''Papilio arcturus'', the blue peacock, is a species of

swallowtail butterfly Swallowtail butterflies are large, colorful butterflies in the family Papilionidae, and include over 550 species. Though the majority are tropical, members of the family inhabit every continent except Antarctica. The family includes the large ...

found in the

Indian subcontinent The Indian subcontinent is a list of the physiographic regions of the world, physiographical region in United Nations geoscheme for Asia#Southern Asia, Southern Asia. It is situated on the Indian Plate, projecting southwards into the Indian O ...

Description

Male has the upper wings brownish black, somewhat paler on the forewing than on the hindwing. Forewing irrorated (sprinkled) with brilliant golden-green scales that on the posterior half of the wing form a broad, not well-defined subterminal band; the veins and elongate streaks between them on the outer half of the wing velvety black. Hindwing has the posterior three-fourths irrorated with brilliant golden-green scales as on the forewing but towards the base anteriorly these are blue; a conspicuous brilliant blue patch somewhat irregular in shape occupies the apex of the cell and the bases of interspaces 5 and 6, prolonged as a broad streak in the latter interspace up to the terminal margin; below this a more or less triangular patch on the disc and above it the whole of the costal margin broadly are devoid of the irroration of green scales; a subterminal generally incomplete series of large claret-red lunules terminates at the tornal angle in a large conspicuous black-centred red

ocellus A simple eye (sometimes called a pigment pit) refers to a form of eye or an optical arrangement composed of a single lens and without an elaborate retina such as occurs in most vertebrates. In this sense "simple eye" is distinct from a multi-l ...

; the latter is encircled above and anteriorly by a narrow band formed by a conflux of the green irrorated scales; the lunules are bordered outwardly by spots of the ground colour that are devoid of the green scales; finally both the lunules and the tornal ocellus are tinged more or less with bluish purple on their inner margins, underside dull black, with a somewhat sparse irroration of yellowish-white scales confined on the forewing to the base and apex, and on the hindwing to the posterior two-thirds, not extended to the termen except along the tail. Forewing: a broad ill-defined subterminal pale transverse area, crossed by the black veins and internervular streaks, and elongated pale cellular streaks. Hindwing: a large somewhat quadrate terminal black-centred claret-red patch in interspaces 1 and 2, and a subterminal series of broad claret-red lunules that extends from interspaces 3 to 7, followed by ill-defined anteciliary red spots in each interspace. Cilia of both forewings and hindwings white, alternated with black. Antennae, head, thorax and abdomen brownish black; the head, thorax and abdomen at base on the upperside sprinkled with golden-green scales. The female is similar to the male but the markings are more prominent. Upperside of forewing has the subterminal golden-green band broader and on the hindwing the subterminal series of claret-red lunules more complete than in the male.

References

Other sources

*Erich Bauer and Thomas Frankenbach, 1998 ''Schmetterlinge der Erde'', Butterflies of the world Part I (1), Papilionidae Papilionidae I: ''Papilio'', Subgenus ''Achillides'', ''Bhutanitis'', ''Teinopalpus''. Edited by Erich Bauer and Thomas Frankenbach. Keltern: Goecke & Evers; Canterbury: Hillside Books {{Taxonbar, from=Q1658813

arcturus , - bgcolor="#FFFAFA" , Note (category: variability): , , H and K emission vary. Arcturus is the brightest star in the northern constellation of Boötes. With an apparent visual magnitude of −0.05, it is the third-brightest of th ...

Insects of Pakistan Butterflies of Indochina Butterflies described in 1842