Viv Wilson found an African Lime Butterfly near
Tabuk and sent me a few photographs of it. This is a difficult butterfly to
take photos of as they are always on the move and never settle for more than a
brief second. The African Lime Butterfly is a common and widespread Swallowtail
Butterfly that gets its common name from its favoured host plant but unlike
most swallowtail butterflies, it does not have a prominent tail. It is also
known as the Common Lime Swallowtail, Lemon Butterfly, Lime Swallowtail or
Citrus Swallowtail. Apart from being tailless it has a wingspan 80–100 mm and
above, the background colour is black. A broad, irregular yellow band is found
on the wings above, which is broken in the case of the forewing and also has a
large number of irregular spots on the wing. The upper hindwing has a red
tornal spot with blue edging around it that can be seen on the second
photograph below. The Common Lime Swallowtail is perhaps the most widely
distributed swallowtail in the world and can be found in Oman, United Arab
Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar eastwards to Australia and some
Pacific Ocean Islands. The widespread range indicates the butterfly's tolerance
and adaptation to diverse habitats where it is found in savannahs, fallow land,
gardens, evergreen and semi-evergreen forests and shows a preference for stream
and riverbeds.
