Common Birdwing (Troides helena-cereberus) is a common butterfly in
Orissa,
West Bengal,
Sikkim,
Assam,
Meghalaya,
Tripura,
Mizoram,
Manipur,
Nagaland and
Arunachal Pradesh. The color of the head is black in male and blackish-brown in female.
The males have yellowish-white abdomen with suffused black bands on each segment, and pale and roconial patch on central segments. Females have gray or yellow suffused stomach with dark scales, underside generally yellow and may have black patches in anterior segments or black spots along the sides. The thorax is black, and may have red hair-scales under wing bases. The wingspan is around 140 to 190 mm in male and in female around 140 to 190 mm.
In male, the upper forewing is grayish-black with extremely pale whitish marks, which may be present or absent, while in female it is grayish-brown to black with variable white markings covered with dark scales in the distal area. The upper hind wing is generally yellowish-gold with black veins and black border.
