Atrophaneura dasarada

Taxobox
name = Great Windmill
status =

---

image_caption = "Atrophaneura dasarada" female
regnum = Animalia
phylum = Arthropoda
classis = Insecta
ordo = Lepidoptera
familia = Papilionidae
genus = "Atrophaneura"
species = "A. dasarada"
binomial = " Atrophaneura dasarada"
binomial_authority = Moore, 1857

Great Windmill "Atrophaneura dasarada" is a beautiful butterfly found in India that belongs to the Windmills group of "Atrophaneura", comprising tailed black swallowtail butterflies with white spots and red submarginal crescents.

Range

Northern India, Nepal, Bhutan, Myanmar, south-eastern China (including Hainan island (Guangdong province)).

tatus

Not rare and not threatened.

Taxonomy

Five subspecies. The following occur in the Indian neighbourhood :-
* "Atrophaneura dasarada dasarada" Moore. Sikkim to Assam. Not rare.
* "Atrophaneura dasarada ravana" Moore. Kashmir to Kumaon. Not rare.
* "Atrophaneura dasarada barata" Rothschild. Myanmar. Rare.

Description

* Wingspan : 100 to 140mm.
* The butterflies resemble the Common Windmill but are usually larger with broader tails.
* The upper hindwing marginal crescent is white or cream-coloured.
* Sexes similar. The female often has a complete discal band of white spots on the hindwing.

Habits

The Great Windmill is a woodland butterfly. It can often be spotted slowly and gracefully flying across clearings. It flies between 4000 to 9000 feet in the spring and summer. It's habits resemble those of the Common Windmill.

Life History

* Egg - not described.
* Caterpillar -
**The ground colour of the larva varies in shades of grey and has a pattern of black lines. It has an orange osmeterium.
**The larva has a large number of tubercles arranged in two lateral and two sub-dorsal rows. The third and fourth segments have an additional pair of tubercles. The tubercles all have red tips, except those on the seventh and eighth segments which are almost entirely dirty white and the eleventh segment which has the same colour on just the tips of the tubercles.
* The pupa is yellow-green in colour with blue bands. It is has an orange protuberance on its back. It is attached to its support by a black body and anal pad. The pupa emits a squeak when touched.

Food plant

* "Aristolochia griffithi".

Gallery

References

* Collins, N.M. & Morris, M.G. (1985) Threatened Swallowtail Butterflies of the World. IUCN. ISBN 2-88032-603-6
* Evans, W.H. (1932) The Identification of Indian Butterflies. (2nd Ed), Bombay Natural History Society, Mumbai, India
* Haribal, Meena (1994) Butterflies of Sikkim Himalaya and their Natural History.
* Wynter-Blyth, M.A. (1957) Butterflies of the Indian Region, Bombay Natural History Society, Mumbai, India.

ee also

*Lepidoptera
*Butterflies
*Papilionidae
*List of butterflies of India
*List of butterflies of India (Papilionidae)

External links