Pazala eurous
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| Sixbar Swordtail | ||||||||||||||||
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| Pazala eurous Leech, 1892-94 |
The Sixbar Swordtail Pazala eurous, which is native to India, is a beautiful butterfly of the Swallowtails, (Papilionidae) family. It belongs to the Pazala subgenus of genus Graphium, the Swordtails,
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[edit] Range
Northern Pakistan (including Jammu & Kashmir, into India (Himachal Pradesh, Garhwal and Kumaon, Sikkim, Assam, Manipur), Nepal, Northern Myanmar, south-western and central China and Taiwan.
[edit] Status
Though overall common and not threatened, it tends to be extremely local.
[edit] Habitat
These butterflies are found in open places in wooded country between 3000 to 8000 feet in the Himalayas. They inhabit certain small localities and are always to be found there.
[edit] Habits
While the male Swordtails are rarely away from their favourite spots, the females wander abroad in search of their hostplants, the Laurels.
The males generally fly high up, often around a selected tree, where they can be seen settling now and then well out of reach. Occasionally they descend close to the ground where they can be netted. The females, being less lively fly closer to the ground, and are often found settling on their hostplants.
[edit] Lifecycle
This species is single-brooded. It regularly emerges in Himachal Pradesh area in mid-April and stays on the wing till mid-May. The brood emerges slightly earlier East of Himachal till in Assam the butterflies appear as early as January.
Usually, the females emerge much later than the males and it is not uncommon to see fresh females with wings in perfect condition being courted by males with tattered wings.
[edit] Eggs
Not described.
[edit] Caterpillar
The caterpillars are greenish and have black dots. It has a yellow transverse band. Each thoracic segment has a pair of spines. The anal processes are yellow and have a black tip.
[edit] Pupa
The pupas are slender, green and have four yellowish lines.
[edit] Foodplants
- The common hostplant for the Sixbar Swordtail is Machilus odoratissimus of the family Lauraceae. It is thought above that 5000 feet they use a related species, Machilus duthiei, which has an altitudinal range of 4000 to 9000 feet.
- Haribal records Michelia doltospa and Persea odoratissima as the larval hostplants.
[edit] References
- Collins, N.M. & Morris, M.G. (1985) Threatened Swallowtail Butterflies of the World. IUCN. ISBN 978-2-88032-603-6
- Evans, W.H. (1932) The Identification of Indian Butterflies. (2nd Ed), Bombay Natural History Society, Mumbai, India
- Gay,Thomas; Kehimkar,Isaac & Punetha,J.C.(1992) Common Butterflies of India. WWF-India and Oxford University Press, Mumbai, India.
- Haribal, Meena (1994) Butterflies of Sikkim Himalaya and their Natural History.
- Kunte, Krushnamegh (2005) Butterflies of Peninsular India. Universities Press.
- Wynter-Blyth, M.A. (1957) Butterflies of the Indian Region, Bombay Natural History Society, Mumbai, India.
