Kaiserihind

Description

Teinopalpus imperialis,the Kaiser-i-Hind,is a rare species of swallowtail butterfly found from Nepal and north India east to north Vietnam.The common name literally means "emperor of India".The Kaiser-i-Hind is much sought after by butterfly collectors for its beauty and rarity.The green iridiscence of the wings has been found to be due to three-dimensional photonic structure of the scales and is the subject of much research.The Kaiser-i-Hind,like the Bhutan glory is unmistakable and cannot be confused with any other butterfly.A predominantly green swallowtail,the male has a bright chrome-yellow patch on each hind wing.The following descriptions are from Charles Thomas Bingham (1907) The Fauna of British India,Including Ceylon and Burma,Butterflies Volume 2.