Common Mormon

Description:

The Common Mormon (Papilio polytes) is a common species of swallowtail butterfly widely distributed across Asia. This butterfly is known for the mimicry displayed by the numerous forms of its females which mimic inedible Red-bodied Swallowtails, such as the Common Rose and the Crimson Rose.

Habitat:

The Common Mormon prefers lightly wooded country, but is present everywhere and high up into the hills. It is a regular visitor to gardens, being especially abundant in orchards of its foodplants—oranges and limes. It is most common in the monsoon and post-monsoon months.Within the city of Guwahati, it was seen within the Urban areas adjoining to the Nabagraha Hills.

Notes:

The Common Mormon is fond of visiting flowers and its long proboscis permits it to feed from flowers having long corollar tubes. It is particularly fond of Lantana, Jatropha, Ixora, and Mussaenda in city gardens. In the forests, the Common Mormon remains low keeping within ten feet off the floor and its prefer to visit Asystasia, Peristrophe, and Jasminum for nectar. The male Common Mormon is a very common visitor to gardens where he will be seen hovering over flowers when the sun is shining. It is a restless insect, zig-zagging fast and straight close to the ground, settling down only when it halts to feed. The mimic female Mormons, stichius and romulus are very convincing mimics due to their habits, especially the flight patterns, being very similar to those of the Rose models. However, lacking the protection of inedibility, they tend to be more easily disturbed than the Roses and fly off erratically . Only the males take part in mud puddling, usually in cool shaded spots rather than in open areas. They have been known to collect on saline soils to extract minerals. Both sexes bask in the sun on shrubs close to the ground. They hold their wings flat against the substratum. The forewing is lowered to cover part of the hindwing and is a typical stance of the Common Mormon. The Common Mormons spend the night settled on vegetation with their wings held open, usually quite close to the ground.