Mimoides ilus

Ilus swallowtail
M. i. branchus
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Lepidoptera
Family:	Papilionidae
Genus:	Mimoides
Species:	M. ilus
Binomial name
Mimoides ilus (Fabricius, 1793)
Synonyms
Papilio ilus Fabricius, 1793 Papilio hostilius C. Felder & R. Felder, 1861 Papilio guaco Staudinger, 1876 Eurytides branchus Doubleday, 1846

Mimoides ilus, the Ilus swallowtail or dual-spotted swallowtail, is a species of butterfly in the family Papilionidae. It is found from Mexico to Colombia and Venezuela.[1][2] Little is known about this rare butterfly, but it is not considered threatened.[3] The larvae of M. i. branchus feed on Annotata reticulata.[4]

Subspecies

M. i. branchus

• Mimoides ilus ilus (Fabricius, 1793) (Panama to northern Colombia and central Venezuela)[1]
• Mimoides ilus branchus (Doubleday, 1846) (eastern Mexico to northern Costa Rica)[1]
• Mimoides ilus occiduus (Vázquez, 1957) (western Mexico)[1]

Description from Seitz

For a key to the terms used, see Glossary of entomology terms.

P. ilus F. (= hostilius Fldr.; guaco Stgr. (14a). Male and female: under surface without red basal spots on the forewing, with 4 red basal spots on the hindwing. Forewing with or without a patch in the extremity of the cell, with 2 or 3 white spots on the disc, the posterior one, placed behind the 3. median, the largest. North Venezuela, Northern Colombia, Panama; rare in collections.[5]

• 
  Seitz Plate 14 belesisand branchus

References

1. Warren, A. D.; et al. (2010). "Mimoides ilus". Butterflies of America. Retrieved 24 December 2010.
2. Glassberg, Jeffrey (2007). A Swift Guide to the Butterflies of Mexico and Central America. Sunstreak Books Inc. p. 13. ISBN 978-1-4243-0915-3.
3. 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.
4. Savela, Markku. "Mimoides ilus". funet.fi. Retrieved 24 December 2010.
5. Jordan, K. , in Seitz, A. ( 1907) . The Macrolepidoptera of the World. 5: The Macrolepidoptera of the American faunistic region. Papilionidae 1-45. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.

• Lewis, H. L., 1974 Butterflies of the World ISBN 0-245-52097-X Page 23, figure 12 (as E. belesis).

Further reading

• Lamas, Gerardo (2004). Atlas of Neotropical Lepidoptera; Checklist: Part4A Hesperioidea–Papilionoidea. Gainesville, Florida: Scientific Publishers, Inc. p. 89. ISBN 0-945417-28-4.