''Troides darsius'', the Sri Lankan birdwing, is a

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

of birdwing

butterfly Butterflies are winged insects from the lepidopteran superfamily Papilionoidea, characterized by large, often brightly coloured wings that often fold together when at rest, and a conspicuous, fluttering flight. The oldest butterfly fossi ...

found in

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...

. It is the largest butterfly on the island and is also the national butterfly of Sri Lanka. Among the largest and most gaudy of the Ceylon Lepidoptera is the great black and yellow butterfly (''Ornithoptera darsius'', Gray); the upper wings, of which measure six inches (15 cm) across, are of deep velvet black, the lower, ornamented by large particles of satiny yellow, through which the sunlight passes, and few insects can compare with it in beauty, as it hovers over the flowers of the heliotrope, which furnish the favourite food of the perfect fly, although the caterpillar feeds on the aristolochia and the betel leaf and suspends its chrysalis from its drooping tendrils.Tennant, 1859 Ceylon, Physical, Historical and Topographical PompeopteraDarsiusRippon

Description

From '' Troides helena cerberus'' it differs as follows: Male forewing: adnervular pale streaks not prominent on the upperside, more distinctly marked on the underside. Hindwing black, with a very broad discal slightly curved silky-yellow band or patch that extends beyond the cell from interspaces 2 to 7, and is composed of elongate outwardly emarginate yellow markings that are divided only by the black veins. In most specimens the inner margin of this band crosses the apex of the cell, but in many the cell is entirely black. Abdomen with some black markings beneath and a lateral row of black spots. Female: Differs from ''cerberus'' female in the much greater extent of the black on the hindwing. Interspace 1 with a pale dusky-white patch in the middle; interspace 7 with an inner and an outer yellow spot; cell entirely black or nearly so, sometimes, but rarely, with the yellow extended into the apex. Wingspan of 165–175 mm. MooreThe Lepidoptera of CeylonPlate55

Life cycle

Larva

Cylindrical, dull purple brown, with two dorsal rows and anterior and lateral rows of fleshy tubercles, those on the eighth segment and a streak from its base to lower end of seventh segment being pale pink; between the tubercles are dark brown streaks. Feeds on '' Aristolochia'' (Moore.)

Pupa

Pale purplish ochreous, bent backwards anteriorly; thorax conical, the top flattened and its sides angled; wing cases dilated and flattened laterally in the middle, their outer edge acute; two middle segments of abdomen with a dorsal pair of conical prominences. (Moore.)

Habitat

The primary

habitat In ecology, habitat refers to the array of resources, biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species' habitat can be seen as the physical manifestation of its ...

is thinly wooded mountain forests from sea-level up to an elevation of 2,000 metres. Occasionally observed in gardens but generally rare in lowlands.

Threats

''Troides darsius'' is threatened by

deforestation Deforestation or forest clearance is the removal and destruction of a forest or stand of trees from land that is then converted to non-forest use. Deforestation can involve conversion of forest land to farms, ranches, or urban use. Ab ...

Related species

''Troides darsius'' is a member of the ''Troides haliphron''

species group In biology, a species complex is a group of closely related organisms that are so similar in appearance and other features that the boundaries between them are often unclear. The taxa in the complex may be able to hybridize readily with each oth ...

. The members of this

clade In biology, a clade (), also known as a Monophyly, monophyletic group or natural group, is a group of organisms that is composed of a common ancestor and all of its descendants. Clades are the fundamental unit of cladistics, a modern approach t ...

are: * '' Troides haliphron'' (Boisduval, 1836) * ''Troides darsius'' (Gray, 853 * '' Troides vandepolli'' (Snellen, 1890) * '' Troides criton'' (C. & R. Felder, 1860) * '' Troides riedeli'' (Kirsch, 1885) * '' Troides plato'' (Wallace, 1865) * '' Troides staudingeri'' (Röber, 1888)

References

* * * D'Abrera, B. (1975) ''Birdwing Butterflies of the World''. Country Life Books, London. * Haugum, J. & Low, A.M. 1978–1985. ''A Monograph of the Birdwing Butterflies''. 2 volumes. Scandinavian Press, Klampenborg; 663 pp. * Kurt Rumbucher and Oliver Schäffler, 2004 Part 19, Papilionidae X. Troides III. in Erich Bauer and Thomas Frankenbach Eds. ''Butterflies of the World''. Keltern: Goecke & Evers

External links

Online guide to Butterflies of Sri Lanka
Images of the adult and life stages, descriptions

Images from Naturhistorisches Museum Wien (English/German)
ARKive
Photos and more information

Sri Lanka Montane Rain Forests Ecoregion
{{Taxonbar, from=Q3539878 Darsius Butterflies of Sri Lanka Butterflies described in 1852 Taxa named by George Robert Gray