Papilio dravidarum

The Malabar raven is a blackish-brown tailless swallowtail butterfly, about 80 to 100 mm in size. Both the sexes are similar and are mimics of the unpalatable common crow (Euploea core). The upper forewing has a small white spot at the end of the cell, a complete series of equal sized marginal white spots in regular row and a terminal series of spots decreasing in size towards the apex. The upper hindwing has a discal series of arrow shaped white spots. It also has a submarginal series of elongated white crescent shaped markings. There is a white fringe between the veins. The outer halves of wings have a dusting of yellowish brown scales.{{Source-attribution|sentence=yes|{{cite book |last1=Bingham |first1=C.T. |author-link=Charles Thomas Bingham |title=The Fauna of British India, Including Ceylon and Burma |url=https://archive.org/stream/butterflies02bingiala#page/68/mode/2up/ |volume=II |edition=1st |publisher= Taylor and Francis, Ltd. |location=London |year=1907|pages=68–69}}}}{{Cite book|url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/103503#page/91/mode/1up|title=Lepidoptera Indica. Vol. VI|last=Moore|first=Frederic|author-link=Frederic Moore|publisher=Lovell Reeve and Co.|year=1903–1905|location=London|pages=79–81}}

It is endemic to the Western Ghats in South India where it occurs in the states of Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Goa.

The butterfly is uncommon but not known to be threatened. It was commonest in Wynaad and Coorg in the past and rarer towards the extremities of its range.

This butterfly frequents heavy jungles of the Western Ghats between {{convert|1000|and|3000|ft|m}}. It has been recorded in January and from March to October.

File:Malabar Raven.jpg specimen, Pollachi]]

The Malabar raven resembles the model common crow in habits and flight, but is faster than the other mimic, the common mime. It prefers shady patches. The males drink at wet patches especially in the hot dry pre-monsoon days.{{fact|date=January 2020}}

There are two to three broods a year. It is recorded in Coorg as having broods from September to October, November to December, and, from April to May. It has been recorded in Karnataka in July and in September. Males appear to outnumber the females.

File:Papilio dravidarum – Malabar Raven 02.jpg|Caterpillar

File:Papilio dravidarum – Malabar Raven 13.jpg|Caterpillar pupating

File:Papilio dravidarum – Malabar Raven 05.jpg|Pupa

• Glycosmis pentaphylla of the family Rutaceae. Others that have been noted include Clausena heptaphylla.{{Cite journal|date=2018-04-10|title=Larval host plants of the buterfies of the Western Ghats, India|author1=Ravikanthachari Nitin|author2= V.C. Balakrishnan|author3= Paresh V. Churi|author4= S. Kalesh|author5= Satya Prakash|author6= Krushnamegh Kunte|url=http://threatenedtaxa.org/index.php/JoTT/article/view/3104/4402|journal=Journal of Threatened Taxa|volume=10|issue=4|pages=11495–11550|via=JoTT|doi=10.11609/jott.3104.10.4.11495-11550|doi-access=free}}Kunte, K. 2006. Additions to known larval host plants of Indian butterflies. Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society 103(1):119-120

Papilio dravidarum is a member of the castor species group. The clade members are:

• Papilio castor Westwood, 1842
• Papilio dravidarum Wood-Mason, 1880
• Papilio mahadeva Moore, [1879]

• Papilionidae
• List of butterflies of India (Papilionidae)

• {{cite book |last1=Collins |first1=N. Mark |last2=Morris |first2=Michael G. |title=Threatened Swallowtail Butterflies of the World: The IUCN Red Data Book |url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/item/98674#page/7/mode/1up |year=1985 |publisher=IUCN |location=Gland & Cambridge |isbn=978-2-88032-603-6 |via=Biodiversity Heritage Library}}
• {{cite book |last1=Evans |first1=W.H. |author-link=William Harry Evans |title=The Identification of Indian Butterflies |edition=2nd |location=Mumbai, India |publisher=Bombay Natural History Society |year=1932}}
• {{cite book |last=Gaonkar |first=Harish |author-link=Harish Gaonkar |title=Butterflies of the Western Ghats, India (including Sri Lanka) - A Biodiversity Assessment of a Threatened Mountain System |publisher=Centre for Ecological Sciences |location=Bangalore, India |year=1996}}
• {{cite book |last1=Gay |first1=Thomas |last2=Kehimkar |first2=Isaac David |last3=Punetha |first3=Jagdish Chandra |title=Common Butterflies of India |series=Nature Guides |publisher= World Wide Fund for Nature-India by Oxford University Press |location=Bombay, India |year=1992 |isbn=978-0195631647}}
• {{cite book |last=Kunte |first=Krushnamegh |title=Butterflies of Peninsular India |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cuPPjOMcu_4C |series=India, A Lifescape |location=Hyderabad, India |publisher=Universities Press |year=2000 |isbn=978-8173713545}}
• {{cite book|last=Wynter-Blyth |first=Mark Alexander |author-link=Mark Alexander Wynter-Blyth |title=Butterflies of the Indian Region |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yEkgAQAAMAAJ |year=1957 |location=Bombay, India |publisher=Bombay Natural History Society |isbn=978-8170192329}}

{{Commons category}}

• [http://en.butterflycorner.net/Papilio-dravidarum-Malabar-Raven.1153.0.html Butterfly Corner] Images from Naturhistorisches Museum Wien

{{Taxonbar|from=Q1317895}}

dravidarum

Category:Butterflies of Asia

Category:Butterflies described in 1880

Category:Endemic fauna of the Western Ghats

Category:Taxa named by James Wood-Mason