Papilio krishna

Papilio krishna, the Krishna peacock, is a large swallowtail butterfly found in forests in China, Nepal, north east India, Myanmar and Vietnam.

Krishna peacock
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Lepidoptera
Family:	Papilionidae
Genus:	Papilio
Species:	P. krishna
Binomial name
Papilio krishna Moore, 1857

Description

• A large beautiful butterfly with a prominent swallowtail, the Krishna peacock has a wingspan of 120 to 130 mm (4.7 to 5.1 in)
• 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 edges inwards towards the dorsum. It has a series of red-mauve capped crescents (usually five).
• The upper hindwing discal band appears on the under hindwing also as a prominent curved yellow discal band.

Male upper (left) and underside (right)

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. Forewing: 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. Hindwing: upper discal patch metallic greenish blue, smaller than in P. paris, but the portions of it in interspaces 6 and 7 more extended towards the termen, the metallic golden-green band that joins the patch on its inner side to the dorsal margin more conspicuous than in P. paris; the tornal ocellus as in P. 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 P. 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. Hindwing: 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 P. 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.^[1]

P. k. thawgawa, Chudu Razi Hills, north eastern Burma

Range

Sikkim, Bhutan, Darjeeling, Nagaland, Manipur, Myanmar and all around the Himalayas.

Subspecies

• Papilio krishna ssp. krishna (Indian, Bhutanese and Nepalese Himalayas)
• Papilio krishna ssp. manipuri (Manipur, India)
• Papilio krishna ssp. thawgawa (N. Myanmar and Yunnan)
• Papilio krishna ssp. charlesi (Sichuan)
• Papilio krishna ssp. mayumiae (N. Vietnam)

Status

The IUCN Red Data Book records the status of the Krishna peacock as uncommon. It is not known to be threatened, though like all peacocks, it is highly sought in trade.^[2]

Habitat

Generally found in the forests of the Himalayas where it flies from 3,000 to 9,000 feet (910 to 2,740 m).

Food plants

The following food plants from family Rutaceae have been recorded:

• Evodia fraxinifolia
• Citrus species
• Zanthoxylum species

Taxonomy

It is a member of the species group paris

See also

• Papilionidae
• List of butterflies of India
• List of butterflies of India (Papilionidae)