Southern Birdwing

Southern Birdwing (Troides minos), a butterfly belonging to the family Papilionidae and is a well known variety in the trade circle in south India. It is widely distributed in the Western Ghats, from southern Maharashtra to Kerala.

The male and female differ in structure and appearance. Upper forewing of the male is blackish to dark brown, while that of the female is brownish-black with whitish markings. The male is characterized by gold color upper hind wing, but the female has yellow gold with whitish near tornus and whitish streak along the dorsum. The abdomen is pale yellow with black on sides (in male) and grey brown with pale under part (in female). The thorax colors vary from black to blackish-brown with red hair- scales under wing bases. In general, the wingspan of the Southern Birdwing is about 14 to 19 cm.