflies of the world'' Part XIIII (14), Papilionidae VIII: Baronia, Euryades, Protographium, Neographium, Eurytides. Edited by Erich Bauer and Thomas Frankenbach Keltern: Goecke & Evers; Canterbury: Hillside Books. All species and subspecies are included, also most of the forms. Several females are shown the first time in colour. Eurytides Papilionidae of South America Butterflies described in 1776 Taxa named by Pieter Cramer Butterflies of Central America Lepidoptera of Guyana Lepidoptera of Brazil Lepidoptera of Colombia Lepidoptera of Ecuador Lepidoptera of Venezuela Lepidoptera of Peru Lepidoptera of Panama {{papilionidae-stub