Atrophaneura polyeuctes
Encyclopedia
The Common Windmill Atrophaneura polyeuctes is the most common member in India of the Windmills group of Atrophaneura, comprising tailed black swallowtail
butterflies with white spots and red submarginal crescents.
Accordingly it has been dealt with in more detail than the other windmills.
, Northern India
, Nepal
, Bhutan
, Myanmar
, northern Thailand
, Laos
, Vietnam
, southern China
(including Yunnan
) and Taiwan
.
In India, the Himalayas
from Kashmir
to Sikkim
, Assam
, Arunachal Pradesh
onto northern Myanmar
.
though not rare from Kangra
west to Jammu and Kashmir
.
prefers forests and woods. Frequents river valleys. It occurs at low elevations (1000 to 5000 feet) in North East India but is found at higher altitudes in the western extent of its range - up to 11,000 feet in Kashmir.
It is mimicked by a day flying moth Epicopa (or Epicopia) polydorus, which flies at the same period and over the same range as the Common Windmill and has much the same manner and habits.
has a foul odour.
Swallowtail butterfly
Swallowtail butterflies are large, colorful butterflies that form the family Papilionidae. There are over 550 species, and though the majority are tropical, members of the family are found on all continents except Antarctica...
butterflies with white spots and red submarginal crescents.
Accordingly it has been dealt with in more detail than the other windmills.
Range
PakistanPakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
, Northern India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, Nepal
Nepal
Nepal , officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked sovereign state located in South Asia. It is located in the Himalayas and bordered to the north by the People's Republic of China, and to the south, east, and west by the Republic of India...
, Bhutan
Bhutan
Bhutan , officially the Kingdom of Bhutan, is a landlocked state in South Asia, located at the eastern end of the Himalayas and bordered to the south, east and west by the Republic of India and to the north by the People's Republic of China...
, Myanmar
Myanmar
Burma , officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar , is a country in Southeast Asia. Burma is bordered by China on the northeast, Laos on the east, Thailand on the southeast, Bangladesh on the west, India on the northwest, the Bay of Bengal to the southwest, and the Andaman Sea on the south....
, northern Thailand
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
, Laos
Laos
Laos Lao: ສາທາລະນະລັດ ປະຊາທິປະໄຕ ປະຊາຊົນລາວ Sathalanalat Paxathipatai Paxaxon Lao, officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic, is a landlocked country in Southeast Asia, bordered by Burma and China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the south and Thailand to the west...
, Vietnam
Vietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
, southern China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
(including Yunnan
Yunnan
Yunnan is a province of the People's Republic of China, located in the far southwest of the country spanning approximately and with a population of 45.7 million . The capital of the province is Kunming. The province borders Burma, Laos, and Vietnam.Yunnan is situated in a mountainous area, with...
) and Taiwan
Taiwan
Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
.
In India, the Himalayas
Himalayas
The Himalaya Range or Himalaya Mountains Sanskrit: Devanagari: हिमालय, literally "abode of snow"), usually called the Himalayas or Himalaya for short, is a mountain range in Asia, separating the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau...
from Kashmir
Kashmir
Kashmir is the northwestern region of the Indian subcontinent. Until the mid-19th century, the term Kashmir geographically denoted only the valley between the Great Himalayas and the Pir Panjal mountain range...
to Sikkim
Sikkim
Sikkim is a landlocked Indian state nestled in the Himalayan mountains...
, Assam
Assam
Assam , also, rarely, Assam Valley and formerly the Assam Province , is a northeastern state of India and is one of the most culturally and geographically distinct regions of the country...
, Arunachal Pradesh
Arunachal Pradesh
Arunachal Pradesh is a state of India, located in the far northeast. It borders the states of Assam and Nagaland to the south, and shares international borders with Burma in the east, Bhutan in the west, and the People's Republic of China in the north. The majority of the territory is claimed by...
onto northern Myanmar
Myanmar
Burma , officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar , is a country in Southeast Asia. Burma is bordered by China on the northeast, Laos on the east, Thailand on the southeast, Bangladesh on the west, India on the northwest, the Bay of Bengal to the southwest, and the Andaman Sea on the south....
.
Status
Overall, the butterfly is not rare. It is common in parts of Sikkim but becomes rarer westwards. It is extremely scarce in ShimlaShimla
Shimla , formerly known as Simla, is the capital city of Himachal Pradesh. In 1864, Shimla was declared the summer capital of the British Raj in India. A popular tourist destination, Shimla is often referred to as the "Queen of Hills," a term coined by the British...
though not rare from Kangra
Kangra district
Kangra is the most populous district of the state of Himachal Pradesh, India. Dharamsala is the administrative headquarters of the district.-Geography:Kangra district of Himachal Pradesh is situated in Western Himalayas between 31°2 to...
west to Jammu and Kashmir
Jammu and Kashmir
Jammu and Kashmir is the northernmost state of India. It is situated mostly in the Himalayan mountains. Jammu and Kashmir shares a border with the states of Himachal Pradesh and Punjab to the south and internationally with the People's Republic of China to the north and east and the...
.
Description
- Length 110 to 140mm.
- Sexes alike.
- Black and white above with prominent swallowtail.
- Red bodied. Tail has a red tip.
- FW completely black above and below.
- HW crenulated deeply twice on each side of swallowtail. Large oblong white discal spot in 5 (both UP and UN) and sometimes in 4. UPH has irregular marginal red crescents in 1a, 2 and 3 and a small white spot in 4.
Taxonomy
- Atrophaneura philoxenus Gray is considered a synonym.
- A species Atrophaneura lama (OberthürCharles OberthürCharles Oberthür was a French entomologist specializing in Lepidoptera. He was the son of François-Charles Oberthür.Oberthür named 42 new genera of moths -Works:...
), described from western ChinaChinaChinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
, is regarded as a subspecies of A. polyeuctes by some.
Subspecies
It has five subspecies, two of which occur in India :-- Atrophaneura polyeuctes polyeuctes DoubledayHenry Doubleday (1808-1875)Henry Doubleday was an English entomologist and ornithologist.Henry Doubleday was the eldest son of Quaker and grocer Benjamin Doubleday and his wife Mary of Epping, Essex. He and his brother Edward Doubleday spent their childhood collecting natural history specimens in Epping Forest...
. SikkimSikkimSikkim is a landlocked Indian state nestled in the Himalayan mountains...
to MyanmarMyanmarBurma , officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar , is a country in Southeast Asia. Burma is bordered by China on the northeast, Laos on the east, Thailand on the southeast, Bangladesh on the west, India on the northwest, the Bay of Bengal to the southwest, and the Andaman Sea on the south....
. Common. - Atrophaneura polyeuctes philoxenus GrayJohn Edward GrayJohn Edward Gray, FRS was a British zoologist. He was the elder brother of George Robert Gray and son of the pharmacologist and botanist Samuel Frederick Gray ....
. KashmirKashmirKashmir is the northwestern region of the Indian subcontinent. Until the mid-19th century, the term Kashmir geographically denoted only the valley between the Great Himalayas and the Pir Panjal mountain range...
to NepalNepalNepal , officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked sovereign state located in South Asia. It is located in the Himalayas and bordered to the north by the People's Republic of China, and to the south, east, and west by the Republic of India...
. Not rare.
Related Species
- The three common species of windmills can be recognised by the differences in shape, number and location of white spots.
- Rose Windmill, Atrophaneura latreillei, has a white discal band in 2, 3, 4 beyond the cell which is clearly trifurcated by black veins. A slightly smaller butterfly, the Rose Windmill has rose coloured lunules.
- Great Windmill, Atrophaneura dasarada, has a number of two white spots in 4, 5 on UPH and three spots on 4, 5 and 6 on UNH. It is a slightly larger butterfly with broader swallowtail.
- Other windmills are smaller, rarer and have small differentiating characters from the above three common windmills. See the individual articles for more information :-
- de Nicéville's WindmillAtrophaneura pollaDe Nicéville's Windmill Atrophaneura polla is a 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:...
(Atrophaneura polla, de NicévilleLionel de NicévilleCharles Lionel Augustus de Nicéville was a curator at the Indian Museum in Calcutta . He studied the butterflies of South Asia and wrote a three volume monograph on the butterflies of India, Pakistan, Burma and Sri Lanka.Born in a noble Huguenot family, his father was a physician. He was educated...
). - Nevill's WindmillAtrophaneura nevilliNevill's Windmill Atrophaneura nevilli 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.-Status:...
(Atrophaneura nevilli, Wood Mason). - Black WindmillAtrophaneura crassipesBlack Windmill 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:...
(Atrophaneura crassipes, OberthürCharles OberthürCharles Oberthür was a French entomologist specializing in Lepidoptera. He was the son of François-Charles Oberthür.Oberthür named 42 new genera of moths -Works:...
). - Chinese WindmillAtrophaneura plutoniusChinese Windmill Atrophaneura plutonius is a butterfly found in Asia that belongs to the Windmills group of Atrophaneura, comprising tailed black swallowtail butterflies with white spots and red submarginal crescents....
(Atrophaneura plutonius, OberthürCharles OberthürCharles Oberthür was a French entomologist specializing in Lepidoptera. He was the son of François-Charles Oberthür.Oberthür named 42 new genera of moths -Works:...
), two subspecies of which occur in India.
- de Nicéville's Windmill
Habitat
This butterflyButterfly
A butterfly is a mainly day-flying insect of the order Lepidoptera, which includes the butterflies and moths. Like other holometabolous insects, the butterfly's life cycle consists of four parts: egg, larva, pupa and adult. Most species are diurnal. Butterflies have large, often brightly coloured...
prefers forests and woods. Frequents river valleys. It occurs at low elevations (1000 to 5000 feet) in North East India but is found at higher altitudes in the western extent of its range - up to 11,000 feet in Kashmir.
Habits
This butterfly has a leisurely flight high above, but is easily recognisable by the thin long fore and hindwings. It is attracted to flowers and visits Clemanthe, Buddleia, Lantana and Rhododendron blossoms.It is mimicked by a day flying moth Epicopa (or Epicopia) polydorus, which flies at the same period and over the same range as the Common Windmill and has much the same manner and habits.
Life cycle
Has several broods where it finds suitable climate. Seen on the wing between April and September. The imagoImago
In biology, the imago is the last stage of development of an insect, after the last ecdysis of an incomplete metamorphosis, or after emergence from the pupa where the metamorphosis is complete...
has a foul odour.
Food plants
- Family Nepentheceae.
- Nepenthes spp.
- Family Aristolochiaceae.
- Aristolochia griffithi.
- Aristolochia shimadai.
See also
- LepidopteraLepidopteraLepidoptera is a large order of insects that includes moths and butterflies . It is one of the most widespread and widely recognizable insect orders in the world, encompassing moths and the three superfamilies of butterflies, skipper butterflies, and moth-butterflies...
- Butterflies
- Papilionidae
- List of butterflies of India
- List of butterflies of India (Papilionidae)