''Papilio hornimani'', the Hornimans green-banded swallowtail or Horniman's swallowtail, is a

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

swallowtail butterfly 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 larg ...

from the

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

Papilio ''Papilio'' is a genus in the swallowtail butterfly family, Papilionidae, as well as the only representative of the tribe Papilionini. The word ''papilio'' is Latin for butterfly. It includes the common yellow swallowtail ('' Papilio machaon'') ...

'' that is found in the highland forests of

Kenya Kenya, officially the Republic of Kenya, is a country located in East Africa. With an estimated population of more than 52.4 million as of mid-2024, Kenya is the 27th-most-populous country in the world and the 7th most populous in Africa. ...

and

Tanzania Tanzania, officially the United Republic of Tanzania, is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It is bordered by Uganda to the northwest; Kenya to the northeast; the Indian Ocean to the east; Mozambique and Malawi to t ...

. The larvae feed on '' Vepris'' and possibly ''

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

'' species.

Subspecies

*''Papilio hornimani hornimani'' (Kenya, Tanzania) *''Papilio hornimani mwanihanae'' Kielland, 1987 (Tanzania) *''Papilio hornimani mbulu'' Kielland, 1990 (Tanzania)

Description

The ground colour is black. The markings are metallic blue. The blue band does not reach the hind wing margin in area 1b.Seitz-Only differs from '' Papilio charopus'' in that the median band of the upper surface is only a little widened posteriorly, so that the spots of cellules 2 and 8 of the hindwing cover but a third or a quarter of the cellules and are scarcely twice as long as broad; the submarginal spots of the hindwing beneath in the male yellow, very prominent, in the female as in ''charopus''. — German East Africa. 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.

Taxonomy

''Papilio hornimani'' belongs to a

clade In biology, a clade (), also known as a Monophyly, monophyletic group or natural group, is a group of organisms that is composed of a common ancestor and all of its descendants. Clades are the fundamental unit of cladistics, a modern approach t ...

called the ''nireus''

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 ...

with 15 members. The pattern is black with green bands and spots and the butterflies, although called swallowtails, lack tails with the exception of this species and ''Papilio charopus''. The clade members are: *'' Papilio aristophontes'' Oberthür, 1897 *'' Papilio nireus'' Linnaeus, 1758 *'' Papilio charopus'' Westwood, 1843 *'' Papilio chitondensis'' de Sousa & Fernandes, 1966 *'' Papilio chrapkowskii'' Suffert, 1904 *''

Papilio chrapkowskoides ''Papilio chrapkowskoides'', the broadly green-banded swallowtail, is a species of swallowtail butterfly from the genus ''Papilio'' that is found in the Republic of the Congo, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Tanzania, Guinea, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Ivo ...

'' Storace, 1952 *'' Papilio desmondi'' van Someren, 1939 *''Papilio hornimani'' Distant, 1879 *'' Papilio interjectana'' Vane-Wright, 1995 *'' Papilio manlius'' Fabricius, 1798 *'' Papilio microps'' Storace, 1951 *'' Papilio sosia'' Rothschild & Jordan, 1903 *'' Papilio thuraui'' Karsch, 1900 *'' Papilio ufipa'' Carcasson, 1961 *'' Papilio wilsoni'' Rothschild, 1926

Etymology

They are named for

Frederick John Horniman Frederick John Horniman (8 October 1835 – 5 March 1906) was an English tea trader and founder of the Horniman Museum in London. He was brought up and lived in Croydon's Park Hill area. Life Frederick, born in Bridgwater, Somerset, was born ...

References

*Carcasson, R.H. (1960). "The Swallowtail Butterflies of East Africa (Lepidoptera, Papilionidae)". ''Journal of the East Africa Natural History Society'
pdf
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) * hornimani Butterflies described in 1879 Butterflies of Africa Taxa named by William Lucas Distant {{Papilionidae-stub