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Digital Guide to Moth Identification

Papilionidae 77a0384 – 4177   Pterourus rutulus (Lucas, 1852)

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Larva and Host Plants: Host familiy: Betulaceae Fagaceae Lauraceae Magnoliaceae Oleaceae Platanaceae Rhamnaceae Rosaceae Rutaceae Salicaceae Sapindaceae Ulmaceae.  Host genera: Acer Alnus Betula Fraxinus Laurus Malus Persea Platanus Populus Prunus Ptelea Quercus Salix Syringa Ulmus.  Notes: larvae eat leaves (Scott 2020).  (Shropshire & Douglas 2025) Similar Species: Pinned specimens of related species. (Hint: select View by Region on the related species page.) Synonymy: rutulus (Lucas, 1852) (Papilio) - MONA 1983: 4177 ammoni (Behrens, 1887) (Papilio) arizonensis (Edwards, 1883) (Papilio) fannyae (Gunder, 1927) (Papilio) hospitonina (Boullet & Le Cerf, 1912) (Papilio) minirutulus (Fisher, 2012) (Papilio) rutulus (Boisduval, 1852) (Papilio) Taxonomic Notes: Pterourus rutulus (Lucas, 1852): The genus name Pterourus was treated as a synonym of Papilio in Hodges et al. (1983) (Checklist). Pelham (in Pohl & Nanz (eds.) 2023) treated Pterourus a valid genus following Zhang et al. (2019) and several previous authors, notably Miller & Brown (1981). Condamine et al. (2023), a work published after the cutoff for additions to Pohl & Nanz (eds.) (2023), recognized Pterourus as a subgenus of Papilio.

References (Caution: DNA barcoding at BOLD provides evidence of relatedness, not proof of identification; some BOLD specimens shown may not be sequenced.)

Barcode of Life (BOLD) - Caution: Identifications often erroneous; DNA barcode provides evidence of relatedness, not proof of identification; many specimens not sequenced. Condamine, F.L., R. Allio, E. L. Reboud, J.R. Dupuis, E.F.A. Toussaint, N. Mazet, S-J. Hu, D.S. Lewis, K. Kunte, A.M. Cotton, F.A.H. Sperling, 2023. A comprehensive phylogeny and revised taxonomy illuminate the origin and diversification of the global radiation of Papilio (Lepidoptera: Papilionidae). Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution, 183: 1-22. Shropshire, K.J. & D.W. Tallamy, 2025. Lepidoptera of North America, north of Mexico: an annotated list containing geographic ranges and host-plant records. ZooKeys, 1261: 101-113; Suppl. 1. (PDF or read online) Species Page at BugGuide.Net Species Page at iNaturalist Species Page at the Butterflies of America

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