Papilio demoleus

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Common Lime Butterfly
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Arthropoda Class: Insecta Order: Lepidoptera Family: Papilionidae Subfamily: Papilioninae Genus: Papilio Species: P. demoleus
Binomial name
Papilio demoleus (Linnaeus, 1758)

The Common Lime Butterfly (Papilio demoleus) is a common and widespread Swallowtail butterfly. It gets its name from its host plants which are usually citrus species such as the lime. Unlike most swallowtail butterflies it does not have a prominent tail. Other names for the butterfly include the Lemon Butterfly, the Small Citrus Butterfly, the Chequered Swallowtail and the Dingy Swallowtail.

Contents 1 Description 2 Range 3 Status 4 Habitat 5 Habits 6 Lifecycle Gallery 6.1 Eggs 6.2 Larva 6.3 Parasitism 6.4 Pupa 7 Foodplants 8 Gallery 9 Cited references 10 See also 11 External links

[edit] Description

See glossary for terms used

Upper side of wings has the ground colour black. The fore wing has the base below cell and basal half of latter so irrorated with yellow scales as to form more or less complete transverse dotted lines, two outwardly oblique yellow spots in cell and a curved spot at its upper apex; a spot at base and another beyond it in interspace 8; a discal transverse series of cream-yellow spots irregular in arrangement and size extends from interspace la to 8; the series interrupted in interspace 5 and the spot in interspace 7 double; this is followed by a sinuous postdiscal series of spots and an admarginal terminal series of smaller spots. In many specimens between the discal and postdiscal series the black ground-colour is irrorated with yellowish scales. Hind wing: base and an edging that decreases in width along the dorsal margin irrorated with yellow scales; followed by a broad medial yellow irregular band, a sinuous postdiscal series of outwardly emarginate yellow spots and a terminal series of smaller similarly coloured spots as on the fore wing. The inner margin of the medial band is curved inwards, the outer margin is very irregular and uneven; in the cell the band does not reach the apex, but beyond the cell there are one or more cream-yellow spots, and the black groundcolour is irrorated with yellowish scales; finally at the tornal angle there is an oval ochraceous-red spot emarginate on its inner side in the female and in both sexes surmounted by a blue lunule; while in interspace 7 between the medial band and the postdiscal spot there is a large ocellus-like spot of the black ground-colour more or less irrorated with blue scales.

The underside has the ground-colour similar, the cream-coloured markings paler and conspicuously larger. The markings differ from those on the upperside in that the forewing has the basal half of cell and base of wing below it with cream-coloured streaks that coalesce at base; irregular ochraceous spots in interspaces 5 to 8 and the discal series of spots complete not interrupted in interspace 5. On the underside of the hind wing, the black at base of wing and along the dorsal margin centred largely with pale cream-colour; the ocellus in interspace 7, the apex of the cell and the black groundcolour between the medial band and postdiscal markings in interspaces 2-6 centred with ochraceous, margined with blue.

Antennae dark reddish brown, touched with ochraceous on the innerside towards the club; head, thorax and abdomen dusky black, the head and thorax anteriorly streaked with cream-vellow: beneath: the palpi, thorax and abdomen cream-yellow with lateral longitudinal black lines on the last.^[1]

[edit] Range

Oman, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, Iran, western and possibly eastern Afghanistan and western Pakistan. Sri Lanka, India and Nepal. Andamans. 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. Formerly absent from Borneo it is now one of the commonest Papilionids in Sabah and Sarawak in Malaysian Borneo, Kalimantan (Indonesian Borneo) and in Brunei. In the Western Hemisphere, Dominican Republic, Jamaica, and Puerto Rico.

[edit] Status

Very Common. It is perhaps the most widely distributed swallowtail in the world.^[2]

[edit] Habitat

Its range 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.

[edit] Habits

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.

While resting, the butterfly closes its wing over its back and draws the forewings between the hindwings.

[edit] Lifecycle Gallery

Life Cycle

Caterpillar

Caterpillar

Adult

It is particularly abundant during and after the monsoons. As the butterfly ages, the yellow markings on the wings deepen to orange.

[edit] Eggs

The female Lime butterfly goes hurriedly from plant to plant, laying a single egg at a time on top of a leaf which it holds onto unsteadily with its legs, and flying off as soon as the egg is laid. The egg is round and light yellowish in colour.

[edit] Larva

The newly hatched caterpillar stays in the middle of the upperside of the leaf. The first few instars of the caterpillar resemble bird droppings and this helps them escape predation while remaining in moderately open places. The caterpillars are yellow-olive greenish with a white spiracular band. There is white marking on the 8th and 9th segments of the caterpillar which resemble a white patch of uric acid deposited in a bird's droppings.

As the instars progress, this resemblance is lost. The caterpillars now turn uniformly pale green with a white sub-spiracular band. An additional black band is developed on the 4th and 5th segments with two black and two bluish spots on them. The 8th and 9th segments, which earlier provided the camouflage markings now develop a brown and white band. At this stage, the caterpillars are forced to inhabit secluded places.

[edit] Parasitism

Despite their two stage camouflage scheme, some caterpillars are found by parasitic wasps which lay dozens of eggs in them. The parasitic wasp larva eat the caterpillar from the inside. Initially the vital organs are avoided, but by the time the caterpillar is ready to pupate even the vital organs are consumed. Soon after the caterpillar pupates, the parasitoids emerge from the pupa thus killing it.

[edit] Pupa

The pupa is light green and unmarked. It has two projections to the front on its head and also one on its thorax. It resembles that of the Common Mormon Papilio polytes. The difference being that the Common Mormon pupa has a deeper cut between the projections and its abdomen is more protruded on the sides, having a small point.

When situated among dry objects, the pupa tend to turn light grey-brown and develop dark brown and black striation.

[edit] Foodplants

The larval foodplants of the Lime Butterfly^[3][4]

• Cultivated Lime
• Cultivated Oranges
• Cultivated Lemons
• Glycosmis pentaphylla
• Ruta graveolens
• Aegle marmelos
• Murraya koenigii
• Chloroxylon swietenia
• Bael
• Ber
• Acronychia pedunculata

[edit] Gallery

mating in Narsapur, Medak district, India.	mating in Narsapur, Medak district, India.	mating in Narsapur, Medak district, India.	in Narsapur, Medak district, India.
in Hyderabad, India.	in Hyderabad, India.	in Hyderabad, India.	Puddling at Jayanti in Buxa Tiger Reserve in Jalpaiguri district of West Bengal, India.
in Hyderabad, India.	fluttering in Hyderabad, India.		Puddling at Jayanti in Buxa Tiger Reserve in Jalpaiguri district of West Bengal, India.
Female Lime Butterfly in Malaysia	Female Lime Butterfly in Malaysia	Jimboomba, SE Queensland, Australia	Adult
Adult	in Hyderabad, India.	in Hyderabad, India.

[edit] Cited references

1. ^ Bingham, C. T. (1907) Fauna of British India. Butterflies. Volume 2
2. ^ Collins, N.M. & Morris, M.G. (1985) Threatened Swallowtail Butterflies of the World. IUCN. ISBN 2-88032-603-6
3. ^ Gay,Thomas; Kehimkar,Isaac & Punetha,J.C.(1992) Common Butterflies of India. WWF-India and Oxford University Press, Mumbai, India.
4. ^ Wynter-Blyth, M.A. (1957) Butterflies of the Indian Region, Bombay Natural History Society, Mumbai, India.

[edit] See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Papilio demoleus

• Papilionidae
• List of Butterflies of India (Papilionidae)

[edit] External links

• Host plant database, NHM UK

• lime swallowtail on the UF / IFAS Featured Creatures Web site