Swallowtail Butterfly - Common Mime - Papilio clytia

The Common Mime Butterfly, Papilio clytia, appears in several different forms. Belonging to the black bodied swallowtail butterfly group, (Chilasa), the Common Mime Butterfly mimics other less appetising butterflies in an attempt to discourage predators.

Papilio clytia was fist classified as long ago as 1758 by Linnaeus as a member of the Papilionidae family. The Common Mime Butterfly is widespread in Thailand and throughout S.E.Asia. We came across our specimen in Chiang Mai at a Fishing Park just outside the city. The normal habitat of the Common Mime Butterfly is high level ground but can also be found in lowland areas.

The 2 most familiar forms of the Common Mime are clytia and dissimilis. In its clytia form, the Common Mime mimics the Common Crow (Euploea core) and in its dissimilis form it mimics the Blue Tiger Butterfly (Tirumala limniace). Whilst feeding on nectar, the Common Mime Butterfly will often remain stationary with outspread wings for quite some time making it one of the easier butterflies to photograph though our model seemed to be unaware of this well known fact and led us in a merry dance.