Papilio desmondi
# Papilio desmondi

Papilio desmondi, the Desmond's green-banded swallowtail, is a butterfly of the family Papilionidae. It is found in Africa.

The larvae feed on Vepris eugeniifolia, other Vepris species, Clausena, Zanthoxylum, Calodendrum, and Citrus species.

## Subspecies

* Papilio desmondi desmondi (Chyulu Hills of south-eastern Kenya)
* Papilio desmondi magdae Gifford, 1961 . (northern Tanzania)
* Papilio desmondi teita van Someren, 1960 (south-eastern Kenya)
* Papilio desmondi usambaraensis (Koçak, 1980) (Tanzania, northern Malawi, north-eastern Zambia)

## Description

The blue median band of the upper surface is somewhat narrower than in Papilio desmondi and the spot in the cell of the forewing reaches basad at most to vein 3.Forewing beneath with large yellowish submarginal spots in cellules 1 b—4. German and British East Africa. There are sharp nervular indentations at the margin of the blue band in the fore wing.

## Taxonomy

Papilio desmondi belongs to a clade called the nireus species group with 15 members. The pattern is black with green or blue bands and spots and the butterflies, although called swallowtails lack tails with the exception of Papilio charopus and Papilio hornimani. 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 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
