Papilio zalmoxis is a giant African butterfly in the family Papilionidae. The name of the species is given in honor of Zalmoxis – a divinity of the Getae (a people of the lower Danube), mentioned by Herodotus in his Histories IV, 93–96.
Previously thought to produce the blue colour by Tyndall scattering, the scales of Papilio zalmoxis are not nanostructured for incoherent scattering, instead the blue is a fluorescent pigmentary color.
This species can be found throughout the tropical areas of Liberia, Ghana, Cameroon, Nigeria, Gabon, DRC, Zaire, & Ivory Coast.
This specimen is encased in a 9"x9" frame.
