Paris Peacock

Paris Peacock

Papilio paris tamilana Moore PAPILIONIDAE

(= Papilio paris ( Linnaeus))

Adult

Upperside male black. FW covered with green scales and with a narrow, short green discal band ( Sometimes absent). HW with the basal area and lower outer area including the tail dusted with green scales. A Large upper discal blue patch, a cimson tornal spot and 3 submarginal green lunules above the tail. Underside dark brown. FW with grey base and apex and a broad, discal posteriorly decreasing grey band. HW with grey base and blackouter area and with a complete submarginal series of bright crimson lunules extending up to the tornal ocellus. Female similar to male. HW with a large upper discal blue patch and a faint red lunule near the costa. Wingspan 90-140mm.

Easily the finest of all butterflies and the largest of the Peacocks. Very common in the wooded regions of evergreen forests from the plains and up to 2400m in the hills. Never ventures out of the forest and abundant during the southwest monsoon in south India. Both sexes visit damp patches, sometimes settling with the wings held flat against the substrate: peculiar to the family. Visits flowers like lantana and the sight of a dozen or so of these butterflies hovering over the flowers is a rare treat to watch.

Larva

Bright grass green-spotted with yellow and white and a lateral white band from segments 5-6 to the anal end and faint yellow diagonal line.

Feeds on Zanthoxylum ovalifolium, Wild orange, Citrus spp. Etc.

Distribution

Most of the oriental region except in sri lanka, Myanmar and Malaysia.