Common Mime

Common Mime

Chilasa clytia ( Linnaeus) PAPILIONIDAE

Adult form clytia ( mimics the common crow, Euploea core core). Upperside velvety dark brown. FW with a series of creamy white spots in the marginal and terminal areas. HW with a discal series of long, arrow shaped streaks, marginal crescents, narrow yellow or white terminal spots between the veins and a black centered yellow tornal spot. Underside pale to rich dark brown. FW markings as above . HW with a series of large yellow terminal spots. Wingspan 90-100mm.

Form dissimilis ( mimics the Blue Tiger, T.limniace exoticus and the Glassy Blue Tiger, Danaus aglea). Upperside black. FW with creamy stripes without gloss ( unlike T.limniace exoticus), submarginal crescent shaped, pale cream coloured markings. HW with elongate, white discal streaks, spots and a tornal yellow spot. Underside markings as above. HW with large yellow terminal spots.

A butterfly of the hilly regions. Abundant at low elevations and occasionally up to 2500m in the Himalayas, 2700m in Sri Lanka and up to 1000 m in South India. Congregates in large numbers on the sandy banks of streams and around flowers. Abundant during monsoon months in South India. Fond of circling around tree tops for hours together during warm and sunny days in the monsoon season.

Larva

Velvety black or dark green. Body with dorso-lateral caramine circular spots, creamy dorsal band on segments 3-7, a broad creamy band on segments 11-13,2 lateral rows of sharp spines on segments 1-4 and a single row on others. Osmeterium light indigo-blue.

Feeds on various Laurels, Cinnamon, Alseodaphne semecarpifolia, Litsea deccanensis, L.sebifera, etc.

Distribution

The entire Oriental region.