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Papilio zenobia, the Zenobia swallowtail or Volta swallowtail, is a species of swallowtail butterfly from the genus Papilio that is found in Guinea, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Nigeria, Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, the Republic of the Congo and Uganda. The habitat consists of wetter forest in good to reasonable condition.
Contents
The larvae feed on Piper species, including Piper umbellatum.
Taxonomy
It is a member of the zenobia species group. In the zenobia group the basic upperside wing pattern is black with white or yellowish bands and spots. The underside is brown and basally there is a red area marked with black stripes and spots. In the discal area there is a yellowish band with black stripes and veins. Females resemble butterflies of the Amauris genus. Both sexes lack tails.
The clade members are:
Description
It is very similar to Papilio cyproeofila but lacking white marginal spots on the hindwings. It is also close to Papilio nobicea but differs slightly in its cream bands, which are also of a different shape (Larsen, 2005). "Tail-less black with a very broad white median band; in the male? the median band initially invades the discoidal cell of the forewing." (Robert Herbert Carcasson, 1960)