Butterflies of
Thailand, Malaysia &
Borneo
Common Bluebottle
Graphium sarpedon
LINNAEUS, 1758
Family -
PAPILIONIDAE
subfamily -
PAPILIONINAE
Tribe - LEPTOCIRCINI
introduction
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habitats |
lifecycle |
adult behaviour
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Graphium
sarpedon luctatius, males, Taman Negara, West Malaysia |
Introduction
The genus Graphium is widespread in
the Old World, with 35 species in the Afrotropical region, 14 in
the Oriental region, 6 in the Holarctic ( south & west China )
and 20 in the Australian region.
Most of the
Oriental and Australasian species are characterised by the
presence of a pattern of
translucent green, turquoise or yellowish "windows" in their
wings. There are a few however such as
aristeus from New Guinea and the Oriental species
euphrates which are predominantly
white, marked with vertical black stripes. Arguably the most
beautiful and unusual of all is weiskei
from Papua, a tailed species patterned with vivid pink and green
on a dark brown ground colour.
Several Graphium species such as
the African policenes have very
long sword-like tails. Some of the Oriental species e.g.
codrus,
cloanthus and certain races of agamemnon
have short tails, but in others including
sarpedon, doson and
eurypylus the tails are greatly
reduced or absent.
Graphium
sarpedon is the most
widespread and common of the Oriental species, found from India and Sri Lanka to
China and Japan; and from Malaya to Borneo, Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, Bali, New Guinea, eastern
Australia, and the Solomon Islands.
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Graphium
sarpedon luctatius, male, Taman Negara, West Malaysia |
Habitats
This species occurs in almost all forested habitats at altitudes between sea
level and at least 1400m but is much more abundant at lower altitudes. It can
also be seen in many towns and cities where its foodplant
Cinnamomum is grown as an ornamental tree.
Lifecycle
The eggs are spherical, yellowish, and laid singly on the younger more tender
leaves of the larval foodplants, often on saplings or sucker growth around the
base of the trees.
The foodplants used vary
according to country and location, and include
Beilschmiedia, Endiandra,
Cryptocarya, Cinnamomum,
Litsea, Neolitsea ( Lauraceae ),
Annona, Melodorum ( Annonaceae ), Planchonella
( Sapotaceae ), and Doryphora ( Atherospermataceae
).
The fully grown larva is dull green in colour, dappled with yellow and darker
green, and has a thin cream lateral stripe. On each of the thoracic segments
there is a pair of short black spikes, those on the 3rd segment being connected
by a prominent yellow band. There is also a pair of very short white spikes on
the anal segment.
The
wedge-shaped chrysalis is pale green with pale lateral and dorsal stripes which
converge at the tip of the thoracic horn.
It is attached vertically by the cremaster and a silken girdle to a stem or to
the underside of a leaf.
Adult behaviour
Graphium species are generally more
robust than their relatives in Papilio,
and have a stronger and more purposeful flight.
Graphium sarpedon in particular is
noted for its agility and speed in flight.
Prior to mating both sexes can
often be seen circling around the tops of flowering trees, using
these as assembly points where courtship takes place.
After mating,
males visit damp sand and gravel to obtain essential minerals to
replace those lost during sperm transfer. The males
gather in groups of up to 50
individuals, often aggregating with other Papilionid species such
as
Graphium evemon and
Pathysa antiphates. These
aggregations are a common sight along the sandy shores of certain black-water
rivers in Malaysia, but are much less frequent at white-water sites.
As with other Graphium
species, sarpedon males adopt the
"filter-feeding" technique - using their proboscises to
continually suck up water from which they extract sodium and other
minerals. They constantly pump the water through their bodies,
expelling the surplus from the anus, and using it to dissolve further
minerals from the ground, which they re-imbibe.
When feeding on the ground the wings are normally held erect, but
kept constantly quivering. It is common to find that almost
all the butterflies in an aggregation face in the same direction -
into the wind. The wing shape, translucent "windows" and posture
of the aggregating butterflies conjures up an image of a flotilla
of tiny green sailboards.
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