Papilio krishna

Taxobox
name = Krishna Peacock


image_width = 260px
image_caption = Krishna Peacock
regnum = Animalia
phylum = Arthropoda
classis = Insecta
ordo = Lepidoptera
familia = Papilionidae
genus = "Papilio"
species = "P. krishna"
binomial = "Papilio krishna"
binomial_authority = Moore, 1857

Krishna Peacock "Papilio krishna" is a large swallowtail butterfly found in forests in North East India and Myanmar.

Description

* A large beautiful butterfly with a prominent swallowtail, the Krishna Peacock has a wingspan of 120 to 130 mm.
* It has black upper forewings with a thin prominent yellow discal band running across the wing, parallel to the body.
* The upper hindwing has a large blue discal patch which tapers off into a greenish yellow band from its lower edgs inwards towrds the dorsum. It has a series of red mauve capped crescents (usually 5 in number).
* The upper hindwing discal band appears on the underhindwing also as a prominent curved yellow discal band.

Resembles "Papilio paris" generally, but differs in many points as follows: Upperside: ground-colour more of a brownish black, irrorated similarly to parti with, green scales, but the scales smaller and more sparsely spread. Fore wing: the postdiscal transverse band well-defined, complete, formed of white scaling with only a thin sprinkling of green scales on its inner margin, generally erect or slightly curved, rarely slightly sinuous. Hind wing: upper discal patch metallic greenish blue, smaller than in "paris", but the portions of it in interspaces 6 and 7 more extended towards the termen, the metallic golden-green band that joins tho patch on its inner side to the dorsal margin more conspicuous than in "paris"; the tornal ocellus as in "paris", but above it a subterminal series of claret-red lunules in interspaces 2, 3, 4 and 5, followed by a series of ochraceous-red obscure terminal narrow lunules in the interspaces, the cilia on the outer margin of each conspicuously white. Underside: forewing as in "paris" but an erect ochraceous-white postdiscal band as on the upperside limits; the series of internervular pale streaks on the outer half of the wing. Hind wing: a well-defined discal ochraceous-white band formed of a series of somewhat lunular marks in the interspaces, these increase in width anteriorly; a subterminal series of claret-red lunules traversed by violet scaling on the inner side as in paris, but much broader and more prominent; finally a terminal series of ochraceous-yellow lunular marks in the interspaces ; the cilia that border each lunule white. Antennae, head, thorax and abdomen as in "P. paris".Bingham, C. T. 1907. Fauna of British India. Butterflies. Volume 2]

Range

Sikkim, Bhutan, Darjeeling, Nagaland, Manipur, Myanmar.

tatus

The IUCN Red Data Book records the status of Krishna Peacock as Uncommon. It is not known to be threatened though like all Peacocks is highly sought in trade. [Collins, N.M. & Morris, M.G. (1985) Threatened Swallowtail Butterflies of the World. IUCN. ISBN 2-88032-603-6]

Habitat

Generally found in the forests of the Himalayas where it flies from 3000 to 9000 feet.

Foodplants

The following foodplants from Family Rutaceae have been recorded :-
* "Evodia fraxinifolia"
* "Citrus" spp.
* "Zanthoxylum" spp.

References

Other reading

* Evans, W.H. (1932) The Identification of Indian Butterflies. (2nd Ed), Bombay Natural History Society, Mumbai, India
* Gaonkar, Harish (1996) Butterflies of the Western Ghats, India (including Sri Lanka) - A Biodiversity Assessment of a threatened mountain system. Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society.
* Gay,Thomas; Kehimkar,Isaac & Punetha,J.C.(1992) Common Butterflies of India. WWF-India and Oxford University Press, Mumbai, India.
* 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.

ee also

*Papilionidae
*List of butterflies of India
*List of butterflies of India (Papilionidae)