Larval Host Plant
Nectar Plant
Borbo cinnara – Rice Swift
Pachliopta aristolochiae – Common Rose
Pachliopta hector – Crimson Rose
Pachliopta pandiyana – Malabar Rose
Papilio buddha – Malabar Banded Peacock
Papilio helenus – Red Helen
Papilio liomedon – Malabar Banded Swallowtail
Papilio paris – Paris Peacock
Papilio polymnestor – Blue Mormon
Papilio polytes – Common Mormon
Troides minos – Sahyadri Birdwing
,
,
Other notes
Natural History: This large shrub or straggler ('scandent climber') normally grows to approx. 2-4 m in height. It has red or yellow flowers, with a prominent white bract.
It is native to moist forests of S and SE Asia.
Notes: This plant has been reported as a larval host for Athyma opalina – Hill Sergeant from China and Athyma selenophora – Staff Sergeant from China and Japan (HOSTS, 2023). It might be used in India, too, but this needs confirmation.
References:
Nitin, R., V. C. Balakrishnan, P. V. Churi, S. Kalesh, S. Prakash, and K. Kunte. 2018. Larval host plants of the butterflies of the Western Ghats, India. Journal of Threatened Taxa, 10:11495–11550. DOI: https://doi.org/10.11609/jott.3104.10.4.11495-11550.
HOSTS (2023) - a Database of the World's Lepidopteran Hostplants. Accessed on 24 Jan 2023. URL: https://www.nhm.ac.uk/our-science/data/hostplants/search/.
WFO (2023): World Flora Online. Accessed on 24 Jan 2023. URL: http://worldfloraonline.org/taxon/wfo-0000246564.
Flowers of India (2023). Accessed on 24 Jan 2023. URL: https://www.flowersofindia.net/catalog/slides/Dhobi%20Tree.html.
Page citation
Kawthankar, N. and K. Kunte. 2024. Mussaenda frondosa L. – Dhobi Tree, Wild Mussaenda. In Kunte, K., S. Sondhi, and P. Roy (Chief Editors). Butterflies of India, v. 4.12. Published by the Indian Foundation for Butterflies. URL: https://www.ifoundbutterflies.org/mussaenda-frondosa, accessed 2024/04/26.