Papilio hesperus

Papilio hesperus, the black and yellow swallowtail or Hesperus swallowtail, is a butterfly of the family Papilionidae. It is found in Africa. It is monomorphic, meaning there is only one phenotype in the population of this species. The dorsal and ventral sides of its wings are practically identical due to the wing's translucence.

The larvae feed on Beilschmiedia species, including Beilschmiedia ugandensis.

Taxonomy
Papilio hesperus is the nominal member of the hesperus species group. The members of the clade are:
 * Papilio hesperus Westwood, 1843
 * Papilio euphranor Trimen, 1868
 * Papilio horribilis Butler, 1874
 * Papilio pelodurus Butler, 1896

Subspecies

 * Papilio hesperus hesperus (Nigeria, Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, Congo, Congo Republic, Uganda, north-western Tanzania, northern Zambia)
 * Papilio hesperus feae Storace, 1963 Equatorial Guinea)
 * Papilio hesperus sudana Gabriel, 1945 (southern Sudan)

Habitats
Congolian forests and surrounding ecoregions.

Biogeographic realm
Afrotropical realm.