The ground colour is black. The markings are metallic blue. The blue band does not reach the hind wing margin in area 1b.Seitz-Only differs from Papilio charopus in that the median band of the upper surface is only a little widened posteriorly, so that the spots of cellules 2
and 8 of the hindwing cover but a third or a quarter of the cellules and are scarcely twice as long as broad; the submarginal spots of the hindwing beneath in the male yellow, very prominent, in the female as in charopus. — German East Africa. [5]
Taxonomy
Papilio hornimani belongs to a clade called the nireusspecies group with 15 members. The pattern is black with green bands and spots and the butterflies, although called swallowtails, lack tails with the exception of this species and Papilio charopus. The clade members are:
^ Kielland, 1987, J. 1987 New taxa of Rhopalocera from Tanzania (Lepidoptera: Papilionidae). Lambillionea 87 (9-10): 114-126
^ Kielland, 1990 Butterflies of Tanzania. Hill House, Melbourne and London: 1-363
^Aurivillius, [P.O.]C. 1908-1924. In: Seitz, A. Die Großschmetterlinge der Erde Band 13: Abt. 2, Die exotischen Großschmetterlinge, Die afrikanischen Tagfalter, 1925, 613 Seiten, 80 Tafeln (The Macrolepidoptera of the World 13).Alfred Kernen Verlag, Stuttgart. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
Carcasson, R.H. (1960). "The Swallowtail Butterflies of East Africa (Lepidoptera, Papilionidae)". Journal of the East Africa Natural History Societypdf Key to East Africa members of the species group, diagnostic and other notes and figures. (Permission to host granted by The East Africa Natural History Society)
