Nothern Lime Swallowtail (Papilio demoleus)




Other names - Lime Butterfly, Lemon Butterfly, Lime Swallowtail, Chequered Swallowtail.

These common names refer to their host plants, which are usually citrus species such as the lime. Unlike most butterflies belonging to the swallowtail family, it does not have a prominent tail. The butterfly is found from Asia to Australia and can be easily spotted in gardens.

The butterfly has a wingspan 80–100 mm. Above, 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 spot with blue edging around it.

This butterfly is an avid mud-puddler(as explained in the Ceracris post) and visitor of flowers. It basks with its wings held wide open on tufts of grass and herbs, and generally keeps within a metre of the ground, even on cloudy days. It relies on its quick flight for escape. 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. It can be found swarming in the groves of its food plants.

 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Acrida willemsei

Image
  Acrida willemsei  is an Asian species of  grasshopper . The recorded distribution of this species includes southern China, Taiwan, Indo-China, India, and Malaysia. They are  sometimes called  silent slant-faced grasshoppers.  In appearance, the species are often similar to those of the subfamily Gomphocerinae, with whom they share a slanted face. However, Acrida willemsei differ from Gomphocerinae in that they lack stridulatory pegs on their hind legs and thus, as the common name suggests, do not make sounds. The antennae of this species are flattened and sword-like, a trait also shared with some gomphocerines. They lack the postural spine seen in the spurthroated grasshoppers and lubber grasshoppers (Two different species of grasshoppers that share some common traits). Hind wings in this species are somewhat colorless.  They  aren't particularly selective about what they eat, but they often favor green leaves. When grasses, plant stems, and flowers are scarce, they have no probl
Read more

Lychee Shield Backed Jewel Bug(Chrysocoris stollii)

Image
They are a species of  jewel bugs  common in continental  Southeast Asia . These bugs  are commonly known as  jewel bugs  or  metallic shield bugs  due to their often brilliant coloration.  These  insects  feed on plant juices from a variety of different species, including some commercial crops such as  Pigeon pea ,  Arecanut ,  Jatropha, etc A vast majority of jewel bugs, both adults and nymphs, are also capable of releasing pungent defensive chemicals from glands located on the sides of the thorax. Typical compounds exuded by jewel bugs include alcohols, aldehydes, and esters. Nymphs and adults often exhibit clustering behavior, being found in large numbers close to each other. This behavior is thought to have an evolutionary advantage. The more individuals present in an area, the stronger the odor of the chemicals released when the bugs are threatened. If this fails, stink bugs will react to threats by flying away or dropping to the ground .  One of the most common place to find th
Read more

Changeable Hawk-Eagle (Nisaetus cirrhatus)

Image
The  changeable hawk-eagle or crested hawk-eagle is a large  bird of prey . More informal or antiquated English common names include the  marsh hawk-eagle or Indian crested hawk-eagle. It is a typical “hawk-eagle” in that it is an agile forest-dwelling predator and like many such eagles readily varies its prey selection between  birds ,  mammals  or  reptiles  as well as other  vertebrates . The changeable hawk-eagle is a largish but slender eagle. Adult changeable hawk-eagles are typically dark brown above and boldly streaked below with a strong bill, a variably sized, often floppy crest or no crest, rather short wings, a quite long, thinly-barred tail and long feathered legs. In flight, the changeable hawk-eagles is a large raptor with a prominent head, rather short rounded and broad wings, long squarish or rounded tail, but has somewhat slenderer wings and straighter trailing edges than sympatric species of hawk-eagles. The species tends to fly with a fast agile flight.  The ex
Read more