Lime Swallowtail

Lime Swallowtail

Papilio demoleus

Daily sighting probability ~10% · With luck
at Kollam

In 3 days ~20% in a week ~50%

8 Verified sightings at Kollam
171 In all 17 parks From 2019 to 2026
June Best month
☀️ Diurnal When it's spotted

About the Lime Swallowtail

Papilio demoleus is a common and widespread swallowtail butterfly. The butterfly is also known as the lemon butterfly and chequered swallowtail. These common names refer to their host plants, which are usually citrus species such as the cultivated lime. Unlike most swallowtail butterflies, it does not have a prominent tail. When the adult stage is taken into consideration, the lime swallowtail is the shortest-lived butterfly, with male adults dying after four days and females after a week. The butterfly is native to Asia and Australia, and can be considered an invasive pest in other parts of the world. The butterfly has spread to Hispaniola (in the Dominican Republic and Haiti) and the rest of the Antilles in the Western Hemisphere, and to Mahé, Seychelles.

The butterfly is tailless and has a wingspan 80–100 mm. Above, the background colour is black. A broad, irregular yellow band is found on the wings above, which is broken in the case of the forewing. Besides this, the butterfly has a large number of irregular spots on the wing. The upper hindwing has a red tornal spot with blue edging around it.

As the caterpillar ages, its hunger for leaf tissue continues to grow... Wikipedia →

Global Distribution

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Daily sighting probability
1 Komodo National Park 🇮🇩 Indonesia
~40%
2 Bandhavgarh National Park 🇮🇳 India
~30%
3 Kanha National Park 🇮🇳 India
~30%
4 Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park 🇦🇺 Australia
~30%
5 Royal Bardia National Park 🇳🇵 Nepal
~30%
6 Satpura National Park 🇮🇳 India
~30%
7 Nitmiluk National Park 🇦🇺 Australia
~20%
8 Cape Range 🇦🇺 Australia
~20%
9 Ningaloo Marine Park 🇦🇺 Australia
~20%
10 Cat Tien National Park 🇻🇳 Vietnam
~20%
11 Hattah-Kulkyne National Park 🇦🇺 Australia
~10%
12 Doi Inthanon National Park 🇹🇭 Thailand
~10%
13 Minneriya National Park 🇱🇰 Sri Lanka
~10%
14 Khao Yai National Park 🇹🇭 Thailand
~10%
15 Kaeng Krachan National Park 🇹🇭 Thailand
~10%
16 Kakadu National Park 🇦🇺 Australia
~10%
17 Blue Mountains National Park 🇦🇺 Australia
~10%

Cities Where Found

# City Country Daily sighting probability
1 Karachi 🇵🇰 Pakistan
~80%
2 Prayagraj 🇮🇳 India
~50%
3 Raipur 🇮🇳 India
~50%
4 Jabalpur 🇮🇳 India
~50%
5 Hanoi 🇻🇳 Vietnam
~40%
6 Durg 🇮🇳 India
~40%
7 Santo Domingo 🇩🇴 Dominican Republic
~40%
8 Madurai 🇮🇳 India
~40%
9 Jakarta 🇮🇩 Indonesia
~40%
10 Ho Chi Minh City 🇻🇳 Vietnam
~40%

Before you go

What are the chances of seeing a Lime Swallowtail in Kollam?

With luck

About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Lime Swallowtail sighting in Kollam on a given day, based on 8 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 64th most-seen of the 92 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 20%, and over a week to about 50%, if each day is a fresh chance.

When is the best time to see a Lime Swallowtail in Kollam?

June

In that month about 20% of wildlife watchers report a Lime Swallowtail in Kollam on a given day, against under 5% in July–August, October and December–March, the lowest months. That is one of Kollam's wettest months, with about 300 mm of rain against 15 mm in January.

What time of day is best to see a Lime Swallowtail?

Between 9 am and noon

Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Lime Swallowtail sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.

Is Kollam the best place to see a Lime Swallowtail?

74th of 78

Of the 78 cities where we can rate Lime Swallowtail sightings, Kollam ranks 74th at about 10%. The best odds are in Karachi (Pakistan, about 80%), Prayagraj (India, about 50%) and Raipur (India, about 50%).

Which relatives of the Lime Swallowtail live in Kollam?

Same genus: Papilio

The closest relatives of the Lime Swallowtail that you can see in Kollam (genus Papilio, Common Swallowtails) are Common Mormon Swallowtail (about 30%) and Great Mormon Swallowtail (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.

Where does the Lime Swallowtail sighting chance come from?

GBIF citizen-science records

It is estimated from how often the Lime Swallowtail is recorded against all the insects logged in Kollam (8 verified sightings), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.

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