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Text and photographs
protected by Copyright © Adrian Hoskins
2007, and must not be published
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Butterflies of
Malaysia and Borneo
Common Bluebottle
Graphium sarpedon
LINNAEUS, 1758
Family -
PAPILIONIDAE
subfamily -
PAPILIONINAE
Tribe - LEPTOCIRCINI
introduction
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habitats |
lifecycle |
adult behaviour
Text and photographs protected by Copyright © Adrian
Hoskins 2007-2008, and must not be reproduced or published in part
or in whole elsewhere in any form without written permission from
Adrian Hoskins. Breach of copyright will be pursued by litigation.
Website designed, produced and owned by
Adrian Hoskins
Graphium
sarpedon luctatius, males, Taman Negara, West Malaysia
Introduction
Butterflies of the genus
Graphium
are commonly known as Kites, Jays and Bluebottles.
Graphium sarpedon
is known in Malaysia and Sri Lanka as the Common Bluebottle, but in Australia is
called the Blue Triangle or Blue Fanny.
The
dorsum ( inner edge ) of the hindwing of males of all species has a fold
enclosing androconial scales. The tornus of the hindwing is extended to produce
a tail, which is short and stubby in
sarpedon,
but extended into a long sword-like projection in many of the African species.
The wings of all species are dark brown, and possess bands of translucent
turquoise or greenish-yellow "windows".
The
genus includes 52 described species,
distributed throughout the tropical regions of Africa, Asia and Australia. 37 of
these are restricted to Africa, 10 are widespread across south-east Asia, and
the remainder are endemic to islands in Indonesia and the south Pacific.
Graphium
sarpedon is the most
widespread and common of these species, found from India and Sri Lanka to
Malaysia, China and Japan, Borneo, Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, New Guinea, eastern
Australia, and almost all Pacific islands as far east as the Solomon Islands.
Habitats
This species occurs in almost all forested habitats at altitudes between sea
level and at least 1000m.
Lifecycle
The eggs are laid on the younger more tender leaves of Lauraceae, often on
saplings or sucker growth around the base of the trees.
The fully grown caterpillar is green, speckled with yellow, and with a yellow
band around the distended thoracic section, and a cream lateral stripe. The
thoracic segments each carry a pair of short spines, and there is another short
spine on the anal segment.
The larval foodplants
include Persea,
Cinnamomum,
Alseodaphne
and Litsea.
The
chrysalis is pale green with a dark line along the side of the abdomen which
extends along a lateral ridge to the tip of the prominent pointed thoracic horn.
It is attached vertically by the cremaster and a silken girdle to a stem, and
has the appearance of a curled, desiccated green leaf.
Adult behaviour
Males congregate in groups of up to 50 individuals, to imbibe mineral-laden moisture from the sandbanks of certain black-water rivers, but are much less frequent at white-water sites. They are much more abundant at lower altitudes, but can often be seen on the ground in one's and two's in the hill country. When feeding on the ground the wings are normally held erect and closed, but kept rapidly vibrating.
In some countries, e.g. Sri Lanka, the butterflies hardly ever settle on the ground, but are commonly seen flying around the tops of flowering trees, particularly at higher altitudes.
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