Common mime swallowtail
The common mime is a big swallowtail butterfly from southern Asia. It is a master of disguise: it copies the look of butterflies that taste bad, so birds leave it alone. Its velvety black or dark brown wings are dotted with white spots.
How big is it?
How wide are its wings?
How big is Common mime swallowtail compared to YOU?
Just maths in your browser. Nothing is saved or sent anywhere.
How fast is it?
Fun facts
Copying a bad tasting animal to stay safe is called Batesian mimicry, and this butterfly is a famous example.
It comes in different forms. One is dark with white spots, another has cream white streaks all over its wings.
Its back wings have a row of bright yellow spots near the edge on the underside.
Its body is black with white spots.
Most asked questions about Common mime swallowtail
?Why is it called the common mime?
Because it mimics, or copies, the look of other butterflies that birds do not like to eat.
?How big is the common mime?
Its wings are about 11 to 12 centimetres wide.
For bug experts
- Scientific name
- Papilio clytia
- Named by
- Linnaeus, 1758
- Group
- Butterflies
- Family
- Papilionidae
- Classification
- Insecta > Lepidoptera > Papilionidae
- Lives on
- Asia
- Also known as
- Common mime
Where the facts come from
- Papilio clytia (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0): what it looks like, where it lives, what it eats, sizes and fun facts, retold in simple words.
- Picture by Sayan Sanyal. CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons. The sticker of this bug is drawn from this picture.
If we got something wrong, sorry, we are bug fans, not a science journal. Tell us at [email protected] and we will fix it.
Bug Wiki honey jar For grown-ups: Bug Wiki is free, with no ads and no tracking. A small tip helps keep it online.Leave a tip
Monarch butterfly
Peacock butterfly
Blue morpho
Old World swallowtail
Small white
Eastern tiger swallowtail
Trap-jaw ant
Spiny-legged stingless bee
Jewelled flower mantis
Heavy-bodied jumper
Northern jewelled spider
Chinese bird spider