Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society, 102 (1), Jan-Apr 2005 33-37 BIOLOGY OF MALABAR BANDED SWALLOWTAIL PAPILIO LIOMEDON MOORE' C. SUSANTH2 'Accepted August, 2003 2Prakriti, Indira Nagar, Peroorkada PO., Thiruvananthapuram 695 005, Kerala, India Email: [email protected] ThebiologyoftheMalabarBandedSwallowtailPapilioliomedonMooreon anewlarval foodplantwasrecordedand thelarval foodplantinvestigated. The lifecycle,broodsize, larval instarduration, pupaeandsexratiowereobserved. Keywords: Life cycle, new host plant, Malabar Banded Swallowtail, Papilio liomedon Moore, endemic butterfly, Western Ghats INTRODUCTION of2 litres,partially immersed inatrayofwaterkept in acool place. Number ofeggs/brood, hatching period, duration of The Malabar Banded Swallowtail Papilio liomedon larval instars, mode of larval feeding, pupation and Moore, a large, brownish-black butterfly, with a prominent metamorphosiswerenoted. Sexratioafteremergence,natural creamyellowbandonitswing,isamongtherarestofpapilionid predators, number of unhatched eggs, number of diseased butterflies of southern India. It is endemic to the Western larvae, andotherfactorswere noted.Numberofeggs/brood, Ghats and an inhabitant of semi-evergreen and evergreen hatching rate, pupation rate, and metamorphosis rate were forests. It normally flies high in the dense forest, but is also observed under natural conditions. Using this data, the attracted to clearings and roadsides, where its adult-food lifecycle(Table 1)oftheMalabarBandedSwallowtailPapilio plants, Clerodendron paniculatum, C. infortunatum and liomedon Moore was worked out. Stachytraphetaindicagrow. Itisnotunusualtofindspecimens flyingeveninheavyrain.Overforestpaths,particularlyduring RESULTSAND DISCUSSION monsoon, this powerful flier is seen flying fast with rapid wingbeats. It is easierto approach while mudpuddling. Egg AchronychialaurifoliaBlume(FamilyRutaceae)isthe Thefemale laysabout 16eggsoneovertheotherlikea recordedlarvalfoodplantoftheMalabarBandedSwallowtail. stickontendershootsofEvodiaroxburghiana(Fig. 1A).No Achronychia laurifolia is not a widely distributed species visible change was observed in the eggs forthree days. The and is seen in semi-evergreen and evergreen forests. The orange eggs gradually faded to yellow. Pale black markings new food plant reported in this paper, Indian Aspen Evodia appeared onthe uppersideofthe eggshell onthe fourth day. roxburghiana also belongs to Family Rutaceae. This tree On closerobservation through a magnifyingglass, the black occurs in deciduous, semi-evergreen and evergreen forests spots were identified as the heads ofthe larvae. all over India. Evodia roxburghiana is also seen at an elevation of 1,886 m in the Agasthyakoodam peak, Neyyar Is1Instar WildlifeSanctuary,Thiruvananthapuram. Onthefifthday,the larvaeemergedfromtheeggs.The outermost egg hatched first and the egg nearest the tender STUDY AREA AND METHODOLOGY shoot hatched last. After eating the eggshells, the larvae congregated at the bottom ofthe leaf. The newly hatched 3 The study was carried out in the Arippa mm long larva was orange with a black head. The body was Ammayambalampacha,lyingwithin77° 1'45"-77°2'50" E covered with tiny hairs. On the second day afteremergence, and8°49'-8°35'N, lowlandevergreenforestsoftheWestern the larvae begantofeed ontender leaves. Theyatetheedges Ghats, in Kulathupuzha reserve forests, 52 km from ofthe leaves and made small circles on tender leaves. Each Thiruvananthapuram. grewtoabout6mm. Thehaircoveringthebodydisappeared Observations on the biology ofthe Malabar Banded bythethirdday.The larvaenowproducedtinysilkenthreads Swallowtail Papilio liomedon Moore have been made since by which they hung on leaves. The larvae congregated on 1996 underseminatural conditions. Eggs collected from the theuppersideoftheleaves. Eachonegrew7mm long.Onthe tender shoots ofEvodia roxburghiana were transferred to fifth daythe larvae seemed lessactive. When alarmed due to cylindricalglassjars,22 cmtalland 10 cmwide,withacapacity anymovement inthe leaves,the larvaeraisedtheirheadsand ; BIOLOGY OF MALABAR BANDED SWALLOWTAIL Fig. 1: MalabarBandedSwallowtail Papilioliomedon,A. Eggchainon Evodiaroxburghiana B. Larvalcongregation-lnstarII;C. Larval congregation-lnstarIV; D.GreenandBluecolourationofIVthInstarLarvae;E. PupainGreencolour; F. FemaleButterfly(dorsal) moved sideways, and were able to produce a faint knocking and 13. On theeighthday,thelarvaewere 14mmlong. sound by wriggling movements ofbody. 3rdInstar 2ndInstar Thesecondmoultingoccurredontheninthday.Larvae Thelarvaebegantoshedtheiroldskin.Theouterblack congregated over the leaf surface. They ate voraciously. covering ofthe head was also shed. The head was now pale Whenalarmed,thelarvaexserteditspaleyellowosmeterium, orange, and the larvae 9 mm long. On the seventh day, the giving a pungent smell. larvae became dark orange. After voracious feeding they On 11th day, the activities of the larvae became congregatedatthe middleofthe upperleafsurface(Fig. IB). sluggish; they rested through most of the day on the Fourpairsofprominentspineswereseenonsegment2, 7, 12 undersideoftheleaves. Acreamborderwasobservedonthe 34 J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc., 102 (1), Jan-Apr 2005 BIOLOGY OF MALABAR BANDED SWALLOWTAIL the than aggressive CD ~o 0 more E0 _0EQ -EQ is cn 00 0^ butterfly ^ "0 butterfly 0 CC0OD 0E0 LU LU l0E0l3 OO Q0 Male female u3T ~Oo O Z03 2 LO h0-0 C0D0 I I I I — 03 JD Moore cn £3 cCrO- — liomedon cn 0 Papilio o “ c0/) CCO (/) >. -o 0 hOr 03 CD 03 — I * co •'t i Swallowtail 2 £ S. ^ w TuJ Banded ZO <*0 PEC0D 0jj)> LClN.J CD CO — LU c3 Malabar _O 3 ~o — of cycle D 03 Life O CO — 1: Table days D -o (variable) ID CO 30-40 X - Q. O 0 CD — ZO. CD 03 ~oo g 1 — o -Q O 6 — z03 ™ 0 03 C0C0O3D LCUD 50>3 «^c0 -^0 p= :>£ j>z Adult 1 Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc., 102 (1), Jan-Apr 2005 35 BIOLOGY OF MALABAR BANDED SWALLOWTAIL lowersideofthebody. The larvaewere22 mm long. distinguishing feature ofthe chrysalis ofPapilio liomedon Moore.Justbelowthethoracicregion,twoyelloweyemarks 4,h Instar wereapparent.Twoblackspotsontheyellowringsresembled Thethirdmoultingoccurredonthe 13thday.Thecolour the eyes. Two black spots were also seen at the end of fadedgraduallytill itbecame semi-translucent, pale orange abdomen. The pupawas 30 mm longand 14 mmthick atthe blendedwitholivegreen(Fig. 1C, 1D).Thecreamborderwas middle portion. The pupation period extended for 15 days more predominant on lower side ofthe body. The pair of (Fig. IE). spines onsegment 12 disappeared. Thetubercleon segment 7waspredominant. Mostofthetimethe larvae rested onthe Emergenceofadultbutterfly leavesorbranchesofthefoodplant. The larvaewere30 mm On the morningofthe 15*dayofthepupal period,the long. pupal case became transparent. The creamy spots of the forewing were also visible. The butterflies emerged in the 5"'Instar late morning and afternoon. The wingspan of the male The fifth instaremerged onthe 17thday.Thecolourof butterflywas90-100mm. Themalewasdarkbrownish-black the larvae changed completely; it was now overall dark with a greenish, glistening creamy yellow band. On each velvety green. The head was yellowish-orange with a red hindwingnearthetomal angle,therewasablackspotpartially osmeterium. The body had golden yellow sides and golden encircled by a pale orange ring. Towards the base, a small crestsonsegments4 and 5. Itwas swollenatsegments3 and spot of glistening violet was observed in each wing. The 4, with lateral black eye spots. A black band was seenjust wingspanofthefemalewas 100-1 10mm.Thefemalewasdull behind the crest on segment 5. The 3 pairs of spines on brownish-blackwithapalecreamyyellowband. Brightorange segment2,7and 13 weregoldenyellow.Ayellowandreddish- colour at the tornal angle is the diagnostic feature of the brown blotched broad band was observed on segments 7 female (Fig. IF). The male butterfly was more aggressive and 8. The bands on 7 and 8 together formed a ‘V’ on the thanthefemale. In20minutes,the fluidhaddried,thewings dorsum of the larva. A reddish-brown blotched band was stretched to full span, and the butterfly actively fanned its also observed on segments 9 and 10 (posterior segments). wings, ready forflight. The larvaewerenow38 mm long. Theyfedonold leavesand Wynter Blyth(1957)hasstated,“Thereseemto betwo seemed to avoid tender leaves. orthree broods in theyear, and in breedingthemales largely By the 19th day, they were 45 mm long. The larvae outnumbered the females.” But according to my were a glistening velvet green, which appeared smoky blue observations, the females outnumber males in three out of whenobserved indirectsunlight. The larvaewerelessactive fourbroods(Table 1).Taibot(1939)reportedthatthefemale and aggregated on the underside of leaves for their final lays ten eggs on tender leaves of Acronychia laurifolia moulting. Blume. On October 7, 1998, I observed a female laying 16 eggs on a tender shoot ofEvodia roxburghiana which , 6"‘ Snstar has not been recorded earlier as a host plant of this Thefifthmoultingoccurredonthe20thday.The larvae butterfly. mm were50 long.Aftermoulting,thelarvaeatevoraciously. In natural surroundings, the survival rate of Papilio Theybegantobitethe leaves intosmall piecesand atethem. Homedon Moore is less than 10% (Table 1). In simulated The small pieces of leaves were suspended on the thread natural conditions in the lab, the survival rate is 70%. In produced by the larvae. They showed their brilliant red natural surroundingssnailswere importantpredators,which osmeteriumwhenalerted.Apungentsmellwasalsoproduced. ate most ofthe eggs laid by the female. Snails roam through They were also seen feeding at night. The larvae rested on the host plants in search of eggs and early instar larvae. selfwoventhreadsason abedatnight. Thelarvaecontinued During monsoon, the undergrowth of evergreen forests is to feed till the 22nd day. They were 56 mm long before heavily infested with snails. Other predators including pupation. spiders, prayingmantis, blackants and parasitic wasps have also been observed. Degradation of evergreen forests Pupation through extensive human interference in recent years is The lower portion of the pupal case was yellow or anotherchallengetotheexistenceofthespecies. Thecutting fluorescent green with purple lines. Between the head and and clearing ofundergrowth, especially the food plants of thoraxregion, aprojection similartothehandleofajugwas this rare papilionid, causes depletion of its population in mm observed. This projection, which is about 6 long, is the evergreen forests. 36 J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc., 102 (1), Jan-Apr 2005 BIOLOGY OF MALABAR BANDED SWALLOWTAIL ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS providedbymyelderbrotherMr. C. Susheel Kumarand my family is gratefully acknowledged. I am deeply indebted to I am grateful to Prof. N. Ravi, former Professor of allmembersofWarblersandWaders,agroupofbirdwatchers Botany,SreeNarayanaCollege,Kollam(Kerala),and Dr. K.N. and nature lovers, Thiruvananthapuram, for their valuable Subramanian, Director (Retd) ICRE, Coimbatore for suggestions. 1 express my sincere gratitude to Mr. identifying and confirming the plant species. I am thankful Krushnamegh Kunte, author of butterflies of peninsular toMr.K.Rafeek,Mr. K.A.KishoreandMr. K.V. Eldhosewho india for scientific and technical modifications in the extended field support and encouragement. 1 am grateful to manuscript. Thanks to Dr. D.R. Priyadarsanan, ATREE, Mr. M. Ramesh forfield supportand forsparinghis camera BangaloreandMrs. MayaMathew, SelectionGradeLecturer, for taking unforgettable and unusual moments of the life DepartmentofZoology,UniversityofKerala, Kariyavattom cycleofthis rarepapilionid. 1 express mygratitudeto Mr. R. Campus,Thiruvananthapuramforcriticalexamination ofthe Murukesh for computer assistance. The logistic support manuscript. REFERENCES Talbot, G (1939): The Fauna ofBritish India, including Ceylon and WynterBlyth,M.A.(1957): ButterfliesoftheIndianRegion,Bombay Burma, Butterflies Vol. 1. London, Taylorand Francis Ltd Natural History Society, Mumbai. Pp. 523. J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc., 102 (1), Jan-Apr 2005 37