The Southern Birdwing (Troides Minos) is the largest butterfly found in Soutern India. It has a wing-span of 140-190mm. This species is more common in Western Ghats and is much sought after by butterfly collectors.

This butterfly is found up to 3000 feet in the Western Ghats at diverse habitats from low-land evergreen forests near the coast to mixed deciduous forests, dry scrub and agricultural fields.

This buttefly is a determined flier and is active during the morning hours. It feeds only on necter available from Lantana and Ixora flowers.

It lays eggs singly on the underside edge of the leaves. The larva is Velvety maroon red with shiny black head and four rows of fleshy bright red tubercles.

Citations:

We wanted to include this butterfly especially due to its coveted position among Indian Butterflies. The photograph of Southern Birdwing was donated by famous Indian wild life photographer Balakrishnan Valappil from Kerela for our project. Reference from Wikipedia.