''Papilio nobicea'', the Volta 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 ...

in 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 found in

Ghana Ghana, officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It is situated along the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, and shares borders with Côte d’Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, and Togo to t ...

and

Togo Togo, officially the Togolese Republic, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Ghana to Ghana–Togo border, the west, Benin to Benin–Togo border, the east and Burkina Faso to Burkina Faso–Togo border, the north. It is one of the le ...

. The habitat consists of forests in mountainous terrain.

Taxonomy

It is a member of the ''zenobia''

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 ...

. In the ''zenobia'' group the basic upperside wing pattern is black with white or yellowish bands and spots. The underside is brown and basally there is a red area marked with black stripes and spots. In the discal area there is a yellowish band with black stripes and veins. Females resemble butterflies of the genus ''

Amauris ''Amauris'' is a genus of nymphalid butterflies in the Danainae subfamily. ''Amauris niavius niavius'', ''Amauris echeria jacksoni'', and ''Amauris dominicanus'' are mimicked by '' Papilio dardanus'' females. Other mimics of ''Amauris'' are foun ...

''. Both sexes lack tails. The

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 ...

members are: *''

Papilio cyproeofila ''Papilio cyproeofila'', the common white-banded swallowtail, is a species of swallowtail butterfly from the genus ''Papilio'' that is found in Guinea, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Togo and Nigeria. The larvae feed on ''Piper (plan ...

'' Butler, 1868 *''

Papilio fernandus ''Papilio fernandus'' is a species of swallowtail butterfly from the genus ''Papilio'' that is found in Equatorial Guinea. Taxonomy It is a member of the ''zenobia'' species group. In the ''zenobia'' group the basic upperside wing pattern is bla ...

'' Fruhstorfer, 1903 *'' Papilio filaprae'' Suffert, 1904 *'' Papilio gallienus'' Distant, 1879 *'' Papilio mechowi'' Dewitz, 1881 *''

Papilio mechowianus ''Papilio mechowianus'' is a species of swallowtail butterfly from the genus ''Papilio'' that is found in Angola and the Republic of the Congo. Taxonomy It is a member of the ''zenobia'' species group. In the ''zenobia'' group the basic uppersid ...

'' Dewitz, 1885 *''Papilio nobicea'' Suffert, 1904 *''

Papilio zenobia ''Papilio zenobia'', the Zenobia swallowtail or Volta swallowtail, is a species of swallowtail butterfly from the genus ''Papilio'' that is found in Guinea, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Nigeria, Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, the Repu ...

'' Fabricius, 1775

Description

''Papilio nobicea'' is very similar to ''

'' but has pure white discal bands with no cream tinge. (Larsen, 2005). In th
Global Butterfly Information System
''nobicea'' Suffert, 1904 is treated as a junior synonym of ''Papilio'' (''Druryia'') ''zenobia'' Fabricius, 1775.

References

nobicea Butterflies described in 1904 Butterflies of Africa Taxa named by Ernst Suffert {{Papilionidae-stub

Taxonomy

Description

See also

References