swordtail butterfly

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SWORDTAIL BUTTERFLY...WATERSOLUBLE PENCIL AND WATERCOLOUR....The Swordtails are remarkable for the very long, slender and tapering tail on the hindwing, resembling a long sword. They are forest butterflies and are very swift on the wing, with an erratic flight. They are often mistaken for a white Pierid butterfly, as the tails are usually not seen during flight. The ground color of the upperside is white with five short black costal bars crossing the cell. It has a long black tail edged with orange and a white tip. The markings of the underside forewing is similar to the upperside with green infilling the black bars at the postdiscal area. The basal area on the underside of the hindwing is green, with orange-yellow submarginal patches. It has 3 black basal bands series of black submarginal and marginal markings. The butterfly has 3 pairs of fully-developed legs and opaque jet-black eyes. The proboscis is also totally black. The Five Bar Swordtail is a medium size butterfly belonging to the Papilionidae family. It can be found in forested areas, riverbanks or the edges of the forest. It is a strong flyer with a rapid erratic flight. Often, it is seen flying high at tree top level. It flies from flower to flower in search of nectar. Like the other typical Papilionidae s[ecies it has a characteristic flight when feeding at flowers, in that, whilst the forewings are flapping rapidly, the hindwings are held almost stationary as if to balance the butterfly perched on a flower as it sucks nectar from the flower with its long proboscis. Male Five Bar Swordtails are often observed puddling at muddy seepages and along river banks tainted with decomposing organic waste.