Subspecies in India
(1) Papilio paradoxa telearchus Hewitson, 1852 – Khasi Great Blue Mime
Conservation and Special status
The species is legally protected in India under Schedule II of the WildLife (Protection) Amendment Act, 2022.
Photo Gallery and Species Biology
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This uncommon species has been recorded so far from Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, and Meghalaya, within the Indian limits. It inhabits low-elevation evergreen forests, especially around forest rivers and large streams. The female is seen seldom.
This species is mimetic and polymorphic, appearing in two superb Batesian mimetic forms within India: form telearchus mimics the Striped Blue Crow (Euploea mulciber) in a sex-specific manner (i.e., male mimics male, and female mimics female), and form danisepa mimics the Magpie Crow (Euploea radamanthus).
The species is legally protected in India under Schedule II of the WildLife (Protection) Amendment Act, 2022.
| State | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | No date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Andaman and Nicobar Islands UT | |||||||||||||
| Andhra Pradesh | |||||||||||||
| Arunachal Pradesh | 1 | 1 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 2 | |||||||
| Assam | 1 | 4 | 1 | ||||||||||
| Bihar | |||||||||||||
| Chandigarh | |||||||||||||
| Chhattisgarh | |||||||||||||
| Dadra & Nagar Haveli UT | |||||||||||||
| Daman & Diu UT | |||||||||||||
| Delhi | |||||||||||||
| Goa | |||||||||||||
| Gujarat | |||||||||||||
| Haryana | |||||||||||||
| Himachal Pradesh | |||||||||||||
| Jammu and Kashmir UT | |||||||||||||
| Jharkhand | |||||||||||||
| Karnataka | |||||||||||||
| Kerala | |||||||||||||
| Ladakh UT | |||||||||||||
| Lakshadweep | |||||||||||||
| Madhya Pradesh | |||||||||||||
| Maharashtra | |||||||||||||
| Manipur | |||||||||||||
| Meghalaya | 1 | 8 | 1 | 1 | |||||||||
| Mizoram | |||||||||||||
| Nagaland | |||||||||||||
| Odisha | |||||||||||||
| Puducherry UT | |||||||||||||
| Punjab | |||||||||||||
| Rajasthan | |||||||||||||
| Sikkim | |||||||||||||
| Tamil Nadu | |||||||||||||
| Telangana | |||||||||||||
| Tripura | |||||||||||||
| Uttar Pradesh | |||||||||||||
| Uttarakhand | |||||||||||||
| West Bengal | |||||||||||||
| Total | 2 | 10 | 9 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
Page citation
Kunte, K. 2026. Papilio paradoxa (Zinken, 1831) – Great Blue Mime. 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/papilio-paradoxa, accessed 2026/05/25.