Common bluebottle

Vivid bluish-green with beautiful red accents.

Scientific name	Graphium sarpedon
English name	Common bluebottle
Japanese name	青条揚羽
Classification	Insecta
Classification details	Lepidoptera Papilionidae
Full length	30-45mm
Distribution	East Asia, south of Honshu

Characteristics

A swallowtail butterfly with an impressive bright blue color on a black background. A sky-blue pattern runs on its wings. There is red near the base and under the hind wings. They suck nectar from flowers and drink water from puddles and the ground. They are good at flying and move quickly around flowers and trees.

Ecology

Appears around May. It feeds on the leaves of plants of the camphoraceae family and makes pupae on the leaves. The larvae are green with yellow stripes that look like camphor leaves and have a protective coloration. It is also found in waterside areas such as riverbeds, and often receives water from the ground.

Habitat

It was flying over the riverbed near the confluence of the Tama River and the Asakawa River in Hino City, Tokyo. They flew from rapeseed flower to rapeseed flower and drank water from the ground. It flutters away when you get close to it, but it flies faster than you might imagine, and you can easily lose sight of it.