Papilio cacicus Lucas 1852

Papilio cacicus is a Neotropical butterfly of the family Papilionidae first described by Hippolyte Lucas in 1852. It is found in Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador and Peru.

Habitat

Montane forest in Tingo María, Peru

Papilio cacicus is an indicator species of primary mountain forest for instance in the Cordillera de la Costa montane forests in Venezuela and more generally in the tropical Andes.

Subspecies

• Papilio cacicus cacicus (Colombia, Venezuela)
• Papilio cacicus nesrinae Koçak, 1983 (western Colombia)
• Papilio cacicus inca Rothschild & Jordan, 1906 (Peru)
• Papilio cacicus upanensis Talbot, 1929 (Ecuador)
• Papilio cacicus mendozaensis Bollino & Sala, 1994 (Peru)

Taxonomy

Papilio cacicus is a member of the homerus species group. The members of this clade are

• Papilio cacicus H. Lucas, 1852
• Papilio euterpinus Salvin & Godman, 1868
• Papilio garamas (Geyer, [1829])
• Papilio homerus Fabricius, 1793
• Papilio menatius (Hübner, [1819])
• Papilio warscewiczii Hopffer, 1865

Papilio cacicus is in the subgenus Pterourus Scopoli, 1777 which also includes the species groups: troilus species group, glaucus species group, the zagreus species group and the scamander species group.

References

• Collins, N. Mark; Morris, Michael G. (1985). Threatened Swallowtail Butterflies of the World: The IUCN Red Data Book. Gland & Cambridge: IUCN. ISBN 978-2-88032-603-6 – via Biodiversity Heritage Library.
• Lewis, H. L., 1974 Butterflies of the World ISBN 0-245-52097-X Page 24, figure 15 (underside).