Common Mormon

Description:

Jet black butterfly with row of white spots along the middle part of hindwing. 90–100 mm.

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.

Notes:

In India, this butterfly is considered as the classic example of Batesian Mimicry in which edible species resemble unpalatable butterflies in order to escape being eaten by predators.