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Home » Guide » Arthropods (Arthropoda) » Hexapods (Hexapoda) » Insects (Insecta) » Butterflies and Moths (Lepidoptera) » Butterflies and Skippers (Papilionoidea) » Swallowtails, Parnassians (Papilionidae) » Papilioninae » Kite Swallowtails, Swordtails, Jays (Leptocircini) » Kite Swallowtails (Eurytides)

Genus Eurytides - Kite Swallowtails

Classification · Synonyms and other taxonomic changes · Explanation of Names · Numbers · Range · Habitat · Food · Life Cycle · Print References · Internet References · Works Cited
Zebra Swallowtail caterpillar - Eurytides marcellus Zebra Swallowtail - Eurytides marcellus Zebra Swallowtail - Summer form adult. Note the long tails ... - Eurytides marcellus - female Eurytides marcellus Eurytides marcellus Swallowtail Cat... where are the fake eyes? - Eurytides marcellus Zebra Swallowtail - Eurytides marcellus Zebra Swallowtail? - Eurytides marcellus
Show images of: caterpillars · adults · both
Classification
Kingdom Animalia (Animals)
Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Subphylum Hexapoda (Hexapods)
Class Insecta (Insects)
Order Lepidoptera (Butterflies and Moths)
Superfamily Papilionoidea (Butterflies and Skippers)
Family Papilionidae (Swallowtails, Parnassians)
Subfamily Papilioninae
Tribe Leptocircini (Kite Swallowtails, Swordtails, Jays)
Genus Eurytides (Kite Swallowtails)
Synonyms and other taxonomic changes
Eurytides Hübner, 1821. Genotype: Eurytides iphitas Hübner
Bellerographium Möhn, 2002. Genotype: Papilio bellerophon Dalman

Sometimes Eurytides is subsumed under Graphium, a genus of rather similar Kite Swallowtails of the Old World tropics:
    Graphium Scopoli, 1777. Genotype: Papilio sarpedon Linnaeus

In recent years, our two species (and other closest relatives from south of our area) have by some authors been separated from Eurytides into one of the following:
Protographium Munroe, 1961. Genotype: Papilio leosthenes Doubleday [a visually similar species from Australia]. However, most evidence from both morpology and DNA shows this to be an unlikely connection.
Neographium Möhn, 2002. Genotype: Papilio philolaus Boisduval. However, though not reflected in literature and web sites yet, this genus seems to be a subset of the genus (or subgenus) Mimoides Brown, 1991. Genotype: Papilio microdamas Burmeister, which is treated by some as a subgenus of Eurytides, and by others as a full genus.
Explanation of Names
From Greek eury broad, plus (?) ideo form, appearance (1).
Numbers
One regularly-occurring North American species, and one or two others recorded as strays to South Texas, Florida (2). Twelve species worldwide (Wikipedia--Eurytides).
Range
A mostly neotropical genus, with one species, Eurytides marcellus, the Zebra Swallowtail. found in temperate North America. Eurytides philolaus, the Dark Kite-Swallowtail is found occasionally in South Texas. Eurytides celadon, the Cuban Kite-Swallowtail, has been reported as a stray to South Florida, but the records are doubtful (2).
Habitat
Forests, adjacent areas with host plants
Food
Larvae feed on trees in the genus Asimina
Adult males take fluid from damp sand.
Life Cycle
Larvae feed on foliage of plants in the Custard Apple family (Annonaceae).
Members of this genus, unlike most of our other swallowtails, do not appear to be involved in any mimicry complexes (2).
Print References
Borror, entries for eury, ideo (1)
DeVries--natural history of genus (3)
Scott, pp. 162-163 (2)
Internet References
Wikipedia--Eurytides
Works Cited
1.Dictionary of Word Roots and Combining Forms
Donald J. Borror. 1960. Mayfield Publishing Company.
2.The Butterflies of North America: A Natural History and Field Guide
James A. Scott. 1992. Stanford University Press.
3.The Butterflies of Costa Rica and Their Natural History, Vol. I: Papilionidae, Pieridae, Nymphalidae
Philip J. Devries. 1987. Princeton Univ Press.
Contributed by Cotinis on 3 April, 2004 - 6:29am
Additional contributions by Beatriz Moisset, David Ferguson
Last updated 7 October, 2023 - 8:44pm

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