Friday, July 17, 2020

Butterflying - Papilio demoleus

Papilio demoleus (Common Lime Butterfly)



Papilio demoleus is a common and widespread swallowtail butterfly. The butterfly is also known as the Lime Butterfly, Lemon Butterfly, Lime Swallowtail, and Chequered Swallowtail. These common names refer to their host plants, which are usually citrus species such as the cultivated lime. Unlike most swallowtail butterflies, it does not have a prominent tail.


The butterfly is tailless, the background colour is black. A broad, irregular yellow band is found on the wings above, which is broken in the case of the forewing. Besides this, the butterfly has a large number of irregular spots on the wing. The upper hindwing has a red tornal spot with blue edging around it.


It is common in urban gardens and may also be encountered in wooded country.


In the early morning the butterflies fly low over the ground, and settle to bask for long periods on low vegetation, with their wings outspread. Later in the day as temperatures rise they become very active. Males spend their time searching for females, or mud -puddling at damp patches of ground. Females can often be seen nectaring at flowers, and research has shown that they are genetically programmed to seek blue or purple flowers in preference to other coloured blooms.


The main larval foodplant used in the Oriental region is cultivated Lime Citrus aurantifolia, on which can be a serious pest.
When young the larva is olive-brown with a suffused white saddle-mark, and strongly resembles a bird dropping. The mature caterpillar is green with a pair of narrow cream and grey mottled bands between the thoracic segments, and a pair of short knobbly tail horns.


The lime butterfly is an economic pest on many cultivated citrus species in India, Pakistan, Iraq, and the Middle East. 

References : 
https://www.learnaboutbutterflies.com
Wikipedia

pictures:
TVH Taus, Chennai (2020)

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