Graphium sarpedon

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Common bluebottle
Common Bluebottle Graphium sarpedon UP by Dr. Raju Kasambe DSCN1849 (10).jpg
Resting on a leaf in Uttarakhand, India
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Papilionidae
Genus: Graphium
Species:
G. sarpedon
Binomial name
Graphium sarpedon
Common blue bottle at Osaka, Japan Common Bluebottle 3.jpg
Common blue bottle at Osaka, Japan

Graphium sarpedon, the common bluebottle or blue triangle in Australia, is a species of swallowtail butterfly that is found in East, South and Southeast Asia, as well as eastern Australia. There are approximately sixteen subspecies with differing geographical distributions.

Contents

Description

Common bluebottle at Keitakuen Common bluebottle, Keitakuen, Osaka.jpg
Common bluebottle at Keitakuen
Slow motion video of a common bluebottle in Kanagawa, Japan

Upperside opaque black. Forewings and hindwings crossed from above the tornal area on the hindwing to near the apex of the forewing by a semi-hyaline broad pale blue medial band which is broadest in the middle, more or less greenish and macular anteriorly; the portion of the band that crosses interspaces 6, 7 and 8 on the hindwing white; beyond the band on the hindwing there is a sub-terminal line of blue slender lunules. Underside similar, ground colour dark brown. Hindwing: a short comparatively broad sub-basal band from costa to sub-costal vein, and the postdiscal area between the medial blue band and the sub-terminal lunules velvety black traversed by the pale veins and transversely, except in interspaces 6 and 7, by narrow crimson lines; lastly, a crimson spot near the tornal angle with an admarginal yellowish-white spot below it. Antenna, head, thorax and abdomen brown, the head and thorax suffused with greenish grey; beneath: the palpi, thorax and abdomen touched with dingy white, the abdomen with two whitish lateral lines.

Male has abdominal fold within grey, furnished with a tuft of long, somewhat stiff white hairs. [1]

Race teredon, Felder. (South India and Sri Lanka) is distinguishable in both sexes by the narrower medial band that crosses both forewing and hindwing. Colour brighter, the contrast between the green of the upper and the blue of the lower portion of the medial band more vivid. Hindwing more produced posteriorly at apex of vein 3, where it forms an elongate tooth or short tail.

Variously reported with wingspans between 55 and 75 mm, the common bluebottle has black upper wings and brown lower wings. Both forewings and hindwings are marked by a central spot in the form of a blue or blue-green triangle, with apex pointing toward the body.

The retinas of the butterfly have 15 types of colour-detecting opsins. [2]

Habitat

Graphium sarpedon is primarily an inhabitant of moist, low-level rain forests (below 1600 m (5000 ft)). In these elevations it is usually seen flying just above the tree canopy. The larvae of the common bluebottle feed on trees of the laurel family, which includes the cinnamon tree, and have expanded their range to include cinnamon tree plantations. In eastern Australia, they have adapted to a drier subtropical environment, and are commonly seen in suburban gardens in Queensland and New South Wales.

Distribution

Subspecies G. s. bingham - woodcut from The Fauna of British India, Including Ceylon and Burma Graphium sarpedon bingham.jpg
Subspecies G. s. bingham - woodcut from The Fauna of British India, Including Ceylon and Burma
Graphium sarpedon found on Odaiba in the center of Tokyo Graphium sarpedon in Japan.jpg
Graphium sarpedon found on Odaiba in the center of Tokyo

The known distributions of some of the sixteen recognized subspecies:

Subspecies found in India occur in southern India in the Western Ghats and in the Himalayas from Kashmir in the west to Myanmar.

G. s. milon and G. s. monticolum, however, are not listed here as they are regarded as separate species in a number of works.

Behaviour

The males are known for their habit of feeding by the edges of puddles, often at the roadside. Occasionally, as many as eight will be seen at the same puddle. They have also been known to be attracted to animal droppings, carcasses and rotting insects.

It has been recorded as a migrant in South India and is known to mud-puddle during migration. The butterfly has been seen as comprising as much as 5% of the population of migrating butterflies during a 72-hour period in the Nilgiri hills. [5]

The common bluebottle is known for quick flight and rapid reactions. Consequently, it is difficult to catch.

Diet

Feeding on Lantana camara. The ventral surface of the wings are visible. Graphium sarpedon WQXGA.jpg
Feeding on Lantana camara . The ventral surface of the wings are visible.

The adult common bluebottle feeds on nectar from a variety of flowering herbs. The larvae feed primarily on the leaves of trees in the families Lauraceae , Myrtaceae , Sapotaceae , and Rutaceae . In particular, G.s. sarpedon and G.s. teredon often feed on leaves of the cinnamon bark tree ( Cinnamomum zeylanicum ) or of the Indian laurel ( Litsea sebifera ).

The list of larval food plants also include Alseodaphne semecarpifolia , Cinnamomum camphora , Cinnamomum macrocarpum , Cinnamomum malabathrum , [6] Litsea chinensis , Polyalthia longifolia , Miliusa tomentosa , Persea macrantha and Michelia doltospa .

The larvae of G. s. choredon, native to Australia, feed on many native Australian species of genera Cryptocarya and Litsea ; and virtually all subspecies feed on leaves of the camphor tree, Cinnamomum camphora, which is native to China but has been naturalized throughout south-east Asia.

Life cycle

Egg

The egg is yellowish, laid singly on the leaves of a host plant.

Larva

When young, is black or dark green, with numerous spines; when full grown, it is green with a short spines on each thoracic segment and anal segment. There is a transverse yellow band on the 4th segment and a lateral band on the body. The caterpillar usually lies on the centre of a leaf on an upper surface. It is very sluggish and pupates near its feeding spot.

Frederic Moore quoted in Bingham, 1907, described it as: "Smooth, thickened from the second to the 5th segment and thence decreasing to the end; with two short subdorsal fleshy spines on the 4th segment, between which is a transverse pale yellow line, two shorter spines also on the 2nd and 3rd and two on the anal segment; colour green, with a longitudinal posterior lateral and lower pale yellowish line."

Pupa

The pupa is green with a slender and pointed thoractic projection, yellowish wing cases and lateral bands. "Conical, truncated in front; thorax produced into a lengthened obtusely-pointed frontal process." (Frederic Moore quoted in Bingham, 1907)

Related Research Articles

<i>Graphium</i> (butterfly) Genus of mostly tropical swallowtail butterflies

Graphium is a genus of mostly tropical swallowtail butterflies commonly known as swordtails, kite swallowtails, or ladies. Native to Eurasia, Africa, and Oceania, the genus is represented by over 100 species. Their colouration is as variable as the habitats they frequent; from rainforest to savannah. Some possess tails which may be long and swordlike, while others lack any hindwing extensions. Graphium species are often sighted at mud puddles.

<i>Graphium antiphates</i> Species of butterfly

Graphium antiphates, The Five-bar swordtail or the green black-striped giant jay is a species of papilionid butterfly found in South and Southeast Asia. The species was first described by Pieter Cramer in 1775.

<i>Graphium agamemnon</i> Species of butterfly

Graphium agamemnon, the tailed jay, is a predominantly green and black tropical butterfly that belongs to the swallowtail family. The butterfly is also called the green-spotted triangle, tailed green jay, or green triangle. It is a common, non-threatened species native to Nepal, India, Sri Lanka through Southeast Asia and Australia. Several geographic races are recognized. The species was first described by Carl Linnaeus in his 1758 10th edition of Systema Naturae.

<i>Graphium nomius</i> Species of butterfly

Graphium nomius, the spot swordtail, is a butterfly found in South and Southeast Asia that belongs to the swallowtail family. The species was first described by Eugenius Johann Christoph Esper in 1793. One of the grandest sights is a host of spot swordtails mud-puddling or swarming around a flowering forest tree.

<i>Curetis thetis</i> Species of butterfly

Curetis thetis, the Indian sunbeam, is a species of lycaenid or red butterfly found in Indomalayan realm.

<i>Graphium doson</i> Species of butterfly

Graphium doson, the common jay, is a black, tropical papilionid (swallowtail) butterfly with pale blue semi-transparent central wing bands that are formed by large spots. There is a marginal series of smaller spots. The underside of wings is brown with markings similar to upperside but whitish in colour. The sexes look alike. The species was first described by father and son entomologists Cajetan and Rudolf Felder.

<i>Papilio clytia</i> Species of butterfly

Papilio clytia, the common mime, is a swallowtail butterfly found in south and southeast Asia. The butterfly belongs to the subgenus Chilasa, the black-bodied swallowtails. It serves as an excellent example of a Batesian mimic among the Indian butterflies.

<i>Graphium xenocles</i> Species of butterfly

Graphium xenocles, the great zebra, is a swallowtail butterfly found in Southeast Asia which is common and not threatened.

<i>Graphium eurypylus</i> Species of butterfly

Graphium eurypylus, the great jay or pale green triangle, is a species of tropical butterfly belonging to the family Papilionidae.

<i>Graphium cloanthus</i> Species of butterfly

Graphium cloanthus, the glassy bluebottle, is a common, non-threatened tropical butterfly of the family Papilionidae.

<i>Tarucus theophrastus</i> Species of butterfly

Tarucus theophrastus, the common tiger blue, pointed Pierrot or African Pierrot, is a small butterfly found in the Old World tropics. It belongs to the lycaenids or blues family.

<i>Papilio demolion</i> Species of butterfly

Papilio demolion, the banded swallowtail, is a species of swallowtail butterfly belonging to the family Papilionidae.

<i>Doleschallia bisaltide</i> Species of butterfly

Doleschallia bisaltide, the autumn leaf, is a nymphalid butterfly found in South Asia, Southeast Asia, and Australasia. In Australia it is also known as the leafwing.

<i>Graphium codrus</i> Species of butterfly

Graphium codrus is a butterfly of the family Papilionidae, that is found in the Philippines, Celebes and Solomon Islands.

<i>Thyas coronata</i> Species of moth

Thyas coronata is a species of moth of the family Erebidae first described by Johan Christian Fabricius in 1775. It is found from the Indo-Australian tropics of southern China, Taiwan, Japan, Nepal, India, Sri Lanka to Micronesia and the Society Islands.

<i>Graphium porthaon</i> Species of butterfly

Graphium porthaon, the coastal swordtail, cream-striped swordtail or dark swordtail, is a species of butterfly in the family Papilionidae, found in tropical western Africa.

<i>Graphium colonna</i> Species of butterfly

Graphium colonna, the black swordtail or mamba swordtail, is a species of butterfly in the family Papilionidae (swallowtails). It is found in Africa.

<i>Graphium polistratus</i> Species of butterfly

Graphium polistratus, the dancing swordtail, is a butterfly in the family Papilionidae (swallowtails). It is found in Nigeria, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the coast of Kenya, Tanzania, northern Malawi and Mozambique. Its habitat consists of warm and coastal forests.

<i>Graphium bathycles</i> Species of butterfly

Graphium bathycles, the veined jay, is a butterfly in the family Papilionidae, that is found in the Indomalayan realm.

<i>Graphium teredon</i> Species of butterfly

Graphium teredon, the southern bluebottle or narrow banded bluebottle, is a species of swallowtail butterfly. It is found in southern India and Sri Lanka.

References

  1. ↑ Bingham, C.T. (1907). The Fauna of British India, Including Ceylon and Burma. Vol. II (1st ed.). London: Taylor and Francis, Ltd.
  2. ↑ Chen, Pei-Ju; Awata, Hiroko; Matsushita, Atsuko; Yang, En-Cheng; Arikawa, Kentaro (8 March 2016). "Extreme Spectral Richness in the Eye of the Common Bluebottle Butterfly, Graphium sarpedon". Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution. 4. doi: 10.3389/fevo.2016.00018 .
  3. ↑ Monastyrskii, A.L. 2012. New taxa and new records of butterflies from Vietnam (4) (Lepidoptera, Rhopalocera). Atalanta 43(1-2): 156–164. full article (pdf)
  4. ↑ Malcolm G. P. Page & Colin G. Treadaway , 2013 Speciation in Graphium sarpedon (Linnaeus) and allies (Lepidoptera: Rhopalocera: Papilionidae) Stuttgarter Beiträge zur Naturkunde A, Neue Serie 6: 223–246; Stuttgart. pdf Archived 2020-02-07 at the Wayback Machine .
  5. ↑ Mathew, G.; Binoy, C.F. (2002). "Migration of butterflies (Lepidoptera: Rhopalocera) in the New Amarambalam Reserve Forest of the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve" (PDF). Zoos' Print Journal. 17 (8): 844–847. doi: 10.11609/jott.zpj.17.8.844-7 (inactive 2024-05-19). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2018-06-01. Retrieved 2010-04-13.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: DOI inactive as of May 2024 (link)
  6. ↑ Kunte, K. 2006. Additions to known larval host plants of Indian butterflies. Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society 103(1):119-120

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