The Lemon Butterfly

Papilio demoleus or the common lime butterfly is distributed worldwide and is one of the common swallowtail butterflies. This butterfly gets its name from the host plants which are usually the citrus species like lime. Lime butterfly like other swallowtails do not have a prominent tail. The common names of this butterfly are Lemon butterfly, Dingy swallowtail and Small Citrus butterfly. The upper surface of wings is ground black in colour. The forewings are characterized by presence of yellow scales and yellow spots. Hind wings also have yellow scales and yellow spots. The underside of the wings has somewhat paler markings. Antennae are dark reddish brown and somewhat clubbed. Head, thorax and abdomen are dusky black. Head and thoraz have cream coloured streaks especially on the anterior side. Thorax and abdomen are demarcated by the presence of cream yellow streaks with longitudinal black lines running to the end of the abdominal segment.

Lemon butterfly is easily available in different parts of the world like India, Pakistan, Oman, Pacific Islands, Australia, Malaysia, and Singapore. It is perhaps the most widely distributed swallowtail in the world. Its worldwide distribution suggests that the butterfly is able to tolerate and adapt in wide range of habitats. They are present in the savannahs, fallow lands, gardens, evergreen and semi-evergreen forests and prefers to live near the stream and riverbeds. In India they are widely distributed in the plains but are found in the Himalayan region at the altitude of 7,000 feet. It is a mud-paddler and visits flowers most frequently. It basks by keeping its wings open on grasses and generally fly above a meter above the ground even on cloudy days. It relies on its quick flight for escape from enemies. It adopts different modes of flight. During the early morning hours it flies very slowly but as the day progresses the speed of flight also increases. It prefers to visit small herbs rather than the large plants. While resting the butterfly folds its wings and draws the forewings between the hind wings. Most abundant during and after the monsoon months. As the age of butterfly increases the yellow colour on the wings deepens to orange.

The female moves hurriedly from plant to plant in order to lay eggs. She lays a single egg on the upper surface of leaf. The egg is round and yellowish in colour. The egg hatches into a caterpillar which stays in the center of the leaf for some time. The first few instars resemble bird’s droppings and remain protected from the predators even they live in open environments. The caterpillars are yellow-olive green in colour with white spiracular bands. The 8th and 9th abdominal segments are characterized by presence of white patch of uric acid deposited in bird’s droppings. As the development of the caterpillar progresses the similarity with bird’s dropping is lost and it becomes yellow green with white bands. An additional band appears on the 4th and 5th abdominal segments with two black and two bluish spots.

Besides camouflage the caterpillars are attacked by a number of wasps which act as parasitoids and lay eggs in the caterpillars due which the caterpillars die in due course of time. The full grown caterpillar undergoes pupation. The pupa is green with no markings. It bears two projections one infront on its head and the other on thorax. When pupa is situated among the dry objects it becomes brownish grey in colour.

The Lemon Butterfly