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Lime Butterfly

Papilio demoleus

Description:

It gets its common names from its host plants, which are usually citrus species such as the cultivated lime. Unlike most swallowtail butterflies, it does not have a prominent tail.

Habitat:

Seen near open forests.

Notes:

This butterfly is an avid mud-puddler and visitor of flowers. It basks with its wings held wide open on tufts of grass, herbs and generally keeps within a metre above the ground, even on cloudy days. It relies on its quick flight for escape. It is an interesting butterfly in that it has a number of modes of flight. In the cool of the morning, the flight is slow considering that it is an edible and unprotected swallowtail. As the day progresses, it flies fast, straight and low. In the hotter part of the day, it may be found settling on damp patches where it will remain motionless, except for an occasional flutter of wings, if not disturbed.

1 Species ID Suggestions

Lime Butterfly, Lemon Butterfly
Papilio demoleus Lime Butterfly, Lemon Butterfly


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1 Comment

Wild Things
Wild Things 11 years ago

Thanks for the ID Agnes.

Wild Things
Spotted by
Wild Things

Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh, India

Spotted on Oct 31, 2012
Submitted on Nov 28, 2012

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Reference

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