The Dark Zebra Swallowtail or Dark Kite-Swallowtail (Protographium philolaus) is a butterfly

Butterfly

A butterfly is a mainly day-flying insect of the order Lepidoptera, which includes the butterflies and moths. Like other holometabolous insects, the butterfly's life cycle consists of four parts: egg, larva, pupa and adult. Most species are diurnal. Butterflies have large, often brightly coloured...

 of the Papilionidae family. It is found from southern Texas

Texas

Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...

 to northern South America

South America

South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...

.
The wingspan

Wingspan

The wingspan of an airplane or a bird, is the distance from one wingtip to the other wingtip. For example, the Boeing 777 has a wingspan of about ; and a Wandering Albatross caught in 1965 had a wingspan of , the official record for a living bird.The term wingspan, more technically extent, is...

 is 90–95 mm. There are broad black bars on the upper surface of the forewings of the males. Females are similar, although some are almost completely black. Both sexes have long tails. Adults feed on flower nectar.

The larvae feed on Annonaceae

Annonaceae

Annonaceae, also called the custard apple familyis a family of flowering plants consisting of trees, shrubs or rarely lianas.With about 2300 to 2500 species and more than 130 genera,...

species.

Subspecies

There are two recognised subspecies:

• Protographium philolaus philolaus (Mexico, Honduras, Costa Rica, southern Texas)
• Protographium philolaus xanticles (Bates, 1863) (Panama, northern Colombia, northern Venezuela)