Common Mormon

Common Mormon

Papilio polyted romulus Cramer PAPILIONIDAE

Adult

Upperside female black. FW with borad, irregular white streaks in the cell, tornus and apex. HW with elongate red spots in the apex and disc, red crescent spots in the margin and pale red spots in the termen. No red markings in and around the cell as in Pachliopta hector.

Male upperside dark, blackish brown. HW with an yellow discal band of elongated spots which continues in the FW as marginal yellow spots. Underside with a series of submarginal white lunules and marginal white spots with an area of blue scalings in between the HW. Wingspan 90-100mm.

In both sexes, HW has a black-centered reddish spot in the tornus and the body without red markings.

A black-bodied swallowtail butterfly. Female mimics the crimson Rose . P.hector and the Common Rose, P.aristolochiae.

Visits flowers of Fiddle-leaved Jatropha, Ceylon Carissa, Horse-purslane, Pink Cock’s comb, etc.

Larva

Grayish green, head yellow with scarlet osmeterium. Body with yellow sides, crests on segments 4 and 5, 2 tubercles on segments 2 and 13 and white markings and bands on segments 7 and 10.

Feeds on all cultivated citrus, curry leaf, orange jessamine, limeberry, wingleaf pricklyash, Malay Glycosmis, Zanthoxylum robusta, etc.

Distribution

India, sri lanka, Pakistan, Nepal, china, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, moluccas and lesser sunda islands.