Lamproptera meges
Encyclopedia
The Green Dragontail, Lamproptera meges, is a species of swallowtail
(Papilionidae family) found in parts of South Asia
and Southeast Asia
. There are ten subspecies. A specimen from Java
is the type species of the genus
.
A small butterfly, the Green Dragontail has a wingspan of 40 to 55 mm (1.6 to 2.2 in). Basically black and white in colour scheme, it has a very large white-tipped tail, 25 to 40 mm (0.984251968503937 to 1.6 in) long. The forewing has a triangular hyaline
patch with black borders, and thin black stripes along the veins, forming six to eight spot/bands. It also has a pale band running obliquely across the pre-discal area. This band is continued onto the black hindwing which bears the long tail and prominent abdominal wing-fold. In this species, the pale bands are light green in colour while in its closely related species, Lamproptera curius
, they are white. Also in L. curius, the white band has a hyaline outer edge. Sexes alike, female is duller and has a ventral copulation groove before the tip of the abdomen. The males of this species do not have the sex mark (scent organ) found in L. curius.
, in the states of Assam
, Arunachal Pradesh
and Nagaland
. It is also found in Myanmar
, Thailand
, Laos
, Vietnam
, southern China
(including Hainan
), Cambodia
, peninsular and eastern Malaysia, the Indonesia
n archipelago, Brunei
and Philippines
. In Indonesia, it is found on the islands of Sulawesi
, Kalimantan
, Nias
, Bangka
and Java
. In 2006, it was reported from Zhangjiajie
of Hunan
Province.
In a study of swallowtail assemblages in Rani-Garbhanga Reserve Forest in Assam in 2003-04, dragontails (Lamproptera spp) were found to have one of the lowest mean abundances, both L. meges and L. curius being found in gaps (open patches) as well as in closed forest. A 2004 report had earlier suggested that the status of the Green Dragontail in Garbhanga Reserve Forest was "Very Rare"; later a total of 108 butterflies of Lamproptera genus were seen during the 2003-04 survey, the species-wise breakdown not being published.
.
). In the Philippines, the butterfly has also been recorded from Zanthoxylum
spp (Rutaceae).
Swallowtail butterfly
Swallowtail butterflies are large, colorful butterflies that form the family Papilionidae. There are over 550 species, and though the majority are tropical, members of the family are found on all continents except Antarctica...
(Papilionidae family) found in parts of South Asia
South Asia
South Asia, also known as Southern Asia, is the southern region of the Asian continent, which comprises the sub-Himalayan countries and, for some authorities , also includes the adjoining countries to the west and the east...
and Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia, South-East Asia, South East Asia or Southeastern Asia is a subregion of Asia, consisting of the countries that are geographically south of China, east of India, west of New Guinea and north of Australia. The region lies on the intersection of geological plates, with heavy seismic...
. There are ten subspecies. A specimen from Java
Java
Java is an island of Indonesia. With a population of 135 million , it is the world's most populous island, and one of the most densely populated regions in the world. It is home to 60% of Indonesia's population. The Indonesian capital city, Jakarta, is in west Java...
is the type species of the genus
Genus
In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...
.
Description
- See glossaryGlossary of Lepidopteran termsThis glossary describes the terms used in the formal descriptions of insect species, jargon used mostly by professionals or entomologist....
for terminology used
A small butterfly, the Green Dragontail has a wingspan of 40 to 55 mm (1.6 to 2.2 in). Basically black and white in colour scheme, it has a very large white-tipped tail, 25 to 40 mm (0.984251968503937 to 1.6 in) long. The forewing has a triangular hyaline
Hyaline
The term hyaline denotes a substance with a glass-like appearance.-Histopathology:In histopathological medical usage, a hyaline substance appears glassy and pink after being stained with haematoxylin and eosin — usually it is an acellular, proteinaceous material...
patch with black borders, and thin black stripes along the veins, forming six to eight spot/bands. It also has a pale band running obliquely across the pre-discal area. This band is continued onto the black hindwing which bears the long tail and prominent abdominal wing-fold. In this species, the pale bands are light green in colour while in its closely related species, Lamproptera curius
Lamproptera curius
The White Dragontail, Lamproptera curius, is a species of swallowtail native to parts of South Asia and Southeast Asia. It belongs to the Dragontails genus, Lamproptera, of the Swallowtail family...
, they are white. Also in L. curius, the white band has a hyaline outer edge. Sexes alike, female is duller and has a ventral copulation groove before the tip of the abdomen. The males of this species do not have the sex mark (scent organ) found in L. curius.
Distribution
The butterfly is found in northeastern IndiaIndia
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, in the states of Assam
Assam
Assam , also, rarely, Assam Valley and formerly the Assam Province , is a northeastern state of India and is one of the most culturally and geographically distinct regions of the country...
, Arunachal Pradesh
Arunachal Pradesh
Arunachal Pradesh is a state of India, located in the far northeast. It borders the states of Assam and Nagaland to the south, and shares international borders with Burma in the east, Bhutan in the west, and the People's Republic of China in the north. The majority of the territory is claimed by...
and Nagaland
Nagaland
Nagaland is a state in the far north-eastern part of India. It borders the state of Assam to the west, Arunachal Pradesh and part of Assam to the north, Burma to the east and Manipur to the south. The state capital is Kohima, and the largest city is Dimapur...
. It is also found in Myanmar
Myanmar
Burma , officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar , is a country in Southeast Asia. Burma is bordered by China on the northeast, Laos on the east, Thailand on the southeast, Bangladesh on the west, India on the northwest, the Bay of Bengal to the southwest, and the Andaman Sea on the south....
, Thailand
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
, Laos
Laos
Laos Lao: ສາທາລະນະລັດ ປະຊາທິປະໄຕ ປະຊາຊົນລາວ Sathalanalat Paxathipatai Paxaxon Lao, officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic, is a landlocked country in Southeast Asia, bordered by Burma and China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the south and Thailand to the west...
, Vietnam
Vietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
, southern China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
(including Hainan
Hainan
Hainan is the smallest province of the People's Republic of China . Although the province comprises some two hundred islands scattered among three archipelagos off the southern coast, of its land mass is Hainan Island , from which the province takes its name...
), Cambodia
Cambodia
Cambodia , officially known as the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia...
, peninsular and eastern Malaysia, the Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
n archipelago, Brunei
Brunei
Brunei , officially the State of Brunei Darussalam or the Nation of Brunei, the Abode of Peace , is a sovereign state located on the north coast of the island of Borneo, in Southeast Asia...
and Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
. In Indonesia, it is found on the islands of Sulawesi
Sulawesi
Sulawesi is one of the four larger Sunda Islands of Indonesia and is situated between Borneo and the Maluku Islands. In Indonesia, only Sumatra, Borneo, and Papua are larger in territory, and only Java and Sumatra have larger Indonesian populations.- Etymology :The Portuguese were the first to...
, Kalimantan
Kalimantan
In English, the term Kalimantan refers to the Indonesian portion of the island of Borneo, while in Indonesian, the term "Kalimantan" refers to the whole island of Borneo....
, Nias
Nias
Nīas is an island off the western coast of Sumatra, Indonesia. Nias is also the name of the archipelago, containing the Hinako archipelago....
, Bangka
Bangka
Bangka can refer to:* Bangka Island, an island of Indonesia* Bangka Regency, Indonesia* Bangka Strait, a strait of Indonesia* Bangka language, spoken in Indonesia* Tagalog: bangka, an outrigger canoe* Wanhua District, Taipei City...
and Java
Java
Java is an island of Indonesia. With a population of 135 million , it is the world's most populous island, and one of the most densely populated regions in the world. It is home to 60% of Indonesia's population. The Indonesian capital city, Jakarta, is in west Java...
. In 2006, it was reported from Zhangjiajie
Zhangjiajie
Zhangjiajie is a prefecture-level city in the northwestern part of Hunan province in China. It comprises the district of Yongding and counties of Cili and Sangzhi...
of Hunan
Hunan
' is a province of South-Central China, located to the south of the middle reaches of the Yangtze River and south of Lake Dongting...
Province.
Status
The Green Dragontail is not known to be threatened in most of its range but is considered Vulnerable and in need of protection in peninsular Malaysia.In a study of swallowtail assemblages in Rani-Garbhanga Reserve Forest in Assam in 2003-04, dragontails (Lamproptera spp) were found to have one of the lowest mean abundances, both L. meges and L. curius being found in gaps (open patches) as well as in closed forest. A 2004 report had earlier suggested that the status of the Green Dragontail in Garbhanga Reserve Forest was "Very Rare"; later a total of 108 butterflies of Lamproptera genus were seen during the 2003-04 survey, the species-wise breakdown not being published.
Habits
Among the smallest of swallowtails in India, the Green Dragontail is usually found singly along open sunlit patches, almost always near streams and water-courses. It may also be seen in small groups, usually twos or threes. It flies in an altitude range of 100 to 1520 m (328.1 to 4,986.9 ft). It flies from April to October. Having much smaller wing size to body length ratio, the butterflies have a whirring flight, rapidly beat their wings and dart back and forth in a manner reminiscent of dragonflies, their long tails acting as rudders. Male dragontails suck up a lot of water from which the dissolved minerals are filtered and the water squirted from the anus. While feeding they vibrate their wings rapidly but pause from time to time. Occasionally, they rest on leaves of bushes with wings outspread and stationary.Life cycle
The eggs are pale-green, spherical, smooth, almost transparent, and resemble the eggs of other swallowtails. The caterpillar is dark green in colour and is spotted with black. The chrysalis is attached to the upper surface of a leaf by the cremasterCremaster
Cremaster is a term derived from the Greek verb κρεμάννυμι = "I hang ", not from Latin cremare = "to burn". It may refer to:* The cremaster muscle, part of genital anatomy in human males** Cremaster reflex, a reflex in the muscle...
.
Food plant
Illigera burmanica King (family HernandiaceaeHernandiaceae
Hernandiaceae is the botanical name for a family of flowering plants. Such a family has been recognised by most taxonomists.The APG II system, of 2003 , also recognizes this family, and assigns it to the order Laurales in the clade magnoliids...
). In the Philippines, the butterfly has also been recorded from Zanthoxylum
Zanthoxylum
Zanthoxylum is a genus of about 250 species of deciduous and evergreen trees and shrubs in the citrus or rue family, Rutaceae, native to warm temperate and subtropical areas worldwide. Common names include Prickly-ash and Hercules' Club.The fruit of several species are used to make the spice...
spp (Rutaceae).