The Common Bluebottle

Graphium sarpedon reproduces by laying eggs (oviparous), the eggs are laid in leaf buds or in the petiole of the host plant. The eggs are round, cream-white in color, about 1.2 mm in diameter.

Life cycle (Metamorfosis) : Graphium sarpedon eggs take 3 days to hatch, after hatching the caterpillar will eat the entire egg shell as its first food. His body was initially pale yellowish brown but turned dark greenish brown a few hours later. It has a pair of lateral spines each of the three thoracic segments, and another pair of white spines in the anal segment. The body also has short dorsal-lateral rows of tubercles with long setae. After two days of eating young leaves, the first instar caterpillar grows to a length of about 5 mm. In the 2nd instar caterpillar, the basal tip of the thoracic spines turns black while the distal tip spines are still yellowish brown. Dark yellowish green body color with alternating yellow to dark green ventral segments. This caterpillar will continue to the next instar after 2 days and its body length reaches 6-8 mm. There is no drastic change in appearance in this 3rd instar caterpillar, takes 2 days to complete, body length is about 10-12mm. The body of this 4th instar caterpillar is mostly yellowish green, mottled with small yellow markings. On the back, a protruding transverse yellow band connects the two spines in the 3rd thoracic segment, a thin yellow band runs laterally on each side, the anus is bluish green. These instars last for 2 days with a body length of about 19-20mm. The 5th instar caterpillar is very similar to the 4th instar. The common Bluebottle caterpillar also has an osmeterium in the prothoracic segment. The 5th instar lasts 4 days, and the body length reaches 40-43mm. Towards the end of this instar, the length of the body gradually shortens, the color of the body almost completely turns green after the yellow band crosses and most of the yellow spots disappear. In the end, the caterpillar will settle on the leaf surface in an upright position and enter the prepupa phase. The pupa phase occurs a day later, the cocoon holds itself with a silk sash from the leaf surface. The pupa is green like veined leaves with a slender and pointed thoracic angle. The pupal period lasts 10 days, and the pupae turn black on the wing pads the night before eclosion. Adult butterflies appear the next morning.

Reproduction session : –

Incubation periods: 3

Independent age : at birth

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