Objective  Adults and larvae of Papilio Polytes were studied with the complete mitochondrial genome sequenced for the butterfly genomics library collection.

  Method   According to the morphological characteristics of wing markings, sequences of the mitochondrial genomes of P. Polytes were determined using the second-generation Illumina Hiseq 4 000 high-throughput sequencing technology.

  Result  The wing markings of P. polytes polytes was found significantly different from those of P. polytes tibetanus’s. The length of complete mitochondrial genome was 15 267 bp (GenBank accession no. MZ188895) consisting of 13 protein-coding genes, 22 transfer RNAs, 2 ribosomal RNAs, and a control region. The average contents of A+T was 80.6% of the entire sequence representing a significant A+T deflection that had 11 gene intervals and 12 gene overlaps. Except Cox1, all protein coding genes started with ATN, whereas Cox2 ended with codon T. The nucleotide composition showed a significant AT skew. The relative synonymous codon usage (RSCU) of UUA was the highest one. Other than trnS1, the transfer RNAs had the typical clover-leaf-like structure with U-U or U-G base mismatched in the secondary structure and 9 transfer RNAs without mismatch. The A+T average content was the highest in control region at 94.5%.

  Conclusion  Morphologically, P. polytes polytes and P. polytes tibetanus mainly differed in location and distribution of the elements. The structures and sequences of the genomes of P. Polytes mitochondria as determined were in line with those of Lepidoptera insects.