Graphium colonna
species of insect
Graphium colonna, the black swordtail or mamba swordtail, is a species of butterfly in the family Papilionidae (swallowtails). It is found in Africa (Liberia, Sierra Leone, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Togo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Democratic Republic of Congo, Central African Republic, Sudan, Southwest Ethiopia, Southern Somalia, Uganda, coastal Kenya, Tanzania, Mozambique, Eastern Zimbabwe, Zululand, and Eswatini).
Description
The wingspan is 55–60 mm (2.2–2.4 in) in males and 60–65 mm (2.4–2.6 in) in females.
The markings of the upper surface green, only two transverse streaks of the hindwing in cellules 1 c and 2 red; the ground-colour darker than in related species, almost pure black; distinguished from all related species by having the discal spot in cellule lb of the forewing very narrow,
streak-like, and forming a direct continuation of the second transverse bar of the middle cell, and further by having the discal spot in cellule 2 of the forewing also narrow and placed almost exactly at the middle of vein 2; the hindwing entirely without green discal spots. The larva is yellowish green with a violet-brown lateral line; the spines on the second and third segments are not simple as normally, but bear small spines; it lives on an Annonaceae of the genus Artabotrys. The pupa is light bluish green and uneven, so that it is deceptively similar to a leaf partly eaten by larvae; the silken girth of the pupa is very thin and often breaks off, so that the pupa hangs quite free like that of a Nymphalid. On the east coast of Africa, from Delagoa Bay to British loncona. East Africa. — ab. loncona Suff.
The public source identifies “Graphium colonna” as species of insect. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Graphium, colonna and species.
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A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “Graphium colonna”, the useful work is to connect “species of insect” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.
The date and method of observation matter as much as the stated conclusion, especially where classification or consensus has changed. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jun 17, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q5597253. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference.
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This entry incorporates text from “Graphium colonna” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.