| Papilio clytia | |
|---|---|
| Papilio clytia form dissimilis | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Lepidoptera |
| Family: | Papilionidae |
| Genus: | Papilio |
| Subgenus: | Chilasa |
| Species: | Papilio clytia |
| Binomial name | |
| Papilio clytia Linnaeus, 1758 |
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| Synonyms | |
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The Common Mime, Papilio clytia, is a Swallowtail butterfly found in South and South-east Asia. The butterfly belongs to the Chilasa group or the Black-bodied Swallowtails. It serves an excellent example of a Batesian mimic among the Indian butterflies.
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Both males and females have the upperside velvety black or soft dark brown. Forewing: a subterminal series of outwardly truncate or emarginate white spot; the spot in interspace 4 shifted inwards out of line; those in interspaces 6,7 and 8 oblique to the costa, the lowest and the upper two spots elongate; this is followed by a terminal series of smaller white spots, two in interspace 1, one above the outer, and two in interspaces 8; lastly, a single spot between the subterminal and terminal series.
Hindwing: a discal series of inwardly conical and outwardly emarginate, triangular, elongate white spots; a prominent tornal yellow spot broadly divided across the middle by a bar of the ground colour. The cilia touched with white in the interspaces; sometimes one or more of these specks on the cilia are broad and prominent and yellow in colour. Underside: from soft pale brown to rich dark velvety brown. Forewing with the markings as on the upperside. Hindwing: the markings also similar to those on the upperside, but the terminal margin beyond the subterminal series of white markings bears a row of comparatively large very conspicuous yellow spots, separated from the white lunules by a series of short transverse detached spots of the ground colour. Antennae, head, thorax and abdomen black, the thorax anteriorly and beneath and the abdomen on the sides spotted with white.[1]
Form dissimilis, Doubleday differs from the first form as follows: Upperside, forewing: cell with four streaks coalescent at base and four spots beyond at apex, a long streak in interspace 1a, two streaks with two spots beyond which are more or less coalescent with them in interspace 1, a broad streak with an outwardly emarginate spot in interspace 2, similar spots, one at base and one beyond, in 3, a single similar spot in 4, elongate streaks in 5 and 6, and much smaller elongate spots in interspaces 8 and 9. All these streaks and spots cream-white with diffuse edges; subterminal and terminal markings as in the first form. Hindwing: markings similar to those in the first form with the following differences: discoidal cell entirely white, discal white streaks longer that reach quite up to the outer margin of the cell and are continued anteriorly to the costa by elongate streaks in interspaces 6 and 7, two spots in interspace 8 and a slender streak along the costa; the subterminal and terminal markings as in the first form. Underside similar to the upperside, the cream-white markings slightly larger, the terminal series of yellow spots on the hindwing as in the first form. Antennae, head, thorax and abdomen as in the typical clytia form; the head, thorax and abdomen with more prominent white spots.[1]
Wing expanse: 108–121 mm
Many variations have been described and given names in the past, and many of these names may no longer be valid.
This butterfly is found in India from Kangra to Sikkim, from Assam to Burma, Nepal, Bangladesh, Peninsular India and the Andaman Islands. It is also found in Sri Lanka, Thailand, Southern China (including Hainan), Hong Kong, Vietnam, Laos, Kampuchea, peninsular Malaysia, Philippines and Indonesia (Flores, Alor, Timor and Moa). Several regional variants and forms are recognized.
Generally common and not threatened. The nominate subspecies is protected by law in India.[2]
This is a butterfly of hilly regions but also found at lower elevations. It is plentiful in the premonsoon and monsoon period and becomes scarce later on.
The Common Mime has two mimetic forms in both sexes. The nominate form C. clytia form clytia mimics the Common Indian Crow (Euploea core) while the form dissimilis mimics the Blue Tiger (Tirumala limniace).
The flight of the Mime also resembles that of the model, fluttering, neither weak nor strong, sometimes staying close to the ground and at other times flying strongly up into the treetops. It mud-puddles on stream banks in summer. Known to bask and usually sits with the wings spread wide open while feeding on nectar from flowers.
The larvae feed on species of the Laurel family Lauraceae
Spherical, shiny and orange-yellow, laid on upper surface of leaves.
The larvae and pupa are stated by Mackinnon to resemble closely the larva and pupa of P. agestor'. Messrs. Davidson and Aitken's description of them is as follows: "Not unlike the larva of the Ornithoptera group in form, having similar rows of fleshy processes, but it is by far the handsomest Papilio larva we know, being of a dark umber-brown colour with a bright red spot at the base of each process, a dorsal row of large irregular yellow patches and a partial lateral row ending in a diagonal band which connects the two."[1]
velvet black or dark green. Has carmine spots. Has a dark red-brown longitudinal band and red spots. Two rows of sharp spines on segments 1 to 4 and single row on the others. The Osmeterium is light indigo-blue.
"is unique, exhibiting one of the most remarkable instances of protective resemblance we know. It exactly resembles a dead twig about an inch long and less than a quarter of an inch in diameter, broken of irregularly at one end. The last segment is so modified that the pupa is not attached by one point, but appears as if it had grown out of the branch to which it affixes itself."[1]
An inch in length, brownish with streaks and blotches. Rough surface with tubercles. Has uncanny resemblance to a broken twig and is suspended at an appropriate angle.
From Bingham, C. T. (1907) The Fauna of British India, Including Ceylon and Burma. Butterflies. Vol 2