The eggs are laid on the plant Toddalia asiatica, but the caterpillars have been reared on other members of the Rutaceae in captivity.

The lower hindwing has a narrow cream submarginal band with silver reflections.

There is a fawn brown median band on the hindwing with pinkish-grey scales on the outside, and a white abdominal spot.

Papilio aristophontes belongs to an Afrotropical clade called the nireus species-group with 15 members.

The clade members are: In some works aristophontes is ranked as a subspecies of Papilio nireus.