Papilio thoas
| Thoas Swallowtail | |
|---|---|
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| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Lepidoptera |
| Family: | Papilionidae |
| Genus: | Papilio |
| Species: | P. thoas |
| Binomial name | |
| Papilio thoas Linnaeus, 1771 | |
| Synonyms | |
|
Heraclides thoas | |
The King Swallowtail or Thoas Swallowtail (Papilio thoas) is a butterfly of the family Papilionidae. It is found in the southernmost United States, Mexico, Central America and South America (as far south as Argentina and Uruguay). The species is easily confused with the Giant Swallowtail, which it closely resembles in both larval and adult stages. Thoas caterpillars, however, feed on plants of the black pepper family, Piperaceae, while giant swallowtail larvae eat the leaves of citrus plants Rutaceae.
Adult Thoas swallowtails fly year round in the tropics, feeding on nectar of a variety of flowers, including Lantana, Stachytarpheta, and Bougainvillea among other species. The wingspan is 100–130 mm.
Subspecies
Listed alphabetically.[1]
- P. t. autocles Rothschild & Jordan, 1906
- P. t. brasiliensis Rothschild & Jordan, 1906
- P. t. cinyras Ménétriés, 1857
- P. t. nealces Rothschild & Jordan, 1906
- P. t. oviedo Gundlach, 1866
- P. t. thoantiades Burmeister, 1878
- P. t. thoas Linnaeus, 1771
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Papilio thoas thoas - Muséum de Toulouse
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Papilio thoas thoas, underside
References
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Papilio thoas. |
| External identifiers for Papilio thoas | |
|---|---|
| Encyclopedia of Life | 131320 |
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Wikispecies has information related to: Papilio thoas |
- Thoas Swallowtail, Butterflies and moths of North America