Papilio (agenor) polymnestor Cramer, 1775 - Peninsular Great Mormon (=Blue Mormon)

Subspecies in India

(1) Papilio agenor polymnestor Cramer, 1775 – Indian Blue Mormon

Taxonomic Information

This was formerly treated as a distinct species (P. polymnestor), but is now treated as a subspecies of Papilio agenor - Great Mormon (Joshi and Kunte 2022; Condamine et al. 2023). Images of Papilio polymnestor are still available on this website under the species page of Papilio polymnestor but they will eventually move to the species page of Papilio agenor - Great Mormon as the website is updated.

Conservation and Special status

This species is not legally protected in India under any schedules of WildLife (Protection) Act, 1972.

Photo Gallery and Species Biology

StateJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecNo date
Andaman and Nicobar Islands UT
Andhra Pradesh2
Arunachal Pradesh
Assam
Bihar
Chandigarh
Chhattisgarh1121421
Dadra & Nagar Haveli UT1
Daman & Diu UT
Delhi
Goa1215
Gujarat1
Haryana
Himachal Pradesh
Jammu and Kashmir UT
Jharkhand
Karnataka321746243523114
Kerala5213114516212194
Ladakh UT
Lakshadweep
Madhya Pradesh11166
Maharashtra1711159133072524515
Manipur
Meghalaya
Mizoram
Nagaland
Odisha11
Puducherry UT
Punjab
Rajasthan
Sikkim
Tamil Nadu2312132
Tripura
Uttar Pradesh
Uttarakhand
West Bengal232115142
Total12143212272024511121109227

Garcinia gummi-gutta, Garcinia xanthochymus (Clusiaceae). Aegle marmelos, Atalantia spp., Atalantia racemosa, Atalantia wightii, Citrus spp.Citrus aurantium (=Citrus reticulata), Citrus limon (=Citrus latifolia), Citrus medica (Abhishek Rane pers. obs. 2023), Citrus maxima, Glycosmis pentaphylla, Murraya koenigii, Paramignya monophylla (Rutaceae).

Key Reference:
Nitin, R., V. C. Balakrishnan, P. V. Churi, S. Kalesh, S. Prakash, and K. Kunte. 2018. Larval host plants of the butterflies of the Western Ghats, India. Journal of Threatened Taxa, 10(4): 11495–11550.

For the complete list of larval host plants of Indian butterflies, see the page on larval host plants.

Page citation

Saji, K., H. Ogale, R. Lovalekar, R. Das, T. Bhagwat, F. Khan, M. Konwar, J. A. Jacob, and N. Kawthankar 2024. Papilio (agenor) polymnestor Cramer, 1775 – Peninsular Great Mormon (=Blue Mormon). In Kunte, K., S. Sondhi, and P. Roy (Chief Editors). Butterflies of India, v. 4.12. Published by the Indian Foundation for Butterflies. URL: https://odonata.ncbs.res.in/papilio-polymnestor, accessed 2024/10/02.