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Blue Morman (male)

Papilio polymnestor

Photo by pamsai
Published on Project Noah
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Field Notes

Description:

Spotting 1800! I was hoping for a special spotting when I looked out my door, and there it was resting on a palm frond.
This is the first one of these beauties I have seen this summer. Maybe because the lime tree is now in flower. They seem to have a habit of resting in the hot afternoons on the palms right outside my door, so I see them quite often.

The Blue Mormon (Papilio polymnestor) is a large swallowtail butterfly found in South India and Sri Lanka.

Habitat:

In India it is restricted to the Western Ghats, Southern India and the East coast. It has been recorded as far north as Gujarat.
The butterfly is most common in heavy rainfall areas, such as evergreen forests. Also common in deciduous forests and wooded urban areas, primarily due to the cultivation of its host plants, i.e. the Citrus species.

Species ID Suggestions

Comments (18)

thanks Metta, Arun, Jakubko, nuwan, leanne and TL. Replying a bit late, but better late than never!
Thank you very much for your kind explanation Pam. And, Congratulations for "1800"!
@Reiko, Actually when you see these butterflies in nature, the females are between bluish grey and a very pale blue, and the males can be a darker blue. It seems difficult to capture the blue in a photo, maybe the way the light hits the scales.
great closeups!
thanks Yuko, Atul and Maria db
Wow! What a magnificent butterfly! Congratulations on 1,800 spottings!
fabulous .. Congratulations on 1800 spotting :)
Beautiful. It looks like colors of black and white, but it is called Blue Morman?
Nice series showing the front and back
wow ...Beautiful ..Congrats on 1800 wonderful spottings :)

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