The Lesser Batwing Atrophaneura aidoneus is an Asian species of butterfly that belongs to the Batwings group of Atrophaneura, comprising tailless black swallowtail

Swallowtail butterfly

Swallowtail butterflies are large, colorful butterflies that form the family Papilionidae. There are over 550 species, and though the majority are tropical, members of the family are found on all continents except Antarctica...

 butterflies.

Description

• Wingspan - 112-162mm.
• Male : Tailless. Above, the butterfly is bluish-black and unmarked. It has a white scent patch in a square dorsal fold, which is pink or red on its marginal edge. This white scent patch is smaller than that of the Common Windmill
  Atrophaneura polyeuctes
  The Common Windmill Atrophaneura polyeuctes is the most common member in India of the Windmills group of Atrophaneura, comprising tailed black swallowtail butterflies with white spots and red submarginal crescents....
  
  .
• Female : Tailless. Above, the butterfly is grey-brown. It has dark stripes in between the veins.

Resembles Atrophaneura varuna

Atrophaneura varuna

Common Batwing Atrophaneura varuna is a beautiful butterfly found in India that belongs to the Swallowtail family belongs to the Batwings group of Atrophaneura, comprising tailless black swallowtail butterflies.-Range:...

race astorion, but differs as follows:— Cell of: lore wing proportionately not quite so long; abdominal fold to the hind wing in male not so broad, its lower margin not square, rounded; the specialized scales within the fold white, with an edging of piuk. Female larger. Upperside: ground-colour olivaceous-brown, never black; abdomen with a broad white, not crimson, lateral stripe.

Range

Northern India

India

India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

, Bhutan

Bhutan

Bhutan , officially the Kingdom of Bhutan, is a landlocked state in South Asia, located at the eastern end of the Himalayas and bordered to the south, east and west by the Republic of India and to the north by the People's Republic of China...

, Burma, northern Vietnam

Vietnam

Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...

, northern Laos

Laos

Laos Lao: ສາທາລະນະລັດ ປະຊາທິປະໄຕ ປະຊາຊົນລາວ Sathalanalat Paxathipatai Paxaxon Lao, officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic, is a landlocked country in Southeast Asia, bordered by Burma and China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the south and Thailand to the west...

, southern China

China

Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...

 (including Hainan

Hainan

Hainan is the smallest province of the People's Republic of China . Although the province comprises some two hundred islands scattered among three archipelagos off the southern coast, of its land mass is Hainan Island , from which the province takes its name...

 (Guangdong

Guangdong

Guangdong is a province on the South China Sea coast of the People's Republic of China. The province was previously often written with the alternative English name Kwangtung Province...

 province)).

In India, it is found in Uttarakhand

Uttarakhand

Uttarakhand , formerly Uttaranchal, is a state in the northern part of India. It is often referred to as the Land of Gods due to the many holy Hindu temples and cities found throughout the state, some of which are among Hinduism's most spiritual and auspicious places of pilgrimage and worship...

, Sikkim

Sikkim

Sikkim is a landlocked Indian state nestled in the Himalayan mountains...

, Assam

Assam

Assam , also, rarely, Assam Valley and formerly the Assam Province , is a northeastern state of India and is one of the most culturally and geographically distinct regions of the country...

, Meghalaya

Meghalaya

Meghalaya is a state in north-eastern India. The word "Meghalaya" literally means the Abode of Clouds in Sanskrit and other Indic languages. Meghalaya is a hilly strip in the eastern part of the country about 300 km long and 100 km wide, with a total area of about 8,700 sq mi . The...

, Manipur

Manipur

Manipur is a state in northeastern India, with the city of Imphal as its capital. Manipur is bounded by the Indian states of Nagaland to the north, Mizoram to the south and Assam to the west; it also borders Burma to the east. It covers an area of...

 and Nagaland

Nagaland

Nagaland is a state in the far north-eastern part of India. It borders the state of Assam to the west, Arunachal Pradesh and part of Assam to the north, Burma to the east and Manipur to the south. The state capital is Kohima, and the largest city is Dimapur...

.

Habitat

The Lesser Batwing flies from April to November and frequents forests up to the altitude of 5000 feet.

Habits

The Lesser Batwing is a shade-loving forest butterfly. It has a slow and graceful flight. Both sexes frequent flowers, Lantana being a preferred species.

See also

• Lepidoptera
  Lepidoptera
  Lepidoptera is a large order of insects that includes moths and butterflies . It is one of the most widespread and widely recognizable insect orders in the world, encompassing moths and the three superfamilies of butterflies, skipper butterflies, and moth-butterflies...
  
  
• Butterfly
  Butterfly
  A butterfly is a mainly day-flying insect of the order Lepidoptera, which includes the butterflies and moths. Like other holometabolous insects, the butterfly's life cycle consists of four parts: egg, larva, pupa and adult. Most species are diurnal. Butterflies have large, often brightly coloured...
  
  
• Swallowtail butterfly
  Swallowtail butterfly
  Swallowtail butterflies are large, colorful butterflies that form the family Papilionidae. There are over 550 species, and though the majority are tropical, members of the family are found on all continents except Antarctica...
  
  
• List of butterflies of India
• List of butterflies of India (Papilionidae)

External links

• Image of reliably identified specimen http://home.att.net/~bret69/ at this address.