Papilio polytes Linnaeus, 1758 - Common Mormon

Subspecies in India

(1) Papilio polytes romulus Cramer, [1775] – Indian Common Mormon
(2) Papilio polytes stichioides Evans, 1912 – Andaman Common Mormon
(3) Papilio polytes nikobarus Felder & Felder, 1862 – Nicobar Common Mormon

Taxonomic Information

A polytypic species with multiple subspecies in India.

Conservation and Special status

This species is not legally protected in India under any schedules of WildLife (Protection) Act, 1972.

Photo Gallery and Species Biology

StateJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecNo date
Andaman and Nicobar Islands UT121511141
Andhra Pradesh1111615211
Arunachal Pradesh12
Assam21162421244
Bihar1
Chandigarh1
Chhattisgarh51269112552
Dadra & Nagar Haveli UT
Daman & Diu UT
Delhi113341363
Goa11
Gujarat122055126114
Haryana1
Himachal Pradesh13113
Jammu and Kashmir UT111
Jharkhand1
Karnataka14112018202424291819177
Kerala3314123317203210168
Ladakh UT
Lakshadweep
Madhya Pradesh1631443
Maharashtra1211232625205558106544232
Manipur111
Meghalaya1
Mizoram2
Nagaland
Odisha123
Puducherry UT
Punjab13
Rajasthan1
Sikkim1111
Tamil Nadu113345423
Tripura232
Uttar Pradesh1237
Uttarakhand1171443
West Bengal87313725316111915
Total555711082989512014223316012890

Aegle marmelos, Atalantia racemosa, Citrus spp., Citrus aurantiifoliaCitrus aurantium, Citrus limon (=Citrus latifolia), Citrus maxima, Citrus medica, Clausena anisata (=Clausena dentata), Correa spp., Glycosmis spp., Glycosmis pentaphyllaLimonia acidissima, Murraya spp., Murraya koenigii, Murraya paniculata, Ravenia spectabilis, Triphasia spp., Zanthoxylum spp.Zanthoxylum armatum, Zanthoxylum rhetsa (Rutaceae).

Key Reference:
Nitin, R., V. C. Balakrishnan, P. V. Churi, S. Kalesh, S. Prakash, and K. Kunte. 2018. Larval host plants of the butterflies of the Western Ghats, India. Journal of Threatened Taxa, 10(4): 11495–11550.

For the complete list of larval host plants of Indian butterflies, see the page on larval host plants.

Test ref.

Page citation

Saji, K., Prashanth S. N., T. Karmakar, J. A. Jacob, and K. Mohit 2025. Papilio polytes Linnaeus, 1758 – Common Mormon. In Kunte, K., S. Sondhi, and P. Roy (Chief Editors). Butterflies of India, v. 4.12. Published by the Indian Foundation for Butterflies. URL: https://ifoundbutterflies.org/papilio-polytes, accessed 2025/04/23.