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Common Jay
Graphium doson
16.4207, 74.3743
Field Notes
Description:
This butterfly struggled through a heavy downpour and finally rests itself on a money plant (Epipremnum aureum). It has lost some color and its wing’s edges are torn. After sitting there in this relaxed position for an hour or so, it hops on a garden balsam plant (Impatiens balsamina) and finally takes off.
Habitat:
Garden next to a pond.
Notes:
The ‘Common Jay’ is a tropical papilionid butterfly, whose wings are black above with a pale bluish macular band. Both wings have a series of bluish submarginal spots. It is active throughout the day and constantly on the move; it rarely settles down. Its flight is swift and straight. As with other Graphium species, adult doson males adopt the 'filter-feeding' technique - using their long proboscises to continually suck up water from which they extract sodium and other minerals. They constantly pump the water through their bodies, expelling the surplus from the anus, and using it to dissolve further minerals from the ground, which they re-imbibe. When feeding on the ground the wings are normally held erect, but kept constantly quivering. It is common to find that almost all the butterflies in an aggregation face in the same direction - into the wind.
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