Volume 01 / Issue 02 / 19 / | Agri-India TODAY | www.agriindiatoday.in [Article ID : 01/II/05/0121] LIFE CYCLE OF CITRUS BUTTERFLY PAPILIO POLYTES LINNAEUS (LEPIDOPTERA: PAPILIONIDAE) ON SWEET LEMON Aryaman Modak and Yendrembam K. Devi 1 * B.Sc. (Agri) Scholar, Lovely Professional University, Jalandhar-Delhi G.T. Road (NH-1) Phagwara-144411 India 1 Department of Entomology, Lovely Professional University, Jalandhar-Delhi G.T. Road (NH-1) Phagwara-144411 India *Corresponding email: kismon1987@gmail.com Introduction The genus Citrus is unique in its diversity of forms and no other fruit crop can parallel it. Citrus crop posses great adaptability to various climatic conditions and hence grown equally both in tropical and subtropical regions as well as some favorable parts of the temperate regions of the world. Citrus industry is the third largest, in the world after mango and banana. In India citrus crop occupies a prominent place covering an area of about 8.5 L ha with an annual production of 74.64 L tonnes with a productivity of 8.8 t/ha (NHB, 2011). Citrus crop is being infested by around 165 species of economically important insect pests in India causing up to 30 per cent yield loss. In India about 250 species of insects have been found attacking and spoiling various citrus species. Among various insects citrus butterfly, Papilio polytes Linnaeus commonly known as the common mormon, has a successful dispersal and is a major economically important pest of citrus plants throughout Asia. P. polytes larvae feed on the foliage of citrus trees and are regarded as a major citrus pest especially in nurseries. The larval forms cause serious damage to citrus family by devouring large quantity of foliage during the later stages of their development, particularly in Southern and Southeast Asia. The biology and developmental period is mainly dependant on the climate, location and plant species on which they are feeding. Information on the morphometric and biology of citrus butterfly on sweet lemon will be useful to evolve effective management strategy, against citrus butterfly. Here, the life cycle of the Papilio polytes (Papilionidae) is reported. The measurements of egg, larva, pupa and adult reported here are based on four samples and the samples were collected in Jalpaiguri district, West Bengal, India. The different stages in the life cycle of P. polytes: Egg stage : Eggs are spherical, smooth, cream-colored, and were laid on the under surface of sweet lemon (Citrus limetta). Its measurement was taken from the reference research papers. Fig 1 : Egg stage