National Museum of Natural Science

The green dragontail is a member of the genus Lamproptera, which includes two of the world’s smallest swallowtails. It is widely distributed in the tropical areas of Asia within the Indomalayan realm, with divergence beginning around the Oligocene-Miocene. There are 10 subspecies. Wingspan is 2-3 cm. The background color of the wings is black. At the tip of the forewing is a triangular transparent area. There are two light green bands in the center, which connect to the green band on the hindwing. The extensions from the hindwings are extremely long. This butterfly inhabits places where there is water. The larvae feed on plants in the Illigera genus of the Hernandiaceae family and the Zanthoxylum genus of the Rutaceae family.

Lamproptera meges