Has Papilio Demoleus Linnaeus, 1758 (Lepidoptera: Papilionidae) succeeded in becoming Established in Cyprus? Evidence from citizen science reports in 2022

Abstract

Overwintering success of Papilio demoleus Linnaeus, 1758, a recently arrived Swallowtail to the Mediterranean basin, has been such that we are able to report on dispersal of the species into 50×5km2 -UTM squares in Cyprus. Citizen science reports, appropriately verified, have been invaluable in assessing the spread of a papilionid that was first reported from Cyprus in August 2021. These observations, supplemented by others from members of the Cyprus Butterfly Study Group, point to a known area of occupation representing ca. 11% of the island in just one year. However, the distances separating observations from the main concentration in central/eastern areas of the island with those reported from coasts around the island, strongly support a belief that the species has a far greater distribution in Cyprus. In turn, as the species has survived throughout an unusually cold winter during 2021/2022, this leads us to hypothesize that a successful, potentially permanent, range expansion has been achieved. Until more is known about the adaptation of P. demoleus to pertaining environmental conditions in Cyprus, where five annual generations appear achievable, we urge caution before the tag of 'pest species', as applied in other parts of the world, is attached to P. demoleus in Mediterranean regions.