| Red Helen | |
|---|---|
 | |
 | |
| P. h. fortunius | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Lepidoptera |
| Family: | Papilionidae |
| Genus: | Papilio |
| Species: | P. helenus |
| Binomial name | |
| Papilio helenus | |
Papilio helenus, the red Helen, [1] [2] is a large swallowtail butterfly found in forests of southern India and parts of southeast Asia. [1] [2]
Papilio helenus is found in Sri Lanka, southern and north-east India, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Kampuchea, Vietnam, southern China (including Hainan, Guangdong province), Taiwan, southern Japan, South Korea, Ryukyu Islands, peninsular and eastern Malaysia, Brunei, Philippines, and Indonesia (Sumatra, Java, Bangka, Kalimantan, the Lesser Sunda Islands except Tanimbar). [1] [2]
In India it occurs along the Western Ghats from Kerala to Gujarat, also Palnis and Shevaroys, in the north from Mussoorie eastwards, to north-east India and onto Myanmar. [1] [2] [3] [4]
Male. Upper-side rich brownish-black ; cilia alternated with white. Fore-wing with slender longitudinal streaks of golden-yellow scales within the cell, and hairy-scaled broad streaks between the outer veins ; lower base of the wing also sparsely speckled with golden-yellow scales. Hind-wing with a cream- white upper discal patch composed of three portions, a short almost quadrate portion in the costal interspace, and two lower large elongate portions in the subcostal interspaces, a few white or grey scales also being present below the lower portion ; at the anal angle is a dark purple-red circlet which generally partly encloses a round black spot, followed by a lower submarginal series of three, sometimes four, more or less apparent purple-red incurved lunules, the first or lower one sometimes forming a circle round a black spot ; in some specimens the lower lunule is obsolescent, in others all the latter are obsolete. Underside paler. Fore-wing with prominent greyish-white scaled slender cell-streaks and bread outer vein-streaks. Hind-wing with the upper basal area speckled with greyish-white scale.*, and three similar scaled slender longitudinal streaks within the cell, the base of the median and sub median vein also being white scaled; upper discal white patch composed of three smaller portions than on the upper-side; anal ocellus and a complete series of submarginal lunules dark red ; an inner sub anal confluent lunles also present in the lower median interspace ; the anal and sub anal lunules being speckled with violet-blue scales; beyond is a marginal row of more or less defined red-and-white scaled lunules.
Female. Upper-side and underside similar to the male, except that the base of the hind-wing is paler.
Body brownish-black; collar, front of head and palpi white-spotted; tegulae white fringed; legs and antenna black.
Papilio helenus is generally common and not threatened. It is commonly found from Kerala to Maharashtra, but rare in Gujarat. It is also found in abundance in north-east India, and very commonly sighted in Assam. [5]
Papilio helenus is the nominate member of the helenus species group. The members of this clade are:
There are up to thirteen different subspecies, two of which occur in India:
and one in Taiwan:
This butterfly flies throughout the year in southern India.
The egg is pale apricot-yellow in colour when freshly deposited, spherical in shape and has a slightly roughened exterior which looks like the skin of an orange when seen through a microscope. The diameter of an egg is 1.2 mm.
The eggs are deposited singly on the tips of very young leaves and shoots in shady parts of thick jungle. Before hatching, the eggs appear to be marked by chocolate coloured lines and flecks. The egg hatches in 4 to 7 days.
The freshly emerged larva is about 3 mm long. Throughout the caterpillar stage, if it is agitated it can evert a yellow-to-red osmeterium from the first segment, just behind the head. Each of the other segments bears, on the back, a pair of tufts of stiff hairs, each tuft arising from a small, yellowish conical process. The overall colour is brown, but there is a whitish saddle-like patch about the middle and the tail segments are also whitish in colour.
Like other Papilio species the larva can evert a two-pronged horn-like osmeterium when it is irritated. The osmeterium secretes an repugnatorial|unpleasant-smelling liquid which is believed to repel predators and parasites.
After the first moult the caterpillar has the appearance of a shiny bird dropping. The larva is grass green in colour, mottled black and white and smoky grey. The osmeterium, when everted, is generally yellow to red.
While inactive, mainly during daylight hours, the young larva lies along the midrib of the underside of the leaf. Later on, when it is largely fully grown, it is greener and lies on the centre of the upperside of the leaf, on a stem or a twig. The fifth instar larva is about 5 cm long.
Cepora nerissa, the common gull, is a small to medium-sized butterfly of the family Pieridae, that is, the yellows and whites, which is native to Sri Lanka, India, China, southeast Asia, and Indonesia.
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.
Papilio paris, the Paris peacock, is a species of swallowtail butterfly found in the Indian subcontinent and southeast Asia.
Papilio alcmenor, the redbreast, is a species of swallowtail butterfly found in South Asia.
Papilio crino, the common banded peacock, is a species of swallowtail (Papilionidae) butterfly found in parts of the Indian subcontinent, including India, Nepal, Bhutan and Sri Lanka.
Papilio polymnestor, the blue Mormon, is a large swallowtail butterfly found in south India and Sri Lanka. It is the "state butterfly" of the Indian state of Maharashtra. With a wingspan of 120–150 mm, it is the fourth largest butterfly of India.
Papilio bootes, the tailed redbreast, is a beautiful swallowtail butterfly found in India.
Papilio castor, the common raven, is a species of swallowtail butterfly found in Cambodia and South Asia.
Papilio elephenor, the yellow-crested spangle, is a species of swallowtail butterfly found in Northeast India. Following decades without confirmed sightings, it was rediscovered in 2009 in Assam.
Papilio prexaspes, the blue Helen, is a swallowtail butterfly found in Southeast Asia. The race found in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Papilio prexaspes andamanicus, is also known as the Andaman Helen.
Papilio krishna, the Krishna peacock, is a large swallowtail butterfly found in forests in China, north east India, Myanmar and Vietnam.
Papilio nephelus is a species of swallowtail butterfly belonging to the family Papilionidae. Subspecies include P. n. chaon, the yellow Helen, and P. n. sunatus, the black and white Helen.
Papilio polyctor, the common peacock, is a swallowtail butterfly found in the Indian subcontinent. It is found in the Himalayas and parts of India from the foothills to 7,000 feet (2,100 m) between March and October. It has distinct dry- and wet-season forms. The butterfly frequents Buddleia flowers. Its food plant is Xanthoxylon alatum of the family Rutaceae. Papilio polyctor has three subspecies, consisting of Papilio polyctor significans, Papilio polyctor stockleyi, and Papilio polyctor xiei.
Papilio protenor, the spangle, is a butterfly found in India belonging to the swallowtail family.
Teinopalpus imperialis, the Kaiser-i-Hind, is a rare species of swallowtail butterfly found from Nepal and north India east to north Vietnam. The common name literally means "emperor of India". The Kaiser-i-Hind is much sought after by butterfly collectors for its beauty and rarity. The green iridescence of the wings has been found to be due to three-dimensional photonic structure of the scales and is the subject of much research.
Papilio (Chilasa) agestor, the tawny mime, is a swallowtail butterfly, native to Indian subcontinent and widely found across Asia. The butterfly belongs to the mime subgenus, Chilasa, of the genus Papilio or the black-bodied swallowtails.
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.
Papilio (Chilasa) epycides, the lesser mime, is a swallowtail butterfly found in India and parts of South-East Asia. The butterfly belongs to the mime (Chilasa) subgenus or the black-bodied swallowtails. It is a mimic of a common Indian Danainae, the glassy tiger butterfly.
Byasa latreillei, the rose windmill, is a butterfly from the windmills genus (Byasa), found in various parts of Asia, comprising tailed black swallowtail butterflies with white spots and red submarginal crescents.
Papilio demolion, the banded swallowtail, is a species of swallowtail butterfly Belonging to the family Papilionidae.
One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a work now in the public domain : Moore, Frederic (1901–1903). Lepidoptera Indica. Vol. V. London: Lovell Reeve and Co. pp. 208–210.
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