phaon phaon (Boisduval, 1836) Mimoides phaon therodamas (C. Felder & R. Felder, 1865) Distribution The nominate subspecies, M. p. phaon, is found in northeastern Mexico, Belize, and Honduras. The other subspecies, M. p. therodamas, is found in Colombia, Venezuela, and eastern Ecuador. In October, 2008, M. p. phaon was found in the Lower Rio Grande Valley in southern Texas, making it the first swallowtail of the genus Mimoides to stray into the United States. Life cycle The red-sided swallowtail caterpillar is mainly black with its head and thorax spotted with blue and yellow. The abdomen is striped laterally with blue, yellow, black, and white. The last segments are spotted like the head. Host plants The red-sided swallowtail feeds on Annona species as a caterpillar. References External links Phaon Papilionidae of South America Butterflies described in 1836