Papilio buddha

Papilio buddha
Malabar Banded Peacock
Malabar Banded Peacock
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Papilionidae
Genus: Papilio
Species: P. buddha
Binomial name
Papilio buddha
Westwood, 1872

The Malabar Banded Peacock ( Papilio buddha) is a species of swallowtail found in the Western Ghats of India.

Contents

Description

See glossary for terms used
From Kerala, India

Resembles Papilio palinurus but is larger. The upper side of the wings are also differ with the irroration of green scales more restricted, the outer half of the fore wing except a triangular patch from apex of wing downwards, and the outer thirds of the hind wing except a subterminal series of ill-formed lunules, devoid of green scales; discal transverse bands on both fore and hind wings similar to those in P. palinurus but very much broader; the discal band of the forewing measured on the dorsum occupies considerably more than one-third of the dorsal length, while the discal band of the hind wing is as broad posteriorly as it is anteriorly (in P. palinurus it is much narrower posteriorly); the ochraceous tornal ocellus brighter, not surmounted with blue; the subapical ochraceous lunule in interspace 7 also brighter and much larger. Underside similar to the underside in P. palinurus, but on the hind wing the ochraceous lunules in the subterminal series proportionately narrower and much more conspicuously bordered on their innersides with silvery white. Antennae, head, thorax and abdomen as in P. palinurus.[1]

The wing expanse is 107–155 mm

Life history

The caterpillar has a shield on the thoracic segments. Green, the shield laterally and posteriorly narrowly edged with white; segments 5 to 11 with a broad white line and above it a series of minute white spots on each segment.

The pupa is curved ventrally, head cleft, the processes long and upturned, back and sides keeled; colour dark green ventrally, pale green dorsally (After Davidson and Aitken)

Status

Locally Common and Not Rare. Protected in India but not known to be threatened.

Notes

  1. ^ Bingham, C. T. (1907) The Fauna of British India, Including Ceylon and Burma. Butterflies, Vol 2.

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
  • Gaonkar, Harish (1996) Butterflies of the Western Ghats, India (including Sri Lanka) - A Biodiversity Assessment of a threatened mountain system. Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society.
  • Gay,Thomas; Kehimkar,Isaac & Punetha,J.C.(1992) Common Butterflies of India. WWF-India and Oxford University Press, Mumbai, India.
  • Kunte,Krushnamegh (2005) Butterflies of Peninsular India. Universities Press.
  • Wynter-Blyth, M.A. (1957) Butterflies of the Indian Region, Bombay Natural History Society, Mumbai, India.

See also


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