''Papilio buddha'', the Malabar banded peacock, is a species of swallowtail butterfly found in the Western Ghats of

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

. The

Government of Kerala Government of Kerala is the subnational government of the Indian state of Kerala. The government is led by a chief minister, who selects all the other ministers. The chief minister and their most senior ministers belong to the supreme decision ...

declared it as the official

Kerala Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South ...

state butterfly

Description

''P. buddha'' resembles '' Papilio palinurus, P. palinurus'' but is larger. The upperside of the wings also differ with the irroration of green scales more restricted, the outer half of the forewing except a triangular patch from the apex of wing downwards, and the outer third of the hindwing except a subterminal series of ill-formed lunules, devoid of green scales; discal transverse bands on both forewing and hindwings similar to those in ''P. palinurus'' but very much broader; the discal band of the forewing measured on the dorsum occupies considerably more than one-third of the dorsal length, while the discal band of the hindwing is as broad posteriorly as it is anteriorly (in ''P. palinurus'' it is much narrower posteriorly); the ochraceous tornal ocellus brighter, not surmounted with blue; the subapical ochraceous lunule in interspace 7 also brighter and much larger. The underside is similar to the underside of ''P. palinurus'', but on the hindwing the ochraceous lunules in the subterminal series is proportionately narrower and much more conspicuously bordered on their innersides with silvery white. Antennae, head, thorax and abdomen as in ''P. palinurus''. The wingspan is 107–155 mm.

Life history

The

caterpillar Caterpillars ( ) are the larval stage of members of the order Lepidoptera (the insect order comprising butterflies and moths). As with most common names, the application of the word is arbitrary, since the larvae of sawflies (suborder Sym ...

has a shield on the thoracic segments. Green, the shield laterally and posteriorly narrowly edged with white; segments 5 to 11 with a broad white line and above it a series of minute white spots on each segment. The pupa is curved ventrally, head cleft, the processes long and upturned, back and sides keeled; colour dark green ventrally, pale green dorsally (after Davidson and Aitken). File:Papilio buddha egg by Balakrishnan Valappil (5131270931).jpg, Egg File:Budha Peacock caterpillar fourth instar 2010 10 02 99 13 (5131836978).jpg, Larva File:Budha Peacock Pupa 2010 10 17 99 23 (5131836972).jpg, Chrysalis File:Budha peacock (29973013576).jpg, Imago (dorsal view) File:Papilionidae 2010 10 31 99 228 (5131270939).jpg, Imago (lateral view)

Host plants

The larva (caterpillar) has been recorded on '' Zanthoxylum rhetsa''.

Status

This species is locally common and not rare. It is protected in India but not known to be threatened.

Cited references

References

* 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=Q1595751

buddha Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha, was a śramaṇa, wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist tradition, he was ...