Spread of Papilio demoleus (Lepidoptera: Papilionidae) within the EPPO region
Papilio demoleus (Lepidoptera: Papilionidae) is a butterfly originating in Asia and the Middle East (from China westwards to Iran) where the larva is considered as a pest of citrus trees, in particular in nurseries. In the 2000s it was introduced in the Caribbean where it spread rapidly (EPPO RS 2006/212). In 2012, a specimen was recorded in Portugal (RS 2014/116), but it has not established there.
In recent years, P. demoleus has been recorded as spreading, probably via natural spread, as it is recorded as a strong flyer. It was first recorded in South-Eastern Türkiye in 2006 and in the Mediterranean part of Türkiye in 2018, as well as in Azerbaijan and the Mediterranean part of Syria in 2019, Lebanon in 2020 and Cyprus in 2021. A single observation was also made in Israel in 2021. P. demoleus is considered established in Cyprus where several generations were observed in 2022. Although the species has been recorded on citrus trees in Cyprus, Syria and Türkiye it is not (yet) reported as causing damage in citrus production regions.
P. demoleus is a beautiful butterfly which may be well adapted to reporting via amateur entomologists and citizen science projects.
A distribution map is available at: https://gd.eppo.int/taxon/PAPIDE/distribution
Sources
John E, Bağlar H, Başbay O, Konstantinou G, Salimeh M, Wiemers M (2022) Confirmation of the presence of nominotypical Papilio demoleus demoleus Linnaeus, 1758 (Lepidoptera: Papilionidae) in Cyprus, with additional notes on breeding and potential colonization. Entomologist's Gazette 73(2),117-128.
John E, Başbay O, Salimeh M, Bağlar H (2022) Where next? The seemingly inexorable spread of Papilio demoleus Linnaeus, 1758 Lime Swallowtail (Lep.: Papilionidae) in countries of the eastern Mediterranean and its arrival in Cyprus in 2021. Bulletin of the Amateur Entomologists’ Society 81, 59-67.
Riaz S, Johnson JB, Rasheed T, Wiemers M (2020) Morphology, life cycle and management of two invasive subspecies of Papilio demoleus (Lepidoptera: Papilionidae): A review. Journal of Applied Entomology 144(10), 845-856.