African Swallowtail, Mocker Swallowtail, The Flying Handkerchief (Papilio dardanus)

Order: Lepidoptera (le-pid-OP-ter-a) (Info) Family: Papilionidae (pap-ill-lee-ON-ih-dee) (Info) Genus: Papilio (pap-ILL-ee-oh) (Info) Species: dardanus Profile: 1 positive No neutrals No negatives Member Notes: Rating Author Comment Positive debnes_dfw_tx On Mar 20, 2008, debnes_dfw_tx from Fort Worth, TX (Zone 8a) wrote: The Mocker flits in Africa and is an excellent mimic of many distasteful species, known to be a master of Batesian mimicry. There are many forms of females. All of them imitate some other uneatable species of butterflies. Usually the females have no tails on hind wings. Larval host: The Mocker female oviposits on various plants from Rutaceae, such as: Calodendrum, Citrus, Clausena anisata, Teclea natalensis,Toddalia asiatica, Vepris eugeniifolia, and Zanthoxylum. Also from Monimiaceae: Xymalos

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