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Common mormon (Papilio polytes), Sri Lanka I'm not very happy with the quality of this one, but it is the only shot I have of this butterfly in this location. This is a very large, slow flying butterfly, one of Sri Lanka's most beautiful ones. It is large enough to see it fly in the corner of your eyes, so not hard to spot, but it is quite restless. Asia,Common Mormon,Papilio polytes,Sri Lanka,Wasgamuwa Click/tap to enlarge Country intro

Common mormon (Papilio polytes), Sri Lanka

I'm not very happy with the quality of this one, but it is the only shot I have of this butterfly in this location. This is a very large, slow flying butterfly, one of Sri Lanka's most beautiful ones. It is large enough to see it fly in the corner of your eyes, so not hard to spot, but it is quite restless.

    comments (4)

  1. View WildFlower's profile
    WildFlower
    Lion
    View Lion class
    This is a common mormon (Papilio polytes) with a black body which mimics the Crimson Rose with a red body. Posted 10 years ago
    1. View Ferdy Christant's profile
      Ferdy Christant
      Lion
      View Lion class
      Again a great correction, hopefully you forgive me for falling for the mimicing :)

      How can you tell?       Posted 10 years ago
      1. View WildFlower's profile
        WildFlower
        Lion
        View Lion class
        The colour of the body is different... see above. Posted 10 years ago
        1. View Ferdy Christant's profile
          Ferdy Christant
          Lion
          View Lion class
          Sorry, read you sentence too much in a hurry and missed the color part. Posted 10 years ago

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The Common Mormon

Papilio polytes 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.

Info 54 0
Similar species: Moths And Butterflies
Species identified by WildFlower
View Ferdy Christant's profile

By Ferdy Christant

All rights reserved
Uploaded Feb 3, 2015. Captured Nov 9, 2014 11:14.
country flag of Sri Lanka Explore Sri Lanka 1,597 544 0
  • NIKON D800
  • f/8.0
  • 1/400s
  • ISO500
  • 105mm