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Sticker of Crimson rose swallowtail
Bug card No. 1239 of 4,939

Crimson rose swallowtail

Pachliopta hector
Eats: Nectar and pollenButterfliesRainforests and jungles6 legs

The crimson rose is a big black swallowtail butterfly with white bands and bright crimson red spots. Its head and body are bright red too. These colours warn birds that it tastes bad.

Lives in
India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan and the Maldives, in jungles and open country
Top speed
about 15 km/h (9.3 mph)
Flying, estimate
Can it hurt you?
Harmless
Harmless. It cannot bite or sting.
What does it eat?
It loves to drink flower nectar, especially from lantana.
For real!Photo of Crimson rose swallowtail
Picture by J.M.Garg. CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

How fast is it?

cool stuff

Fun facts

1

Many crimson roses sleep together at night on the branches of trees and bushes.

2

Drinking lots of nectar helps the mother lay more eggs.

3

Close to the ground it flies slowly, but higher up it flies fast and strong.

4

It is protected by law in India.

you asked

Most asked questions about Crimson rose swallowtail

?Why is the crimson rose butterfly red?

Its red body and bright spots warn birds that it is not good to eat.

?Where does the crimson rose live?

In India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan and the Maldives.

For bug experts

Scientific name
Pachliopta hector
Group
Butterflies
Family
Papilionidae
Classification
Insecta > Lepidoptera > Papilionidae
Lives on
Asia
Also known as
Crimson rose

Where the facts come from

  1. Pachliopta hector (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0): what it looks like, where it lives, what it eats, sizes and fun facts, retold in simple words.
  2. Picture by J.M.Garg. CC BY-SA 3.0, 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.

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