- Rama Ranee
- Mar 8, 2021
- 1 min read
Updated: Jun 4, 2021
Midday sun warm on the banana leaves, invited this magnificent Blue Mormon (Papilio polymnester, Cramer 1775). All these months this butterfly tantalized me with its black wings flashing with silver, as it swiftly dipped and winged its way out of sight into the greenery.
A lover of dense vegetation and forests, it is easily one of the largest swallowtail butterflies in south India, about 120 to 150 mm in size. Seen most often during and just after the monsoon season, the Blue Mormon has been flitting around the garden and the valley, though it is well into February and the dry season has arrived.
According to experts the caterpillars feeds on curry leaf shrubs (Murraya koenigii) and citrus (Citrus maxima). Wild lime (Atlantia monophyla) is a host too. While curry leaf trees and citrus are the main crops of Anemane, I am not so sure about the Wild lime, though we have come across young shrubs that resemble them. I aim to wait and watch.
This particular visitor spent a leisurely afternoon, basking in the sun, warming itself on the banana leaf to send the juices flowing, offering us a rare treat.
