Bhutanitis lidderdalii

The sexes of the Bhutan glory are identical in appearance, having long rounded forewings with convex termen and many-tailed hindwings. The butterfly is dull black above with slim, wavy, cream-coloured striations running vertically across the wings. Above, the hindwing has a prominent, large tornal patch with yellow-orange lunules bordering the tails, central bluish-black patches with white ocelli and a crimson post-discal band on the inner edge. Below, the base colour is greyer, the striations are pronounced and the colours subdued or paler. The detailed description provided by Charles Thomas Bingham (1907) is as follows: Wingspan: 90–110 mm. == Distribution ==

'') The butterfly was described by William Stephen Atkinson in the Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London in 1873. He writes: George Talbot in The Fauna of British India, Including Ceylon and Burma (1939) provides some interesting detail: The butterfly is found in Bhutan and northeastern India (Assam, Sikkim, Manipur and Nagaland). It is also found in northern Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam, Laos and the Sichuan and Yunnan provinces of China. == Taxonomy ==

There are a total of four subspecies of B. lidderdalii. These subspecies (with type localities) are: • B. lidderdalii lidderdalii Atkinson 1873 - (nominate) Buxa, Bhutan • B. lidderdalii spinosa Stichel, 1907 - Sichuan, China • B. lidderdalii ocellatomaculata Igarashi, 1979 - Chiang Mai, northern Thailand • B. lidderdalii nobucoae Morita, 1997 - north Kachin, Myanmar == Status ==

The Bhutan glory has been considered to be "rare" by Indian authors such as William Harry Evans (1932), and Isaac Kehimkar (2009). However Collins and Morris (1985) in the IUCN Red Data Book on the threatened swallowtails of the world gives it a status of "insufficiently known" arguing that the Bhutan glory is widely distributed and hence unlikely to be in danger at the moment though more information is needed on this comparatively poorly known species. In 2019, it was listed as a least concern species in the Red List of the IUCN. Habitat loss due to excessive felling of forests may be a significant threat regionally. They are currently an endangered species. == Habitat ==

Bhutanitis lidderdalii flies from in its Indian range. It generally keeps to the ridges rather than the valleys. == Habits ==

Flies at tree-top level, with a slow, drifting, unpredictable flight akin to that of the tree nymph (Idea lynceus). The butterflies transparent greyish underside makes it difficult to distinguish in the shadows. During rain, it sits on leaves with the forewings drooped over the hindwings, concealing its bright upper colouration. The butterfly has a habit of hill-topping and visits flowers of diverse species. == Life cycle ==

It is known to have two broods - the first in May and June and the second from August to October. Likely to be unpalatable due to its food plant being Aristolochia species. == Food plant ==

Larva on Aristolochia species such as A. kaempferii, A. mandshuriensis, A. griffithii, A. shimadai and A. debilis (Igarashi, 1985, 1989). == Cited references ==