Sahyadri Five-bar Swordtail

 Graphium antiphates naira Moore 1903 വരയൻ വാൾവാലൻ

                                                                         Photo     Baiju K

Malayalam Name 

:

വരയൻ വാൾവാലൻ

Family 

:

Papilionidae

Sub-family             

:

Papilioninae

Tribe                     

: 

 Leptocircini

Order

:

Lepidoptera


DISTRIBUTION
            Widespread and common throughout  South Asia and Southeast Asia. 
STATUS:    Common
HABITAT
The Common Jay is common in the thick, riparian, moist deciduous, semi-evergreen and evergreen forests. It inhabits primary as well as secondary forests, plantation and orchards. 
HABITS
 This butterfly is active throughout the day but difficult to see it settled down. While feeding from flowers, it keeps its wings vibrating, never fully settling on the flower. The mails gather at mud-puddling sites and usually form their  own species assemblages or join other Swallowtail butterflies. In the evening it choose a particular branch to sleep. At rest the wings are closed over the back, but the hind wings do not cover the fore wings. 
IDENTIFICATION  FEATURES
Wingspan 80mm-100mm.  This white butterfly with forewing has the cell  of the forewing crossed by five short black bands.
The upperside of the hindwing has the basal three-fourths uniformly white, with black markings on the underside that show through; the terminal fourth dark grey traversed by a curved irregular subterminal series of black crescent shaped marks that ends in a black tornal spot and a terminal black band that follows the indentations of the wing; the emargination (notches in a margin) below the black tornal spot are edged with ochraceous; the tail blackish grey, edged and tipped with white
LARVAL HOST PLANTS
The caterlillar feed on  Unona lawii,Miliusa spp. (Annonaceae), Magnolia doltsopa (Magnoliaceae).   

LIFE CYCLE

MORE IMAGES     



കേരള വനം വന്യജീവി വകുപ്പ്  
മാങ്കുളം ഡിവിഷൻ




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