Green-Banded Swallowtail

Location: Tropical Butterflies / Asian Swallowtails / Green-Banded Swallowtail

Name: Green-Banded Swallowtail
Latin: Papilio Palinurus
Family: Papilionidae
Origin: S.E. Asia
Food plant: Citrus Family

​Nothing new under the sun!

This is one of the 'diode' butterflies. The metallic sheens are reproduced by fluorescent pigments placed over reflective mirror-like structures. The overall effect is to intensify the colour. The latest LEDs - light-emitting diodes used in computer screens use the same idea. See the following here for more details.

Changing colours. 

The sheen turns to a soft blue from behind.

A green flash is all one mostly sees of this swift-flying swallowtail.

Up close, this butterfly is peppered with green scales either side of the main bands. It belongs to a large group of Asian swallowtails that all have green or blue iridescence. The adult butterfly rarely last longer than a week. Note the brown smudges on wings. This species emerges from its pupa with bronze-coloured wings which after about 15 minutes of emerging change to the luminous green of the mature imago. See the full-size image below of the finished colour taken just a few minutes later.