Global InformationPapilio blumei information
| Papilio blumei | |
|---|---|
| |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Lepidoptera |
| Family: | Papilionidae |
| Genus: | Papilio |
| Species: | P. blumei
|
| Binomial name | |
| Papilio blumei Boisduval, 1836
| |
| Synonyms | |
| |
Papilio blumei, the peacock or green swallowtail, is a butterfly of the family Papilionidae. It is found only on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi.[1] It is sometimes confused with the more widespread P. palinurus, but that species is smaller and has mostly black tails (in P. blumei, the upper surface of the tails is mostly bluish green).
The wingspan of P. blumei is 120–140 mm (4.7–5.5 in).
The colours on the wings of some of these butterflies are metallic and are eye catching especially when viewed from a particular angle.
The remarkable feature of this butterfly's wing is that it contains rows of very small concave surfaces that reflect light in many ways. For instance, the centre of the concave surface reflects a yellow-green light and the edges reflect a blue light.
At the centre of the concavity, light is reflected directly but when light hits the edges, it bounces off into forming many layers, which amplifies and rotates the waves of light.
The final blend is known as structural colour due to the complexity by which it is produced.
- ^ Teague, Matthew (August 2018). "Inside the Murky World of Butterfly Catchers". National Geographic. Archived from the original on July 25, 2018. Retrieved 2020-04-15.