Papilio zalmoxis (male) (green form)
 
Papilio zalmoxis, also called Giant Blue Swallowtail is a butterfly from Afrotropic ecozone (Africa). You can observe this butterfly from Sierra Leone until the South of Sudan and Angola. The first description was in 1864 by Hewitson. The wingspan is about 15 – 16 cm. This butterfly is a member of the family PAPILIONIDAE. The basic colour of Papilio zalmoxis is blue. Some are a green shade. The body is yellow.
The fore wings are blue. The wing tip and the veins are black.
The underside of Papilio zalmoxis is white. The wing tip and the veins are brown.
The hind wings of Papilio zalmoxis are blue. The edge is wavy and black. It contains a chain of blue spots. The underside is red-brown. The edge is dark-brown and contains a chain of white spots. In the middle of the wing there is a white area. The veins are dark-brown.
The body (abdomen) is yellow. The thorax and the head are black and they have white spots. The underside of all parts is very simmilar to the upside.
Sex differences: The basic colour of the female is yellowish.