''Graphium morania'', the white lady or small white-lady swordtail, is a species of

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 ...

in 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 ...

(swallowtails). It is found in

southern Africa Southern Africa is the southernmost subregion of the African continent, south of the Congo and Tanzania. The physical location is the large part of Africa to the south of the extensive Congo River basin. Southern Africa is home to a number ...

(

KwaZulu-Natal KwaZulu-Natal (, also referred to as KZN and known as "the garden province") is a province of South Africa that was created in 1994 when the Zulu bantustan of KwaZulu ("Place of the Zulu" in Zulu) and Natal Province were merged. It is loca ...

, Zululand,

Eswatini Eswatini ( ; ss, eSwatini ), officially the Kingdom of Eswatini and formerly named Swaziland ( ; officially renamed in 2018), is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. It is bordered by Mozambique to its northeast and South Africa to its ...

, Transvaal, S.

Mozambique Mozambique (), officially the Republic of Mozambique ( pt, Moçambique or , ; ny, Mozambiki; sw, Msumbiji; ts, Muzambhiki), is a country located in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Mala ...

, SE.

Zimbabwe Zimbabwe (), officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country located in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the south-west, Zambia to the north, and Mozam ...

, E.

Botswana Botswana (, ), officially the Republic of Botswana ( tn, Lefatshe la Botswana, label= Setswana, ), is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. Botswana is topographically flat, with approximately 70 percent of its territory being the Kal ...

).''Graphium morania''
funet.fi

Description

The

wingspan The wingspan (or just span) of a bird or an airplane is the distance from one wingtip to the other wingtip. For example, the Boeing 777–200 has a wingspan of , and a wandering albatross (''Diomedea exulans'') caught in 1965 had a wingspan ...

is 50–55 mm in males and 55–60 mm in females. Hindwing beneath without red spots in the marginal band; both wings above with white spots in the marginal band; abdomen without continuous yellow lateral stripe, at most with three yellow lateral spots on segments 2—4, on the other hand with triangular black lateral spots. Apex of the cell of the forewing either filled by a single white spot or with two spots, which however are only narrowly or incompletely separated.The discal spot in cellule 2 of the forewing is large and completely fills up the base of the cellule; the white subdiscal spots of cellules 2—5 of the hindwing above are placed nearer to the inner margin than to the outer margin of the black marginal band; the markings yellowish or greenish white. Ovambo Land to Delagoa Bay.Aurivillius, .O.. 1908-1924. In: Seitz, A. ''Die Großschmetterlinge der Erde'' Band 13: Abt. 2, ''Die exotischen Großschmetterlinge, Die afrikanischen Tagfalter'', 1925, 613 Seiten, 80 Tafeln (The Macrolepidoptera of the World 13).Alfred Kernen Verlag, Stuttgart.

Biology

Its fight period is year-round, peaking in November and February. The

larva A larva (; plural larvae ) is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into adults. Animals with indirect development such as insects, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase of their life cycle. Th ...

e feed on ''

Uvaria caffra ''Uvaria'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Annonaceae. The generic name ''uvaria'' is derived from the Latin ''uva'' meaning grape, likely because the edible fruit of some species in the genus resemble grapes. Circumscription Specie ...

'', ''

Artabotrys ''Artabotrys'' is a genus of plants in the Annonaceae family. There are over 100 species in the Old World tropics, with 31 species in Africa. It is part of the custard apple family (Annonaceae). All species are small trees or shrubs with a tenden ...

'' species, '' Hexalobus monopetalus'', ''

Artabotrys brachypetalus ''Artabotrys'' is a genus of plants in the Annonaceae family. There are over 100 species in the Old World tropics, with 31 species in Africa. It is part of the custard apple family ( Annonaceae). All species are small trees or shrubs with a tend ...

'', ''

Artabotrys monteiroae ''Artabotrys'' is a genus of plants in the Annonaceae family. There are over 100 species in the Old World tropics, with 31 species in Africa. It is part of the custard apple family (Annonaceae). All species are small trees or shrubs with a tenden ...

'', and ''

Annona senegalensis ''Annona senegalensis'', commonly known as African custard-apple, wild custard apple, wild soursop, ( Mandinka language), and ( Wolof language) is a species of flowering plant in the custard apple family, Annonaceae. The specific epithet, ''s ...

''.

Taxonomy

''Graphium morania'' belongs to a clade with six members. All have similar genitalia The clade members are: *''

Graphium angolanus ''Graphium angolanus'', the Angola white lady, is a species of butterfly in the family Papilionidae (swallowtails). It is found in Sub-Saharan Africa.Graphium endochus ''Graphium endochus'' is a butterfly in the family Papilionidae. It is found in northern and eastern Madagascar and Mozambique. The habitat consists of forests. Description Diagnostic- Hindwing beneath with 4—5 free red subdiscal spots in 1 c� ...

'' (Boisduval, 1836) *''Graphium morania'' (Angas, 1849) *'' Graphium taboranus'' (Oberthür, 1886) *'' Graphium schaffgotschi'' (Niepelt, 1927) *''

Graphium ridleyanus __NOTOC__ ''Graphium ridleyanus'', the acraea swordtail, is a butterfly in the family Papilionidae (swallowtails). It is found in eastern Nigeria, Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, Sao Tome and Principe, Gabon, the Republic of the Congo, Angola, the C ...

'' (White, 1843)

References

morania ''Morania'' is a genus of cyanobacterium preserved as carbonaceous films in the Middle Cambrian Burgess Shale. it is present throughout the shale; 2580 specimens of ''Morania'' are known from the Greater Phyllopod bed, where they comprise 4.90% ...

Butterflies of Africa Butterflies described in 1849 {{papilionidae-stub