Paris Peacock (Papilio paris)

Paris Peacock (Papilio paris)

One of exotic species of swallowtail butterfly found in the Indian Subcontinent and Southeast Asia. This species is found in rain-forest and humid deciduous forest at elevations between sea level and about 500m. During daytime it can be found either mud puddling or nectoring on citrus trees. Citrus is also its host plant apart from Rutaceae. It spends a lot of time puddling or nectoring. During puddling, it hops till find the appropriate spot to puddle. It keeps on flapping the wings and stops as it settles down to spot it likes. Once settled, it spreads the wings flat, as seen in photo. 

It is a large butterfly and continuously flutters the wings during nectoring. Due to similarities in behavior, size and light conditions, to obtain decent photographs, tricks to photograph Southern Birdwing can also be applied for Paris peacock as well.

Wingspan: 

106–132 mm

Subspecies in India:

(1) Papilio paris paris Linnaeus, 1758 – Chinese Paris Peacock

(2) Papilio paris tamilana Moore, 1881 – Sahyadri Paris Peacock (=Tamil Peacock)