Papilio demoleus is a common and widespread swallowtail butterfly. The butterfly is also known as the lime butterfly, lemon butterfly, lime swallowtail, 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 island (Dominican Republic) 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.
P. demoleus is perhaps the most widely distributed swallowtail in the world. The butterfly can be found in:
Syria, Israel, Iraq, Oman, United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Qatar, Iran, western and possibly eastern Afghanistan, the South Asian Subcontinent (India including the Andamans, Bangladesh, western Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Nepal), Myanmar, Thailand, the Philippines, Cambodia, Vietnam, southern China (including Hainan, Guangdong province), Taiwan, Japan (rare strays), Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia (Kalimantan, Sumatra, Sula, Talaud, Flores, Alor and Sumba), Papua New Guinea, Australia (including Lord Howe Island), Solomon Islands, Hawaii, and possibly other Pacific Ocean islands.
The Southeast Asian subspecies Papilio demoleus malayanus recently established an abundant non-native population on Mahé in Seychelles This species was probably accidentally introduced to Mahé a few years ago (first records in November 2016). Further dispersal events of Papilio demoleus within Seychelles to other granitic islands of the archipelago, e.g. Praslin and La Digue, are expected.
Formerly absent from Borneo, it is now one of the commonest papilionids in Sabah and Sarawak in Malaysian Borneo, Kalimantan (Indonesian Borneo), and Brunei.
In recent years, the butterfly has spread to Hispaniola island (Dominican Republic) in the Western Hemisphere, and subsequently to Jamaica, and Puerto Rico. The Dominican population originated from Southeast Asia but how the butterfly reached there is not known.
The widespread range of P. demoleus indicates the butterfly's tolerance and adaptation to diverse habitats. It is found in savannahs, fallow lands, gardens, evergreen and semi-evergreen forests, and shows a preference for streams and riverbeds. In India, it is mostly found in the plains, but can be found on the hills of peninsular India and up to 7,000 feet (2,100 m) in the Himalayas. It is common in urban gardens and may also be encountered in wooded country. The butterfly is also a very successful invader, its spread appearing to be due to its strong flight, increase in urbanisation and agricultural land use that opens up new areas for dispersal, and greater availability of food plants.
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