| Homerus Swallowtail Butterfly | |
|---|---|
| Conservation status | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Lepidoptera |
| Family: | Papilionidae |
| Genus: | Papilio |
| Species: | P. homerus |
| Binomial name | |
| Papilio homerus Fabricius, 1793 |
|
The Homerus swallowtail or Jamaican giant swallowtail, Papilio homerus, is the largest swallowtail butterfly in the Western Hemisphere and the largest species in the genus Papilio[2] with an average wingspan of about 15 centimetres (5.9 in)[3] (the African giant swallowtail has a larger wingspan, but this is mainly due to its elongated forewings). The Homerus swallowtail belongs to the swallowtail family (tribus: Papilionini) and is often placed in the subgenus Pterourus, considered a full genus by some authors.
It is found only in forests in Jamaica and is under significant pressure from habitat loss and potentially also from collecting.[4] It has also been shown that death rates due to parasitic wasps of the genus Chrysonotomyia are higher in disturbed habitats.[5] The Homerus swallowtail was relatively common in the 1930s[6] and its range used to be contiguous,[5] but it has now retracted to a main population in the Blue and John Crow Mountains in eastern Jamaica, and a tiny population, estimated at less than 50 adults, in Cockpit Country in the west of the island.[2] It is listed as endangered by the IUCN[1] and is included on Appendix I of CITES,[7] thereby making international trade illegal. In addition to better protection of the remaining populations and their habitat, it has been suggested that a captive breeding program may help save the species.[2] The caterpillars feed exclusively on Hernandia jamaicensis and H. catalpifolia; both of which also are endemic to Jamaica.[5]