Papilio Demoleus - Taxonomy

Taxonomy

Five related butterflies form the group of lime butterflies in the genus Papilio of which Papilio demoleus Linnaeus, 1758 is the flagship species which gives the name to the group. The other morphologically related butterflies are:

• Papilio demodocus (Esper, 1798)
• Papilio erithonioides Grose-Smith, 1891.
• Papilio grosesmithi Rothschild, 1926.
• Papilio morondavana Grose-Smith, 1891.

The Citrus Swallowtail (Papilio demodocus Esper), flies in sub-Saharan Africa where the Common Lime Butterfly is not found while the other three species are endemic to Madagascar.

• Common Lime Butterfly,
  Papilio demoleus
• Citrus Swallowtail,
  Papilio demodocus
• Madagascan Emperor Swallowtail,
  Papilio morondavana

Research into the biogeography, phylogeny, and analysis of vicariance relationships dating back to the Cretaceous, of the "lime butterfly" or "demoleus" group, suggest that the group of lime swallowtails diversified in Malagasy in the middle Miocene.

Six subspecies are recognised in Papilio demoleus:

• P. d. demoleus Linnaeus, 1758 - Across Asia from China to the Arabian peninsula.
• P. d. libanius Fruhstorfer, 1908 - Taiwan, Philippines, Sula, Talaud.
• P. d. malayanus Wallace, 1865 - Sumatra and the Malaysian peninsula.
• P. d. novoguineensis Rothschild, 1908 - Papua New Guinea.
• P. d. sthenelus Macleay, 1826 - Australia.
• P. d. stenelinus Rothschild, 1895 - Sumba, Flores and Alor.