Common Jezebel Butterfly - BirdForum Opus

This article is incomplete. This article is missing one or more sections. You can help the BirdForum Opus by expanding it.

Common Name: Common Jezebel

Photo by Alok Tewari
Mumbai, Maharashtra, India, 29 Sep. 2014

Delias eucharis

Identification

• Wingspan : 65-85 mm
• Underwing is much brighter than Upper.
• In both sexes underhind yellow with black wings and a black border containing large white-ringed arrow-head shaped red spots, pointing outward.
• Female is more heavily marked.
• Upper white with black veins and black outer discal band in males and white tinged with yellow and pink in females.

Distribution

• Many parts of South and South-east Asia, specially non-arid regions of India, and Sri Lanka
• Indonesia, Thailand, and Myanmar.

Habitat

• Seen on trees along city roads to forests.
• Variety of habitats including Temperate hill forests, Rain-forests, Open Woodlands and beach hinterland.

Behaviour

• Females stay high up in the canopy and come down for nectaring.
• Fond of flowers and comes to water.
• Slow and fluttering flight .
• Suns itself with closed wings helping black lines to absorb the heat.

Mimicry

• It is distasteful to birds.
• Mimicked closely by Painted Sawtooth ( Prioneris sitta ). The orange spots in hindwing of this species are squarish.

Larval Food Plant

• Dendrophthoe falcata, Helicanthes elastica

References

1. Kehimkar, Isaac. The Book of Indian Butterflies. 2011 Reprint. Bombay Natural History Society. Oxford Univ. Press. ISBN (13): 978019569620 2
2. Nelson, Rodrigues. Butterflies of Mumbai. MMR Environment Improvement Society. Anitha Art Printers. ISBN-978-81-926884-0-4
3. Wikipedia page Common Jezebel Butterfly.