Papilio polyctor
Encyclopedia
The Common Peacock is a beautiful swallowtail
butterfly
found in India
. It is found in the Himalayas
and parts of India
from the foothills to 7000 feet between March and October. It has distinct dry and wet season forms. The butterfly frequents Buddleia flowers. Its foodplant is Xanthoxylon alatum of the Rutaceae
family.
The sexes are very nearly alike, and the difference slight between the dry-season and wet-season broods. Upperside dull black thickly irrorated with golden-green scales Forewing: a broad subterminal golden-green band that varies in length, but in all specimens is more or less diffuse and obsolescent towards the costal margin; in specimens of the wet-season broods this band is slightly broader than in those of the dry-season, also broader in the female than in the male. Hind wing: the irroration of golden-green scales less dense, turning to blue on the anterior portions of the wing; a broad bright blue upper discal patch that stops well short of the termen, and has its outer margin uneven, occupies the base of interspace 4 and the outer portions of interspaces 5, 6, and 7; below, this patch is continued in interspaces 1 to 3 by much smaller diffuse quadrate spots of brilliant golden-green scales, that are prominent in wet-season forms, more obscure in the dry. The discal patch itself is variable in size; in some specimens there is only a trace of it in interspace 4. Tornus with a conspicuous subterminal claret-red lunule, traversed inwardly by an obscure blue line and edged above the lunule, narrowly, by velvety black; indications generally of a similar lunule in interface 2; finally a terminal series of large velvety-black markings that form on the tail broad borders to the green irroration down its middle. Cilia broadly edged with white in the interspaces. Underside chocolate-brown, somewhat thinly irrorated with yellowish scales, which are absent however, from a more or loss triangular patch in the middle of the forewing posteriorly, but coalesce and form an ill-defined very short subterminal band just above the tornal angle of that wing. Hindwing: a conspicuous subterminai series of claret-red lunules each traversed inwardly by a line of purplish blue, followed by velvety-black spots and broad white terminal lunules. Antennae, head, thorax and abdomen brownish black; the head, thorax and abdomen above, thinly irrorated with green scales.
, Pakistan
, India
(from Kashmir
to Sikkim
and Assam
), Nepal
, Bhutan
, Myanmar
, Thailand
, northern Vietnam
and Laos
.
Pupa. Pale green with yellow and white markings. Head cleft, back strongly arched; "sides flattened out with a hard sharp ridge running longitudinally round the whole insect." (Harford, as quoted by Moore.)
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...
butterfly
Butterfly
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...
found in 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...
. It is found in 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...
and parts of 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...
from the foothills to 7000 feet between March and October. It has distinct dry and wet season forms. The butterfly frequents Buddleia flowers. Its foodplant is Xanthoxylon alatum of the Rutaceae
Rutaceae
Rutaceae, commonly known as the rue or citrus family, is a family of flowering plants, usually placed in the order Sapindales.Species of the family generally have flowers that divide into four or five parts, usually with strong scents...
family.
Description
- See glossaryGlossary of Lepidopteran termsThis glossary describes the terms used in the formal descriptions of insect species, jargon used mostly by professionals or entomologist....
for terms used
The sexes are very nearly alike, and the difference slight between the dry-season and wet-season broods. Upperside dull black thickly irrorated with golden-green scales Forewing: a broad subterminal golden-green band that varies in length, but in all specimens is more or less diffuse and obsolescent towards the costal margin; in specimens of the wet-season broods this band is slightly broader than in those of the dry-season, also broader in the female than in the male. Hind wing: the irroration of golden-green scales less dense, turning to blue on the anterior portions of the wing; a broad bright blue upper discal patch that stops well short of the termen, and has its outer margin uneven, occupies the base of interspace 4 and the outer portions of interspaces 5, 6, and 7; below, this patch is continued in interspaces 1 to 3 by much smaller diffuse quadrate spots of brilliant golden-green scales, that are prominent in wet-season forms, more obscure in the dry. The discal patch itself is variable in size; in some specimens there is only a trace of it in interspace 4. Tornus with a conspicuous subterminal claret-red lunule, traversed inwardly by an obscure blue line and edged above the lunule, narrowly, by velvety black; indications generally of a similar lunule in interface 2; finally a terminal series of large velvety-black markings that form on the tail broad borders to the green irroration down its middle. Cilia broadly edged with white in the interspaces. Underside chocolate-brown, somewhat thinly irrorated with yellowish scales, which are absent however, from a more or loss triangular patch in the middle of the forewing posteriorly, but coalesce and form an ill-defined very short subterminal band just above the tornal angle of that wing. Hindwing: a conspicuous subterminai series of claret-red lunules each traversed inwardly by a line of purplish blue, followed by velvety-black spots and broad white terminal lunules. Antennae, head, thorax and abdomen brownish black; the head, thorax and abdomen above, thinly irrorated with green scales.
Range
Eastern AfghanistanAfghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
, Pakistan
Pakistan
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...
, 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...
(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...
and 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...
), 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....
, 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...
, northern 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 –...
and 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...
.
Flight
The Indian Peacock butterfly is the most striking in flight, a veritable pulsar of iridescent blue and green as it flits and glides around. The depth and shades of green and blue change with the angle of light falling on its wings.Life history
Larva. Dull green with some yellowish markings, thorax with a remarkable shield-like covering projecting a little over the head and marked with slender involute black lines; 7th to the 12th segments with lateral obliquely placed pale yellowish lines.Pupa. Pale green with yellow and white markings. Head cleft, back strongly arched; "sides flattened out with a hard sharp ridge running longitudinally round the whole insect." (Harford, as quoted by Moore.)
Other reading
- 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.