Papilio torquatus Cramer (1777)

Papilio torquatus, the torquatus swallowtail, is a swallowtail butterfly in the subfamily Papilioninae. It is found from northern Argentina to Mexico.

The wingspan is 75–80 millimetres (3.0–3.1 in). Adults strongly resemble Papilio garleppi.

The larvae feed on the leaves of Citrus species. Full-grown larvae are mottled in dull tones of brown, greenish-yellow and whitish. It resembles a bird dropping.

Subspecies

• P. t. torquatus (Venezuela, Guianas to Brazil (Amazonas), Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia)
• P. t. mazai Beutelspacher, 1977 (Mexico, El Salvador)
• P. t. tolmides Godman & Salvin, 1890 (Panama, Costa Rica)
• P. t. tolus Godman & Salvin, 1890 (Mexico, Guatemala)
• P. t. leptalea Rothschild & Jordan, 1906 (western Ecuador)
• P. t. polybius Swainson, 1823 (Brazil (Minas Gerais, Rio de Janeiro, Mato Grosso), Paraguay, Argentina)
• P. t. jeani (Brown & Lamas, 1994) (Colombia, western Venezuela)

References

• Lewis, H.L., (1974) Butterflies of the World ISBN 0-245-52097-X Page 25, figure 12 (male), figure 13 (female).