Mirror, mirror, on the wall, which is the prettiest butterfly of them all?
We know that butterflies are amongst the prettiest of insects. Arguably, the prettiest amongst them belong to a butterfly family called Papilionidae. In fact, the family’s name ‘papilio’ means butterfly in Latin. These butterflies are also called the swallowtail butterflies.
Amongst the prettiest of swallowtail butterflies is a group called the Blue Peacocks. The first time I saw one of these butterflies was in the Nilgiris when I had just started observing butterflies. A large green butterfly flitted by and left me stunned. I ran after it and was thrilled when it sat down on a flower to feed on its nectar. The butterfly, as I found out later, was the Paris Peacock Papilio paris. Surprised? Yes, peacocks aren’t only birds but are also butterflies! The Paris Peacock has a lovely iridescent green colour on the upperside of its wings. On its hind wing it has a startling, bright blue patch, which is often hidden when it sits. Two long tails and a few red spots complete the attire of this magnificent butterfly. Unfortunately, being pretty has its disadvantages. Swallowtail butterflies are very much sought after by insect collectors to make decorations and for display.
Swallowtails are well known for mud puddling in large numbers. Mud puddling is a behaviour exhibited mainly by male butterflies. The butterflies sit on moist soil, animal dung or urine and suck up liquid nutrients using their proboscis (their tube-like mouth) from which they get minerals such as sodium which increase their chances of success during breeding. Sometimes many butterflies of different species will mud puddle at the same spotforming a spectacular congregation of butterflies.
The best time to photograph a peacock is when it mud puddles. The Paris Peacock troubles photographers like me a great deal. The scales on the butterfly’s wings are such that using a flash for photography changes its colours. To get the photograph of the Paris Peacock used in this article I took around 50 photographs but only a couple turned out right!
The Paris Peacock can be seen quite commonly in south India, though mainly near forested areas. However, occasionally, it does visits gardens. Keep your eyes peeled the next time you are outdoors; a large butterfly flitting by with a flash of green, will probably be a Peacock butterfly!
Did you know: The caterpillars of Swallowtail butterflies have a forked organ on their head. When threatened, this forked organ pops out, and emits a foul smell which wards of dangerous predators like wasps and ants!