Pachliopta pandiyana

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iMalabar Rose

Scientific classification

Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Lepidoptera
Family:	Papilionidae
Genus:	Atrophaneura
Subgenus:	Pachliopta
Species:	A. (P.) pandiyana

Binomial name

Atrophaneura (Pachliopta) pandiyana
Moore, 1881

Malabar Rose Atrophaneura (Pachliopta) pandiyana is a swallowtail butterfly belonging to the Pachliopta subgenus, the Roses, of the genus Atrophaneura or the Red-bodied Swallowtails. It resembles the Common Rose, Pachliopta aristolochiae from which it can be differentiated by the much larger white patch on its hindwings.

It is an important endemic butterfly of South India.

1 Range
2 Status
3 Taxonomy
4 Habitat
5 Habits
6 Lifecycle
7 Foodplants
8 References
9 See also
10 External links

[edit] Range

Southern India. The butterfly does not associate much with the Common Rose, which it resembles. On the western slopes of the Nilgiris and elsewhere on the Western Ghats, the Malabar Rose entirely displaces that most abundant butterfly.

[edit] Status

Uncommon, but not considered to be threatened as a species. Locally common in the Western Ghats.

[edit] Taxonomy

A related species, Pachliopta jophon, once considered conspecific, flies in Sri Lanka.
No separate subspecies have been described.

[edit] Habitat

This butterfly is confined to the wet jungles of Southern India and the Western Ghats, between 1000 to 3000 feet.

[edit] Habits

The flight of this butterfly resembles that of the Common Rose Pachliopta aristolochiae. Early in the morning till about 10 O'clock, it keeps low and feeds from flowers, usually those of the Lantana. Later in the day it flies high and is difficult to capture.

[edit] Lifecycle

Appears to be single-brooded. Commonest in September and October.

[edit] Foodplants

The larval foodplant is Thottea siliquosa (Aristolochiaceae).

[edit] References

Collins, N.M. & Morris, M.G. (1985) Threatened Swallowtail Butterflies of the World. IUCN. ISBN 2-88032-603-6
Evans, W.H. (1932) The Identification of Indian Butterflies. (2nd Ed), Bombay Natural History Society, Mumbai, India
Gaonkar, Harish (1996) Butterflies of the Western Ghats, India (including Sri Lanka) - A Biodiversity Assessment of a threatened mountain system. Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society.
Gay,Thomas; Kehimkar,Isaac & Punetha,J.C.(1992) Common Butterflies of India. WWF-India and Oxford University Press, Mumbai, India.
Kunte,Krushnamegh (2005) Butterflies of Peninsular India. Universities Press.
Wynter-Blyth, M.A. (1957) Butterflies of the Indian Region, Bombay Natural History Society, Mumbai, India.