Appearance
* Length 110 to 140mm.⤷ Sexes alike.
⤷ Black and white above with prominent swallowtail.
⤷ Red bodied. Tail has a red tip.
⤷ FW completely black above and below.
⤷ HW crenulated deeply twice on each side of swallowtail. Large oblong white discal spot in 5 and sometimes in 4. UPH has irregular marginal red crescents in 1a, 2 and 3 and a small white spot in 4.
Naming
It has four subspecies, two of which occur in India :-⤷ ''B. p. polyeuctes'' Doubleday. Sikkim to Myanmar. Common.
⤷ ''B. p. philoxenus'' Gray. Kashmir to Nepal. Not rare.
⤷ ''B. p. lama'' West China
⤷ ''B. p. termessus'' Taiwan* The three common species of windmills can be recognised by the differences in shape, number and location of white spots.
⤷ * Rose Windmill, ''Byasa latreillei'', has a white discal band in 2, 3, 4 beyond the cell which is clearly trifurcated by black veins. A slightly smaller butterfly, the Rose Windmill has rose coloured lunules.
⤷ * Great Windmill, ''Byasa dasarada'', has a number of two white spots in 4, 5 on UPH and three spots on 4, 5 and 6 on UNH. It is a slightly larger butterfly with broader swallowtail.
⤷ Other windmills are smaller, rarer and have small differentiating characters from the above three common windmills. See the individual articles for more information :-
⤷ * de Nicéville's Windmill .
⤷ * Nevill's Windmill .
⤷ * Black Windmill .
⤷ * Chinese Windmill , two subspecies of which occur in India.
Status
Overall, the butterfly is not rare. It is common in parts of Sikkim but becomes rarer westwards. It is extremely scarce in Shimla though not rare from Kangra.In the west it ranges from the Azad Kashmir disputed territory part of the wider Kashmir region of Pakistan and India.
Behavior
Has several broods where it finds suitable climate. Seen on the wing between April and September. The imago has a foul odour.Habitat
This butterfly prefers forests and woods. Frequents river valleys. It occurs at low elevations in North East India but is found at higher altitudes in the western extent of its range – up to 11,000 feet in Kashmir.Food
* Family ''Nepentheceae''.⤷ * ''Nepenthes'' spp.
⤷ Family ''Aristolochiaceae''.
⤷ * ''Aristolochia griffithi''.
⤷ * ''Aristolochia shimadai''.
References:
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