Bio-patterns and larval ontogeny of PAPILIO POLYTES (L.) on seven different host plants of rutaceae family

The Papilionidae butterfly Papilio polytes (L.) (Common Mormon) it occurs throughout the year. The larval ontogeny and Bio-patterns of Papilio polytes was studied at Andhra University campus using the leaves of seven host plants of M. koenigii, C. limettioides, C. aurantiifolia, C. aurantium, C. sinensis, C. limon and A. marmelos (Rutaceae) the larval host, both in laboratory and in the natural conditions. They eggs lay on the main host plant of Murrayya koenigii. The behavior and morphological characters of eggs, caterpillars, pupae and adult emergence were observed in the laboratory at 28o-30oc. The life duration was completed in 26-34 days, with egg hatching 3 larvae 14-19, and pupae 9-12 days. The values of consumption index (CI), growth rate (GR), and approximate digestibility (AD) across the instars decreased as the larvae aged. The highest values of the CI and GR are 46.38, 0.50 respectively, and that of AD is 98.1. However, the values of both efficiency of conversion of digested food (ECD) and efficiency of conversion of ingested food (ECI) either increased or decreased from instar to instar.