Description:
|
Papilio demoleus is a common and widespread swallowtail butterfly. The butterfly is also known as the common lime butterfly, lemon butterfly, lime swallowtail, small citrus butterfly, chequered swallowtail, dingy swallowtail and citrus swallowtail.
The fore wings are black. At the outer edge there is a chain of yellow spots. Next to the body there are four chains of little yellow spots. There are some other yellow spots at the rest of wing. The underside of Papilio demoleus is very similar to the upside. Next to the body there are four yellow lines. The hind wings of Papilio demoleus are black. The edge is wavy. Next to the body the wing is spotted by yellow scales. The wing is dominated by a broad, yellow band. This band contains a big eye. At the outer edge there are five yellow spots. At the inner edge there is a red eye-spot. The underside is similar to the upside. But all yellow marks are bigger than the marks on the upside. Next to the body there is a yellow area with black lines. In the middle of the wing there are blue and orange spots. The body is black, but the underside is yellow. |
Sex differences:
|
-
|
Scientific Name:
|
Papilio demoleus
|
Common Name:
|
Lime Butterfly
|
Order:
|
Lepidoptera
|
Family:
|
Papilionidae
|
Sub Family:
|
Papilioninae
|
Wing Span:
|
80 - 100 mm
|
Status:
|
Very common
|
Range:
|
Found in Oman, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, Iran, western and possibly eastern Afghanistan, and western Pakistan, Sri Lanka, India (including the Andamans), Nepal, Burma, Thailand, the Philippines, Kampuchea, southern China (including Hainan, Guangdong province), Taiwan, Japan (rare strays), Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia (Kalimantan, Sumatra, Sula, Talaud, Flores, Alor and Sumba), Papua New Guinea, Australia (including Lord Howe's island), apparently Hawaii and possibly other Pacific Ocean islands.
|
Andhra Pradesh:
Assam:
Chattisgarh:
Gujarat:
Karnataka:
Kerala:
Maharashtra:
Manipur:
Nagaland:
Odisha:
West Bengal:
Tamil Nadu:
Telangana:
Uttar Pradesh:
All states:
|
May, Aug, Dec
Jan, Jun, Oct, Nov
Sep
Apr, Jul, Aug
Mar, Apr, May, Jun, Jul, Sep, Nov
Apr, May, Jun, Oct, Nov
Mar, Apr, Jul, Aug, Sep, Oct, Nov, Dec
Aug
Jul
Nov
Apr, May, Jul, Aug, Sep
Sep, Dec
Apr, Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep, Oct, Nov
Jun, Oct
|
Habitat:
|
The widespread range of Papilio demoleus indicates the butterfly's tolerance and adaptation to diverse habitats. It is to be found in savannahs, fallow lands, gardens, evergreen and semi-evergreen forests and shows a preference for stream and riverbeds.
In India it is mostly found in the plains but can be found on the hills of peninsular India and up to 7000 feet in the Himalayas. It is common in urban gardens and may also be encountered in wooded country. The butterfly is also a very successful invader, its spread appearing to be due to its strong flight, increase in urbanisation and agricultural land use that opens up new areas for dispersal, and greater availability of foodplants. |
Habit:
|
This butterfly is an avid mud-puddler and visitor of flowers. It basks with its wings held wide open on tufts of grass, herbs and generally keeps within a metre above the ground, even on cloudy days. It relies on its quick flight for escape. It is an interesting butterfly in that it has a number of modes of flight. In the cool of the morning, the flight is slow considering that it is an edible and unprotected swallowtail. As the day progresses, it flies fast, straight and low. In the hotter part of the day, it may be found settling on damp patches where it will remain motionless, except for an occasional flutter of wings, if not disturbed.
It is also a frequent visitor of flowers in gardens, where it shows a preference for flowers of smaller herbs rather than larger plants such as the ubiquitous Lantana with its plentiful blooms. It can be found swarming in the groves of its foodplants. Research on freshly emerged imagines of Papilio demoleus showed that they have an inborn or spontaneous preference while feeding for blue and purple colours while the yellow, yellowish-green, green and blue-green colours are completely neglected |
Larval Host Plants:
|
Glycosmis pentaphylla, Limonia acidissima, Murraya koenigii, Aegle marmelos, Ziziphus mauritiana, Citrus medica, Chloroxylon swietenia
|
Nectar Plants:
|
-
|
Source & More Details:
|
|
 |
| Papilio demoleus - Lime Butterfly |
 |
| Papilio demoleus - Lime Butterfly |
No comments:
Post a Comment