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Sticker of Kaiser-i-Hind
Bug card No. 0804 of 1,500

Kaiser-i-Hind

Teinopalpus imperialis
Name means: “Its name means emperor of India.”
Eats: Nectar and pollenButterfliesForests and woods6 legs

The Kaiser-i-Hind is a rare swallowtail butterfly that shimmers bright green. The male has a big chrome yellow patch on each back wing. It lives high up in mountain forests and is very hard to catch.

Lives in
Nepal, Bhutan, the Eastern Himalayas of India, Myanmar and northern Vietnam, in mountain forests
Top speed
about 15 km/h (9.3 mph)
Flying, estimate
Can it hurt you?
Harmless
Harmless. It cannot bite or sting.
What does it eat?
Like other butterflies, the grown-ups sip sweet liquid from flowers. Its caterpillar is said to eat the leaves of a Daphne shrub.
For real!Photo of Kaiser-i-Hind
Picture by Vkchandrasekharanlic. CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

How fast is it?

cool stuff

Fun facts

1

Its green shimmer comes from tiny 3D structures in its wing scales that bounce light around. Scientists study them.

2

It flies very strongly and fast, and rests high up in trees.

3

It usually flies only for a few hours in the morning.

4

The females are much bigger than the males, and much rarer to see.

5

It lives in forests between 1800 and 3000 metres up in the mountains.

you asked

Most asked questions about Kaiser-i-Hind

?What does Kaiser-i-Hind mean?

It means emperor of India.

?Why is the Kaiser-i-Hind so special?

It is rare and very beautiful, with shimmering green wings.

?Where does the Kaiser-i-Hind live?

In mountain forests of the Himalayas and nearby areas, from Nepal to Vietnam.

For bug experts

Scientific name
Teinopalpus imperialis
Group
Butterflies
Family
Papilionidae
Classification
Insecta > Lepidoptera > Papilionidae
Lives on
Asia
Also known as
Kaisar-i-Hind

Where the facts come from

  1. Teinopalpus imperialis (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0): what it looks like, where it lives, what it eats, sizes and fun facts, retold in simple words.
  2. Picture by Vkchandrasekharanlic. CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons. The round sticker of this bug is cut from the same picture.

If we got something wrong, sorry, we are bug fans, not a science journal. Tell us at hello@bugwiki.app and we will fix it.

More from the same group: Butterflies

Also at home here: Forests and woods