Maharashtra declares Blue Mormon as ‘State butterfly’

State Animal: Indian giant squirrel (in Marathi- Shekru; शेकरू) .
State Bird: Yellow-footed green pigeon (in Marathi- Hariyal).
State Flower: Lagerstroemia (in Marathi- Jarul).
State Tree: Mango.

June 23, 2015

Maharashtra has officially declared Blue Mormon species as State butterfly as part of state symbols.
Decision in this regard was taken in State Wildlife Board meeting presided by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis in Mumbai.
With this, Maharashtra became the first State in the country to have a State butterfly.

About Blue Mormon

Blue Mormon (Papilio polymnestor) is the second largest butterfly species in terms of size, after the southern birdwing (Troides minos).
Description: Blue Mormon has black, velvet wings with bright blue spots. The lower ends of its wings are black. Its body has some red spots on one side.
Distribution: It is only found in (endemic to) Sri Lanka, Western Ghats of Maharashtra, South India and coastal belts of the country.
In case of Maharashtra, it can be occasionally spotted in its mainland parts of Vidarbha and Western Maharashtra.

It should be noted that Maharashtra is home to nearly 225 varieties of butterflies and home to about 15 per cent of their population in the country.