Narrow-banded Bluebottle

The Narrow-banded Bluebottle (Graphium teredon) is a striking butterfly found mainly in moist lowland rainforests of Sri Lanka and southern India, usually below 1600 meters. It looks very similar to the Common Bluebottle (Graphium sarpedon), but has narrower blue-green bands across its black wings. The hindwings are marked with a crimson bar and extend into a small pointed tail, giving it an elegant shape in flight. These butterflies are fast and agile, making them difficult to catch, and are most often seen gliding just above the forest canopy.

Males are known for gathering at damp spots such as puddles, roadsides, and even near decaying matter, where they absorb essential minerals. During migrations, they can appear in large numbers, sometimes making up a significant part of the butterfly swarms in South India. Adults feed on nectar from many flowering plants, while their caterpillars depend on trees such as cinnamon (Cinnamomum zeylanicum) and Indian laurel (Litsea sebifera). The caterpillars are bright green with spines and yellow markings, blending perfectly with leaves before transforming into green pupae that resemble leaf buds. This butterfly’s beauty, speed, and presence in tropical forests make it a true gem of Sri Lanka’s butterfly diversity.