INDIA’S LARGEST BUTTERFLY-Troides aeacus

INDIA’S LARGEST BUTTERFLY-Troides aeacus

Troides aeacus, the Golden Birdwing is India’s largest butterfly. The female with the wingspan of 194 mm (wingspan of the male is 106 mm) broke the 88 years old record that was held by Troides minos (Southern Birdwing) with a wingspan of 190 mm. The later was recorded in 1932 by Lepidopterist William Harry Evans. He held the rank of Brigadier in the British army. The butterflies and Moths belong to the Order-Lepidoptera. The Order has 46 Superfamilies, 126 families and more than18,0000 species. The insects of this Order have a slender body covered by scales with different colour patterns. They have long, filamentous antennae. 2 pairs of wings, membranous and covered by overlapping scales. In the position of rest, they are held vertically. The mouthparts form a coiled proboscis or tube for sucking up the nectar. Metamorphosis is complete. The larva is called the Caterpillar.

ZOOLOGICAL CLASSIFICATION OF THE GOLDEN BIRDWING

  • KINGDOM-ANIMALIA
  • PHYLUM-ARTHROPODA
  • CLASS- INSECTA
  • ORDER-LEPIDOPTERA
  • FAMILY-PAPILIONIDAE
  • GENUS-Troides
  • SPECIES-aeacus

IMPORTANT POINTS TO REMEMBER

  • Bionomial Name- Troides aeacus.
  • T. aescus, the female was discovered from Didihat in Uttarakhand, while the male was discovered from Wankhar Butterfly Museum in Shillong, Meghalaya.
  • 24 species of butterflies with new measurements were published in the latest issue of the journal Bionotes, a quarterly newsletter.
  • Studies were performed by Peter Smetacek of the Butterfly Research Centre at Bhimtal and Shristee Panthee of the University of Chinese Academy of Sciences.
  • Other species recorded from Uttarakhand are-
    • Byasa polyeuctes (Common Windmill) with a wingspan of 98 mm.
    • Byasa dasarada (Great Windmill) with a wingspan of 96 mm.
    • Papilio bianor (Common Peacock) with a wingspan of 78 mm.
  • Neopithecops zalmora (Quaker) is the smallest butterfly recorded. It has the wingspan of 18 mm and the forewing length is 8 mm.
  • T. minos (Southern Birdwing) one of the largest butterflies in India. Found in south India are endemic.
  • For measurement, Brigadier Evans measured the butterfly from the centre of the thorax.
  • Presence of butterflies in an area represents the rich biodiversity of that area,
  • The butterflies also act as an indicator species. It means that the butterflies provide us with complete information about an ecosystem and its other species.
  • It carries out the process of the pollination.

Madhvendra Mishra

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