''Papilio forbesi'' 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 ...

. It is endemic to

Sumatra Sumatra () is one of the Sunda Islands of western Indonesia. It is the largest island that is fully within Indonesian territory, as well as the list of islands by area, sixth-largest island in the world at 482,286.55 km2 (182,812 mi. ...

Description

''P. Forbesi'', Henley Grose Smith, ''Entomologist's Monthly Magazine'', xix., p. 234 (March, 1883);

Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine founded by B. C. Forbes in 1917. It has been owned by the Hong Kong–based investment group Integrated Whale Media Investments since 2014. Its chairman and editor-in-chief is Steve Forbes. The co ...

, " Naturalist's Wanderings," p. 275 (1885). Upperside. Dark brown, almost black, the margins between the nervures with lunular white spots; very narrow on the anterior wing; much broader on the posterior wing, which is without tails. Anterior wings with longitudinal rays on each side of the nervures, of light brown, extending from the middle to the exterior margin. Posterior wing with a row of three brownish-grey lunular spots between the median nervules, and a spot at the anal angle, above which is a row of three small faintly marked spots of same colour. Underside. Anterior wings rayed as above, but paler. Posterior wing with a longitudinal red spot at the base, divided by the precostal nervure, which is black, and a small red spot below the costal nervure; a broad band of ochreous yellow with a row of black spots in the middle, extending across the wing between the median nervules, and a small spot of ochreous-yellow beyond; a black spot at the top of the band next the anal angle; three blue spots near the exterior margin from the costal nervure to the median nervule. " Exp. 4 inches. Hal). Bandang Agang, Sumatra (Forbes). In the Collection of Henley Grose Smith. "This species belongs to the Memnon group, in which, however, there is nothing which resembles it." (H. G. S. in ''Entomologist's Monthly Magazine'', l.c.). Described from two male specimens, almost identical in colour and markings. It is, perhaps, most nearly allied to ''Papilio Lampsacus'', Boisd. The red spot at the base of the hind wings is not completely divided by the curved black stripe which runs up along the precostal nervure.Henley Grose-Smith and William Forsell Kirby, 1887-1902 ''Rhopalocera Exotica; Being Illustrations of New, Rare, and Unfigured Species of Butterflies''. London: Gurney & Jackson. The

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

is 90–100 mm.

Biogeographic realm

Indomalayan realm The Indomalayan realm is one of the eight biogeographic realms. It extends across most of South and Southeast Asia and into the southern parts of East Asia. Also called the Oriental realm by biogeographers, Indomalaya spreads all over the Ind ...

(

Sundaland Sundaland (also called Sundaica or the Sundaic region) is a biogeographical region of Southeast Asia corresponding to a larger landmass that was exposed throughout the last 2.6 million years during periods when sea levels were lower. It inc ...

)

References

External links

*
Butterflycorner.net
forbesi Butterflies described in 1883 Butterflies of Indonesia Taxa named by Henley Grose-Smith Lepidoptera of Sumatra {{Papilionidae-stub