Butterflies of the Indian
subcontinent
Lime butterfly
Papilio
demoleus
LINNAEUS, 1758
Family -
PAPILIONIDAE
subfamily -
PAPILIONINAE
Tribe - PAPILIONINI
Papilio
demoleus
Weligaththa, Sri Lanka ©
Adrian Hoskins
Introduction
There
are about 60 species of Papilio in the Oriental
region, and 210 species worldwide.
Papilio
demoleus is found across most of the Oriental region from India and Sri
Lanka to Vietnam and the Philippines. It's range continues south through
peninsular Malaysia to Sumatra, Borneo, Sulawesi, Java, Timor, Irian Jaya, Papua
New Guinea and Australia. The species has also been introduced to Central
America and the Caribbean, where it is a pest of Citrus.
The butterfly bears a remarkable
resemblance to the African Citrus Swallowtail P. demodocus,
but the two species are not as closely related as their appearance would
seem to indicate.
Habitats
This species can be found in forests but is normally
associated with more open habitats ranging from semi-desert to Acacia scrub,
beach hinterlands, savannah / woodland mosaics, parks and gardens. It can be
found at altitudes between sea level and about 2000m.
Papilio
demoleus
Weligaththa, Sri Lanka ©
Adrian Hoskins
Lifecycle
The main larval
foodplant used in the Oriental region is cultivated Lime
Citrus aurantifolia, on which can be a serious pest. Other
Citrus species are also used, as are
Atalantia, Glycosmis,
Chloroxylon,
Ruta, Murraya,
Zizyphus, Acronichia
and Microcitrus ( Rutaceae ). In the Australian
region Psoralea and Cullen
( Fabaceae ) are used instead.
When young the larva is
olive-brown with a suffused white saddle-mark, and strongly resembles a bird
dropping. The mature caterpillar is green with a pair of narrow cream and grey
mottled bands between the thoracic segments, and a pair of short knobbly tail
horns.
The larvae are parasitised by
Apanteles and Bracon
wasps, and by Ericia Tachnid flies. The pupae are
parasitised by Brachymeria and
Pteromalus wasps.
Adult behaviour
In the early morning the butterflies fly low over the ground,
and settle to bask for long periods on low vegetation, with their wings
outspread. Later in the day as temperatures rise they become very active. Males
spend their time searching for females, or mud -puddling at damp patches of
ground. Females can often be seen nectaring at flowers, and research has shown
that they are genetically programmed to seek blue or purple flowers in
preference to other coloured blooms.
Papilio
demoleus
Bundala, Sri Lanka ©
Adrian Hoskins
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