Papilio arcturus
{{Short description|Species of butterfly}}
{{Speciesbox
| name = Blue peacock
| status =
| image = Ptami447.JPG
| image2 = Papilio paris tamilana un.jpg
| image2_caption = Male upperside / underside (label wrong)
| taxon = Papilio arcturus
| authority = Westwood, 1842
| synonyms = Princeps arcturus
}}
Papilio arcturus, the blue peacock, is a species of swallowtail butterfly found in the Indian subcontinent.
Description
Image:PapilioArcturusM 490 1.jpg
{{Lepidopteran glossary hatnote}}
Male has the upper wings brownish black, somewhat paler on the forewing than on the hindwing. Forewing irrorated (sprinkled) with brilliant golden-green scales that on the posterior half of the wing form a broad, not well-defined subterminal band; the veins and elongate streaks between them on the outer half of the wing velvety black. Hindwing has the posterior three-fourths irrorated with brilliant golden-green scales as on the forewing but towards the base anteriorly these are blue; a conspicuous brilliant blue patch somewhat irregular in shape occupies the apex of the cell and the bases of interspaces 5 and 6, prolonged as a broad streak in the latter interspace up to the terminal margin; below this a more or less triangular patch on the disc and above it the whole of the costal margin broadly are devoid of the irroration of green scales; a subterminal generally incomplete series of large claret-red lunules terminates at the tornal angle in a large conspicuous black-centred red ocellus; the latter is encircled above and anteriorly by a narrow band formed by a conflux of the green irrorated scales; the lunules are bordered outwardly by spots of the ground colour that are devoid of the green scales; finally both the lunules and the tornal ocellus are tinged more or less with bluish purple on their inner margins, underside dull black, with a somewhat sparse irroration of yellowish-white scales confined on the forewing to the base and apex, and on the hindwing to the posterior two-thirds, not extended to the termen except along the tail. Forewing: a broad ill-defined subterminal pale transverse area, crossed by the black veins and internervular streaks, and elongated pale cellular streaks. Hindwing: a large somewhat quadrate terminal black-centred claret-red patch in interspaces 1 and 2, and a subterminal series of broad claret-red lunules that extends from interspaces 3 to 7, followed by ill-defined anteciliary red spots in each interspace. Cilia of both forewings and hindwings white, alternated with black. Antennae, head, thorax and abdomen brownish black; the head, thorax and abdomen at base on the upperside sprinkled with golden-green scales.
The female is similar to the male but the markings are more prominent. Upperside of forewing has the subterminal golden-green band broader and on the hindwing the subterminal series of claret-red lunules more complete than in the male.{{cite book |last1=Bingham |first1=C.T. |authorlink=Charles Thomas Bingham |title=The Fauna of British India, Including Ceylon and Burma |url=https://archive.org/details/butterflies02bingiala |volume=II |edition=1st |publisher= Taylor and Francis, Ltd. |location=London |year=1907 }}
Taxonomy
It is a member of the species group paris
References
Other sources
- Erich Bauer and Thomas Frankenbach, 1998 Schmetterlinge der Erde, Butterflies of the world Part I (1), Papilionidae Papilionidae I: Papilio, Subgenus Achillides, Bhutanitis, Teinopalpus. Edited by Erich Bauer and Thomas Frankenbach. Keltern: Goecke & Evers; Canterbury: Hillside Books {{ISBN|9783931374624}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q1658813}}
Category:Butterflies of Indochina