Atrophaneura latreillei
Encyclopedia
Rose Windmill Atrophaneura latreillei is a butterfly found in India that belongs to the Windmills group of Atrophaneura, comprising tailed 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 with white spots and red submarginal crescents.

Range

Afghanistan
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...

, Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...

, North 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...

, Nepal
Nepal
Nepal , officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked sovereign state located in South Asia. It is located in the Himalayas and bordered to the north by the People's Republic of China, and to the south, east, and west by the Republic of India...

, 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...

, northern Myanmar
Myanmar
Burma , officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar , is a country in Southeast Asia. Burma is bordered by China on the northeast, Laos on the east, Thailand on the southeast, Bangladesh on the west, India on the northwest, the Bay of Bengal to the southwest, and the Andaman Sea on the south....

, 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...

 and 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 –...

.

In India, it is found in the states of 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...

, 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...

 and 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...

.

Status

It is not rare and not regarded as threatened. Subspecies A. l. kabrua is protected by law in India. Requires more information.

Taxonomy

Three subspecies are described of which the following two occur in India :-
  • A. latreillei latreillei Donovan
    Charles Donovan
    Colonel Charles Donovan MD was born in Calcutta. At the age of thirteen he was sent to Cork City to live with his grandfather to advance his secondary and university education. He studied at Queen's College, Cork and Trinity College, Dublin Colonel Charles Donovan MD (1863–1951) was born in...

    . Garhwal
    Garhwal Division
    Garhwal is the north-western region and administrative division of the northern Indian state of Uttarakhand which is home to the Garhwali people. Lying in the Himalayas, It is bounded on the north by Tibet, on the east by Kumaon region, on the south by Uttar Pradesh state, and on the north-west by...

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

    . Not rare.
  • A. latreillei kabrua Tytler
    Tytler
    Tytler is a surname and may be:* Alexander Fraser Tytler, Lord Woodhouselee , Scottish lawyer and writer* Harry Christopher Tytler , British soldier and entomologist* Jagdish Tytler , Indian politician...

    . 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...

     to North Myanmar
    Myanmar
    Burma , officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar , is a country in Southeast Asia. Burma is bordered by China on the northeast, Laos on the east, Thailand on the southeast, Bangladesh on the west, India on the northwest, the Bay of Bengal to the southwest, and the Andaman Sea on the south....

    . Not rare.

Description

  • Wingspan : 110 - 130mm.
  • Sexes generally alike. Tailed, with red tips.
  • Above, dull brownish-black.
  • Hindwing has a white discal band consisting of elongated spots in veins 2, 3 and 4.
  • The female has an additional small spot in vein 5 and only half way to vein 6.
  • It also has a series of lunules in veins 2 to 5 along the margin. The lunules in veins 2 to 4 are rose coloured while the lunule in vein 5 is white.
  • The male has a white scent wool brand in a dorsal fold. (Wynter-Blyth).
  • The male can be said to resemble the Common Rose
    Pachliopta aristolochiae
    The Common Rose is a swallowtail butterfly belonging to the Pachliopta subgenus, the Roses, of the genus Atrophaneura or Red-bodied Swallowtails. It is a common butterfly which is extensively distributed across South and South East Asia.-Range:It is widely distributed in Asia...

    , and, the female, the Common Mormon
    Papilio polytes
    The Common Mormon is a common species of swallowtail butterfly widely distributed across Asia. This butterfly is known for the mimicry displayed by the numerous forms of its females which mimic inedible Red-bodied Swallowtails, such as the Common Rose and the Crimson Rose.- Names :The common name...

     form stichius. (Haribal).


Male upperside dull brownish black. Fore wing with streaks in cell, the internervular streaks and the veins velvety black. Hind wing: ground-colour more uniform to apex of cell, beyond this interspaces 2, 3 and 4 with broad elongate white spots, the spot in interspace 2 slightly tinged outwardly with crimson; sometimes a white crimson-tinted spot also in interspace 1; a subterminal series of crimson lunules in interspaces 2 to 5, that in 5 generally more or less white ; lastly, a crimson spot at apex of vein 3 and on apex of tail. Underside similar, ground-colour much paler; markings of the hind wing as on the upperside, but slightly larger, the crimson spots brighter; in many specimens a small discal adnervular spot in interspace 5, and a sub-terminal small white lunule in interspace 6 also present; the crimson-tinted discal spot in interspace 1 always present. Antennae dark brownish black, head and front of the prothorax crimson, the rest of the body above black; beneath, the palpi, thorax and abdomen crimson, the middle of the thorax and of the abdomen with black markings.

Female Similar, slightly paler; the white and crimson markings on the hind wing on both upper and undersides similar but larger ;there is generally also a discal adnervular spot in interspace 5. Antennae, head, thorax and abdomen an in the male.

Habits

  • It flies in May and June. It flies between 7000 to 9000 feet in Garhwal
    Garhwal Division
    Garhwal is the north-western region and administrative division of the northern Indian state of Uttarakhand which is home to the Garhwali people. Lying in the Himalayas, It is bounded on the north by Tibet, on the east by Kumaon region, on the south by Uttar Pradesh state, and on the north-west by...

     (near Mussoorie
    Mussoorie
    Mussoorie is a city and a municipal board in the Dehradun District of the northern Indian state of Uttarakhand. It is located about 35 km from the state capital of Dehradun and 290 km north from the national capital of New Delhi...

    ) and between 5000 to 6000 feet further east at Chungthang, North Sikkim
    Sikkim
    Sikkim is a landlocked Indian state nestled in the Himalayan mountains...

     in the Teesta
    Teesta River
    River Teesta or Tista is said to be the lifeline of the Indian state of Sikkim, flowing for almost the entire length of the state and carving out verdant Himalayan temperate and tropical river valleys. The emerald-coloured river then forms the border between Sikkim and West Bengal before joining...

     valley.

Life History

  • Egg
    Egg (biology)
    An egg is an organic vessel in which an embryo first begins to develop. In most birds, reptiles, insects, molluscs, fish, and monotremes, an egg is the zygote, resulting from fertilization of the ovum, which is expelled from the body and permitted to develop outside the body until the developing...

     - not described.
  • Caterpillar
    Caterpillar
    Caterpillars are the larval form of members of the order Lepidoptera . They are mostly herbivorous in food habit, although some species are insectivorous. Caterpillars are voracious feeders and many of them are considered to be pests in agriculture...

     - The larva is brownish to pale purple in colour. The larva has a shiny black head and a white obliquely-placed band on segments seven and eight. It has a large number of tubercles. The first six segments of the larva have one pair of tubercles; the seventh to tenth segments have three pairs each; the eleventh to thirteen segments each have two pairs of short tubercles. The tubercles are purple, have red tips and streaks on the base.
  • The pupa
    Pupa
    A pupa is the life stage of some insects undergoing transformation. The pupal stage is found only in holometabolous insects, those that undergo a complete metamorphosis, going through four life stages; embryo, larva, pupa and imago...

     is reddish-orange in colour and relatively broad in shape. It is attached by a body band. The pupa emits a squeak when touched.

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...

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