Pattampoochi Butterfly Magazine - Wings 1 Veins 1 2017

2017 Quarterly Magazine of Tamil Nadu Butterfly Society Jan-Mar 2017

PATTAMPOOCHI

Q1

Butterfly Checklist for the state of Tamil Nadu A status on the revalidation of species in TN Book Introduction: BNHS Field Guide Butterfly Migration in TN: 2016 Life Cycle– Striated Five-ring Major TNBS events in 2016 TN Butterflies: FB Analysis Photo Gallery

2

Dear Butterfly Lovers,

PATTAMPOOCHI

Vannakkam [Greetings]. Pattampoochi means Butterfly in Tamil. It was in our thoughts for quite sometime to bring out a Newsletter, especially focusing on the state of Tamil Nadu. We hope you will welcome the idea as much as we did in the making and like the contents of the newsletter too. One of the main purposes of the Newsletter is to put on record the happenings and observations, on butterflies, in the state of Tamil Nadu for the long term benefits on our understanding of the winged beauties.

This is not a scientifically driven attempt but just a communication among butterfly enthusiasts. Hence, there may be certain points which are beyond our understanding scope and we might have erred in our judgement.

Please do correct us, if you see any of them here and we shall be happy to listen.

In the first and current issue, we have attempted to list Butterfly checklist for the state. We have reasoned out leaving some species and added some. This checklist will be constantly monitored and will be updated as and when it becomes important. We have also provided the results of re-validation exercise, we have taken a few years back and we are happy 92% of target species have been ticked off. However, with just the morphological data in hand, identifying Bushbrowns, Sailers, Darts and Swifts are difficult many a time and we are confidant a few more species will be added with more knowledge gained on them. Another interesting observation to share is the migration of Nymphalidae and Pieridae species. It was with great disappointment to put on record that the Nymphalidae butterflies did not take on the scale that we witnessed before in their migration journey.

While we are yet to consider ourselves qualified to review a book, we have attempted to drive an impact on our understanding for the state from the new BNHS field guide released recently. A few of our members are actively involved in observing the life cycle of butterflies and we have shared one such life cycle (of a rare Ypthima striata) in this issue. The rest of the sections are for the fun part.

Many of the data and observations that is used in arriving some meaningful conclusion here is based on active involvement of each and every members of the Tamil Nadu Butterfly Society of past and present and all members of our Facebook forum. We owe every one of them a great deal. And, please do send us your feedback on this newsletter issue, by writing to tamilnadubutterflies@gmail.com

Editorial Team Tamil Nadu Butterfly Society Pattampoochi– A quarterly magazine of Tamil Nadu Butterfly Society Wings 1 Veins 1 Jan– Mar 2017. Issued on 01.01.2017 Issued from Coimbatore, TN For Private Circulation Only. Copy right is with TNBS. Please write to us for getting permission to use any of the contents Editor: A Pavendhan Editorial Team: Bala Krishnan, Gopal Krishnan, Nishanth CV, Pradeep Kumar PB, Theivaprakasham H , Vishwa Nathan

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Butterfly Checklist for the state of Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu It is quite natural that maximum of species that occur in Peninsular India can be found in the state of Tamil Nadu with its varied habitat. There are no recent systematic survey of the complete state on the status of Butterflies and the list of butterflies available on-line for Tamil nadu is a just a reproduction of a neighbouring state.

Basis of List of Species Arrived Tamil Nadu Butterfly Society (TNBS) has arrived at the target list of species based on recent Field guides, on-line resources available, direct field observations, research studies conducted in the recent time and hence its impact on certain genus. It is possible that these lists are impacted as and when more information of them is obtained. Please refer to list of References at the end.

S. No 1 2 3 4 5 6

Family Papilionidae Pieridae Nymphalidae Riodinidae Lycaenidae Hesperiidae Total

Target

List of Species Family wise Family: Papilionidae S. No

Scientific Name 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19

Graphium teredon

Common Name (as per BNHS Field guide) Southern Bluebottle

Graphium doson Graphium agamemnon Graphium antiphates Graphium nomius Pachliopta aristolochiae Pachliopta pandiyana Pachliopta hector Troides minos Papilio clytia Papilio polytes Papilio dravidarum Papilio helenus Papilio polymnestor Papilio liomedon Papilio demoleus Papilio paris 1 Papilio crino Papilio buddha

Common Jay Tailed Jay Five-bar Swordtail Spot Swordtail Common Rose Malabar Rose Crimson Rose Southern Birdwing Common Mime Common Mormon Malabar Raven Red Helen Blue Mormon Malabar Banded Swallowtail Lime Butterfly Paris Peacock Common Banded Peacock Malabar Banded Peacock

Notes: 1. The Southern sub-species Papilio paris tamilana is also called Tamil Peacock

4

Other Common Names (as per IFB website) Narrow-banded Bluebottle

Sahyadri Birdwing

Lime Swallowtail

19 32 96 2 91 83 323

Butterfly Checklist for the state of Tamil Nadu Family: Pieridae S. No

Scientific Name

Common Name (as per BNHS Field guide)

20

Eurema andersoni

One-spot Grass Yellow

21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51

Eurema blanda Eurema brigitta Eurema hecabe Eurema laeta Eurema nilgiriensis Catopsilia pomona Catopsilia pyranthe Colias nilagiriensis Colotis amata Colotis danae Colotis etrida Colotis aurora Colotis fausta Ixias marianne Ixias pyrene Hebomoia glaucippe Pareronia ceylanica Pareronia hippia Appias libythea Appias lyncida Appias albina Appias wardii Appias indra Appias lalage Pieris canidia Cepora nerissa Cepora nadina Prioneris sita Delias eucharis Leptosia nina Belenois aurota

Three-spot Grass Yellow Small Grass Yellow Common Grass Yellow Spotless Grass Yellow Nilgiri Grass Yellow1 Common Emigrant Mottled Emigrant Nilgiri Clouded Yellow Small Salmon Arab Crimson-tip Small Orange-tip Plain Orange-tip Large Salmon Arab White Orange-tip Yellow Orange-tip Great Orange-tip Dark Wanderer Common Wanderer Striped Albatross Chocolate Albatross Common Albatross Lesser Albatross2 Plain Puffin Spot Puffin Indian Cabbage White Common Gull Lesser Gull Painted Sawtooth Common Jezebel Psyche Pioneer

Other Common Names (as per IFB website)

Lemon Emigrant

Little Orange-tip

Indian Wanderer Western Striped Albatross

Asian Cabbage White

Notes: 1. Species not listed in both BNHS Field guide and IFB website, but included based on studies by O. Yata (1990) 2. Species not listed in BNHS Field guide

Family: Nymphalidae S. No

Scientific Name 52

Libythea myrrha

Common Name (as per BNHS Field guide) Club Beak

53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63

Libythea laius Parantica aglea Parantica nilgiriensis Tirumala limniace Tirumala septentrionis Danaus genutia Danaus chrysippus Euploea sylvester Euploea klugii Euploea core Idea malabarica

Southern Beak Glassy Tiger Nilgiri Tiger Blue Tiger Dark Blue Tiger Striped Tiger Plain Tiger Double-branded Crow Brown King Crow Common Crow Malabar Tree Nymph 5

Other Common Names (as per IFB website) Lobed Beak

King Crow

Butterfly Checklist for the state of Tamil Nadu Family: Nymphalidae (contd.)

S. No 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 102 103 104 105 106

Scientific Name Polyura athamas / Charaxes bharata1& 2 Polyura agraria/ Charaxes agrarius Polyura schreiber/ Charaxes schreiber Charaxes psaphon Charaxes solon Discophora lepida Amathusia phidippus Elymnias caudata Melanitis leda Melanitis phedima Melanitis zitenius Parantirrhoea marshalli Lethe europa Lethe rohria Lethe drypetis Mycalesis anaxias Mycalesis perseus Mycalesis mineus Mycalesis igilia Mycalesis visala Mycalesis subdita Mycalesis patnia Telinga adolphei4 Mycalesis oculus/ Telinga oculus4 Heteropsis davisoni/ Telinga davisoni4 Zipaetis saitis Orsotrioena medus Ypthima asterope Ypthima baldus Ypthima ceylonica Ypthima ypthimoides Ypthima chenu Ypthima huebneri Ypthima singala Ypthima striata Ypthima tabella Acraea violae/ Acraea terpsicore6 Cethosia mahratta Argynnis hyperbius/ Argynnis hybrida Argynnis hyperbius/ Argynnis castetsi Phalanta alcippe Phalanta phalantha Vindula erota

Common Name (as per BNHS Field guide) Common Nawab

Other Common Names (as per IFB website) Indian Nawab

Anomalous Nawab Blue Nawab Indian Tawny Rajah Black Rajah Southern Duffer Palmking Southern Palmfly Common Evening Brown Dark Evening Brown Great Evening Brown Travancore Evening Brown Bamboo Treebrown Common Treebrown Tamil Treebrown White-bar Bushbrown Common Bushbrown Dark-brand Bushbrown Small Long-brand Bushbrown Long-brand Bushbrown 3

Glad-eye Bushbrown 3

Indian Plain Tawny Rajah

Tailed Palmfly

Dark-branded Bushbrown Sahyadri Long-branded Bushbrown Long-branded Bushbrown Tamil Bushbrown Malabar Glad-eye Bushbrown Red-eye Bushbrown

Red-disc Bushbrown Palni Bushbrown Tamil Catseye Nigger5 Common Three-ring Common Five-ring White Four-ring Palni Four-ring Nilgiri Four-ring Common Four-ring Small Jewel Four-ring Nilgiri Jewel Four-ring Southern Baby Five-ring

Banded Catseye Medus Brown

Sinhalese Five-ring Striated Five-ring Sahyadri Baby Five-ring

Tawny Coster Sahyadri Lacewing Nilgiri Fritillary

Tamil Lacewing Indian Fritillary

Palni Fritillary

Indian Fritillary Small Leopard Common Leopard Cruiser

6

Butterfly Checklist for the state of Tamil Nadu Family: Nymphalidae (contd.)

S. No

Scientific Name

Common Name (as per BNHS Field guide)

Cirrochroa thais

Tamil Yeoman

Cupha erymanthis

Rustic

Moduza procris

Commander

Athyma perius Athyma ranga Athyma selenophora Athyma nefte inara/ Athyma inara Pantoporia hordonia Pantoporia sandaca Lasippa viraja Neptis hylas Neptis jumbah Neptis clinia Neptis nata hampsoni Neptis (soma) palnica Phaedyma columella Parthenos sylvia Euthalia aconthea Euthalia lubentina Symphaedra nais Cynitia lepidea/ Tanaecia lepidea Dophla evelina Cyrestis thyodamas

Common Sergeant Black-vein Sergeant Staff Sergeant

Byblia ilithyia

Joker

Ariadne ariadne

Angled Castor

132 133 134 135 136 137 138 139 140 141 142 143

Ariadne merione Rohana parisatis Euripus consimilis Vanessa indica Vanessa cardui Kaniska canace Junonia orithiya Junonia hierta Junonia iphita Junonia atlites Junonia almana

Common Castor Black Prince Painted Courtesan Indian Red Admiral Painted lady Blue Admiral Blue Pansy Yellow Pansy Chocolate Pansy Grey Pansy Peacock Pansy

Junonia lemonias

Lemon Pansy

144 145

Hypolimnas bolina

Great Eggfly

Hypolimnas misippus

Danaid Eggfly

Kallima horsfieldi

Blue Oakleaf

Doleschallia bisaltide

Autumn Leaf

107 108 109 110 111 112 113 114 115 116 117 118 119 120 121 122 123 124 125 126 127 128 129 130 131

146 147

Other Common Names (as per IFB website)

Colour Sergeant Common Lascar Extra Lascar Yellow Jack Sailer Common Sailer Chestnut-streaked Sailer 3

Sullied Sailer Creamy Sailer Short-banded Sailer Clipper Common Baron Gaudy Baron Baronet

Sullied Sailer Clear Sailer Palni Sailer

Baron

Grey Count Redspot Duke Common Map

Map Butterfly

Sahyadri Blue Oakleaf

7

Butterfly Checklist for the state of Tamil Nadu Family: Nymphalidae (contd.)

Notes: 1. Recent molecular phylogenetic work suggests that bharata although superficially indistinguishable from athamas is different taxon (Toussaint, et al, 2015) 2. Recent genetic research has shown that some species of the genus Charaxes are more related to Polyura than to other Charaxes species. Polyura should therefore be included in Charaxes (Kwaku Aduse-Poku, etall,2009) 3. Species not listed in BNHS Field guide/ range not mentioned 4. These species were earlier included under Heteropsis (Kodandaramaiah et al. 2010), but have now been moved under the genus Telinga (Aduse-Poku et al. 2016).

5. Not a preferred common name nowadays as the name is felt derogatory 6. There has been long-standing confusion among taxonomists as to what is the correct scientific name for the Tawny Coster

Family: Lycaenidae S. No

Scientific Name

Common Name (as per BNHS Field guide)

148

Curetis thetis

Indian Sunbeam

149

Curetis acuta

Angled Sunbeam

Acute Sunbeam

150 151 152 153 154 155 156 157 158 159 160 161 162 163 164 165 166 167 168 169 170 171

Curetis siva Spalgis epius Spindasis lohita Spindasis vulcanus Spindasis schistacea Spindasis ictis Spindasis abnormis Spindasis elima Anthene emolus Anthene lycaenina Petrelaea dana Nacaduba pactolus Nacaduba hermus Nacaduba kurava Nacaduba beroe Nacaduba berenice Nacaduba calauria2 Prosotas nora Prosotas dubiosa Prosotas noreia Ionolyce helicon Caleta decidia

Siva Sunbeam Apefly Long-banded Silverline Common Silverline Plumbeous Silverline Common Shot Silverline Abnormal Silverline Scarce Shot Silverline Common Ciliate Blue Pointed Ciliate Blue Dingy Lineblue Large 4-lineblue Pale 4-lineblue Transparent 6-lineblue Opaque 6-lineblue Rounded 6-lineblue Dark Ceylon 6-lineblue Common Lineblue Tailless Lineblue White-tipped Lineblue Pointed Lineblue Angled Pierrot

Shiva Sunbeam

172 173 174 175 176 177 178 179 180 181 182 183 184 185

Discolampa ethion Jamides bochus Jamides celeno Jamides alecto Catochrysops strabo Lampides boeticus Leptotes plinius Castalius rosimon Tarucus nara Tarucus indica Tarucus ananda Zizeeria karsandra Zizina otis Pseudozizeeria maha

Banded Blue Pierrot Dark Cerulean Common Cerulean Metallic Cerulean Forget-me-not Pea Blue Zebra Blue Common Pierrot Rounded Pierrot Pointed Pierrot Dark Pierrot Dark Grass Blue Lesser Grass Blue Pale Grass Blue 8

Other Common Names (as per IFB website)

1

Striped Pierrot Indian Pierrot

Butterfly Checklist for the state of Tamil Nadu Family: Lycaenidae (contd.)

S. No

Scientific Name

Common Name (as per BNHS Field guide)

186

Zizula hylax

Tiny Grass Blue

187

Everus lacturnus

Indian Cupid

188 189 190 191 192 193 194 195 196 197 198 199 200 201 202 203 204 205 206 207 208 209 210 211 212 213 214 215 216 217 218 219 220 221 222 223

Talicada nyseus Azanus ubaldus Azanus jesous Neopithecops zalmora Megisba malaya Acytolepis puspa Acytolepis lilacea Celastrina lavendularis Udara akasa Celatoxia albidisca Euchrysops cnejus Freyeria putli Freyeria trochylus Chilades pandava Chilades parrhassius Chilades lajus Arhopala centaurus Arhopala amantes Arhopala bazaloides Arhopala alea Arhopala abseus Thaduka multicaudata Surendra quercetorum Zinaspa todara Zesius chrysomallus Amblypodia anita Iraota timoleon Pratapa deva Tajuria jehana Tajuria cippus Tajuria maculata Tajuria melastigma Creon cleobis Rachana jalindra Hypolycaena nilgirica Chliaria othona/ Hypolycaena othona Zeltus amasa Ancema blanka Loxura atymnus Horaga onyx Rathinda amor Cheritra freja Catapaecilma major Virachola isocrates Virachola perse Deudorix epijarbas

Red Pierrot Bright Babul Blue African Babul Blue Quaker Malayan Common Hedge Blue Hampson's Hedge Blue Plain Hedge Blue White Hedge Blue White-disc Hedge Blue Gram Blue Small Grass Jewel Grass Jewel Plains Cupid Small Cupid Lime Blue Centaur Oakblue Large Oakblue Tamil Oakblue Kanara Oakblue Aberrant Bushblue Many-tailed Oakblue Common Acacia Blue Silver-streaked Acacia Blue Redspot Leaf Blue Silverstreak Blue Tufted White Royal Plains Blue Royal Peacock Royal Spotted Royal

224 225 226 227 228 229 230 231 232 233

Other Common Names (as per IFB website) Oriental Cupid

3

Common Quaker

Lilac Hedge Blue

Oriental Grass Jewel

Dusted Oakblue Sahyadri Rosy Oakblue Aberrant Oakblue

Purple Leaf Blue

Branded Royal

Broadtail Royal Banded Royal Nilgiri Tit Orchid Tit Fluffy Tit Silver Royal Yamfly Common Onyx Monkey Puzzle Common Imperial Common Tinsel Guava Blue Large Guava Blue Cornelian

9

Butterfly Checklist for the state of Tamil Nadu Family: Lycaenidae (contd.)

S. No

Scientific Name

Common Name (as per BNHS Field guide)

Other Common Names (as per IFB website)

234

Bindahara moorei

Blue-edged Plane

Blue-bordered Plane

235

Rapala iarbus

Indian Red Flash

Common Red Flash

236 237 238

Rapala manea Rapala varuna Rapala lankana

Slate Flash Indigo Flash Malabar Flash

Notes: 1. Species not listed in IFB website 2. Species not listed in BNHS Field guide/ IFB website 3. Species not listed in BNHS Field guide

Family: Riodinidae S. No

Scientific Name

Common Name (as per BNHS Field guide)

Other Common Names (as per IFB website)

239

Abisara echerius

Straight Plum Judy

Plum Judy

240

Abisara bifasciata

Plum Judy

Double-banded Judy

Scientific Name

Common Name (as per BNHS Field guide)

Other Common Names (as per IFB website)

241

Badamia exclamationis

Brown Awl

242

Bibasis sena

Orange-tail Awl

243

Burara jaina

Orange Striped Awlet

244

Burara gomata

Pale Green Awlet

245

Hasora chromus

Common Banded Awl

246

Hasora taminatus

White Banded Awl

247

Hasora badra

Common Awl

248

Hasora vitta

Plain Banded Awl

249

Choaspes benjaminii

Indian Awlking

250

Tapena thwaitesi

Angled Flat

251

Coladenia indrani

Tricoloured Pied Flat

252

Gerosis bhagava

Common Yellow-breasted Flat

253

Tagiades japetus

Common Snow Flat

254

Tagiades gana

Suffused Snow Flat

255

Tagiades litigiosa

Water Snow Flat

256

Odontoptilum angulatum

Chestnut Angle

257

Caprona ransonnetti

Golden Angle

258

Caprona agama

Spotted Angle

259

Caprona alida

Pale Spotted Angle

Alida Angle

260

Celaenorrhinus ambareesa

Malabar Spotted Flat

Dakhan Spotted Flat

261

Celaenorrhinus leucocera

Common Spotted Flat

262

Celaenorrhinus putra Celaenorrhinus ruficornis/ Celaenorrhinus fusca

Bengal Spotted Flat Tamil Spotted Flat

Family: Hesperiidae S. No

263

Orange Awlet

Black Angle

10

Restricted Spotted Flat Dusky Spotted Flat

Butterfly Checklist for the state of Tamil Nadu Family: Hesperiidae (contd.)

S. No

Scientific Name

Common Name (as per BNHS Field guide)

264

Pseudocoladenia dan

Fulvous Pied Flat

265

Sarangesa purendra

Spotted Small Flat

266

Sarangesa dasahara

Common Small Flat

267

Gomalia elma

African Marbled Skipper

268

Spialia galba

Indian Skipper

Indian Grizzled Skipper

269

Baracus subditus

Hedge Hopper

Yellow-stripped Hedge Hopper

270

Baracus hampsoni

Hampson's Hedge Hopper

Malabar Hedge Hopper

271

Ampittia dioscorides

Bush Hopper

272

Aeromachus dubius

Dingy Scrub Hopper

273

Aeromachus pygmaeus

Pygmy Scrub Hopper

274

Sovia hyrtacus

Bicolour Ace

White-branded Ace

275

Thoressa honorei

Madras Ace

Sahyadri Orange Ace

276

Thoressa astigmata

Southern Spotted Ace

Unbranded Ace

277

Thoressa sitala

Sitala Ace

Nilgiri Plain Ace

278

Thoressa evershedi

Evershed's Ace

Travancore Tawny Ace

279

Halpe porus

Moore's Ace

Bispot Banded Ace

280

Halpe hindu

South Indian Ace

Sahyadri Banded Ace

281

Arnetta mercara

Coorg Forest Hopper

282

Arnetta vindhiana

Vindhyan Bob

283

Iambrix salsala

Chestnut Bob

284

Psolos fuligo

Coon1

285

Notocrypta paralysos

286

Notocrypta curvifascia

Common Banded Demon Restricted Demon

287

Udaspes folus

Grass Demon

288

Suastus gremius

Indian Palm Bob

289

Suastus minutus

Small Palm Bob

290

Cupitha purreea

Wax Dart

291

Zographetus ogygia

Purple Spotted Flitter

292

Tree Flitter

294

Hyarotis adrastus Hyarotis microstictum/ Hyarotis coorga Quedara basiflava

295

Salanoemia sala

Maculate Lancer

296

Gangara thyrsis

Giant Redeye

297

Erionota torus

298

293

Other Common Names (as per IFB website)

Dusky Partwing

Oriental Palm Bob

Brush Flitter

Kodagu Brush Flitter

Golden Flitter

Yellow-base Flitter

2

Rounded Palm-redeye

Matapa aria

Common Redeye

Common Branded Redeye

299

Parnara bada

Oriental Straight Swift

Oriental Variable Swift

300

Parnara ganga

Continental Swift

Continental Swift

301

Borbo cinnara

Rice Swift

302

Borbo bevani

Bevan's Swift

Lesser Rice Swift

303

Pelopidas agna

Little Branded Swift

Obscure Branded Swift

304

Pelopidas subochracea

Large Branded Swift

11

Butterfly Checklist for the state of Tamil Nadu Family: Hesperiidae (contd.)

S. No

Scientific Name

Common Name (as per BNHS Field guide)

Other Common Names (as per IFB website)

305

Pelopidas mathias

Small Branded Swift

306

Pelopidas conjuncta

Conjoined Swift

307

Polytremis lubricans

Contiguous Swift

308

Baoris farri

Paintbrush Swift

Complete Paint-brush Swift

309

Caltoris canaraica

Kanara Swift

Karwar Swift

310

Caltoris kumara

Blank Swift

311

Caltoris philippina

Philippine Swift

312

Taractrocera maevius

Common Grass Dart

Oriental Grass Dart

313

Taractrocera ceramas

Tamil Grass Dart

Tawny-spotted Grass Dart

314

Oriens concinna

Tamil Dartlet

Sahyadri Dartlet

315

Oriens goloides

Indian Dartlet

Smaller Dartlet

316

Potanthus pseudomaesa

Indian Dart

Dart spp.3

317

Potanthus confucius

Chinese Dart

Dart spp.3

318

Potanthus palnia

Palni Dart

Dart spp.3

319

Potanthus pava

Pava Dart

Dart spp.3

320

Potanthus pallidus

Pallid Dart

Dart spp.3

321

Telicota colon

Pale Palm-Dart

322

Telicota (ancilla) bambusae

Dark Palm-Dart

323

Cephrenes acalle

Plain Palm-dart

Notes: 1. Not a preferred common name nowadays as the name is felt derogatory 2. Species not listed in BNHS Field guide 3. IFB quote: There are 19 species of Potanthus in India. Their species-level identification is based largely on structures of the male genitalia. Hence, they cannot be identified easily based on external traits such as wing patterns.

List of Species to be added based on confirmed & repeated sightings The following species will be added to the checklist as and when clear sightings are reported: S. No

Scientific Name

Common Name

Remarks

1 2 3

Delias hyparete Delias acalis Delias descombesi

Painted Jezebel Red-breast Jezebel Red-spot Jezebel

Listed in BNHS Field guide Listed in BNHS Field guide A single sighting is reported in Chennai. Further sightings waited.

4 5

Horaga viola Tarucus balkanicus

6

Tarucus callinara

Brown Onyx Balkan Pierrot/ Black-spotted Pierrot Spotted Pierrot

7

Azanus uranus

Dull Babul Blue

Sighted in Kerala Species going beyond range as per BNHS Field guide Species going beyond range as per BNHS Field guide Rare in South India

12

Butterfly Checklist for the state of Tamil Nadu References 1. Isaac Kehimkar, 2016. Butterflies of India. BNHS Field Guides 2. http://www.ifoundbutterflies.org/. Kunte, K., P. Roy, S. Kalesh and U. Kodandaramaiah (eds.) 2016. Butterflies of India, v. 2.24. Indian Foundation for Butterflies.

3. RK Varshney and Peter Smetacek 2015. A synoptic catalogue of the Butterflies of India, Butterfly Research Centre.

4. Tamil Nadu Butterflies Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/groups/373700319460990/ 5. Osamu Yata 1991. A Revision of the Old World Species of the Genus Eurema (Hubner) (Lepidoptera, Pieridae). Part II. Description of the smilax, the hapale, the ada and the sari (part groups) 6. E.F.A Toussaint et al. 2015. Comparative molecular species delimitation in the charismatic Nawab butterflies (Nymphalidae, Charaxinae, Polyura). Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 91 (2015) 194–209 7. Kwaku Aduse-Poku, et al. 2009. Out-of-Africa again: A phylogenetic hypothesis of the genus Charaxes (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae) based on five gene regions. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 53 (2009) 463–478 8. Kwaku Aduse-Poku, et al. 2016. Molecular phylogeny and generic-level taxonomy of the widespread palaeotropical ‘Heteropsis clade’ (Nymphalidae: Satyrinae: Mycalesina). Systematic Entomology (2016), DOI: 10.1111/syen.12183 9. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nigger 10. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coon

Compilation, on behalf of TNBS, by A Pavendhan

13

A status on the re-validation of species in Tamil Nadu

An impressive 298 species of butterflies have been recorded in the recent times from Tamil Nadu, reports Tamil Nadu Butterfly Society (TNBS). This is a result of surveys and data collected by the society over a period of last 4 years.

Butterflies are insects in the order of Lepidoptera and are closely related to Moths. Butterflies are colourfully decorated in all imaginable colour hues and have en-chanted one and all from the young kids to the adults with their graceful flights and preference to the flowers. No poet in the history had ever failed to describe those including the Tamil Sangam Age poets to William Wordsworth to modern day cine lyrists. Yesteryear French semi-fiction Papillon (meaning butterfly) with Hollywood capitalising on it, as well as its Tamil translation (Pattampoochi) by our Tamil contemporary author Sujatha, will not go unnoticed in the world of butter-flies.

There are about 15,000 to 20,000 butterfly species around the world and the Neo -tropical region of Mexico to Southernmost tip of South America accounting for about 7000 species alone. In India, there are about 1300-1500 species (according to various estimates. These numbers around the world are constantly getting changed as with new species identification, range expansion, sub-species turning out to full species, etc.

Status on Tamil Nadu Our state of Tamil Nadu is part of the peninsular India, and various accounts and recent checklists for the region suggest that just about 323 species are the target ones to check for. The Western Ghats and Eastern Ghats decorate the state. Geographically, the Western, Southern and North-Western parts of the state are covered by hills. The Ghats meet each other at Nilgiris and these are extremely vegetation rich. The Eastern parts are fertile Coastal Plains and the Northern parts are a mix of hills and plains. The Central and the South-Central regions are arid plains and receive less rainfall than the other regions. Given this varied arrangement, it is quite natural that Tamil Nadu can house maximum of species that occur in Peninsular India.

Need for the Survey No recent systematic survey of the state has been done on Butterflies and the list of butterflies available on-line for Tamil Nadu is a just a copy of neighbouring states. Hence, a systematic and organised way of collecting butterflies was felt as an inescapable urgent need. As most of the species are expected to occur primarily in the hills and foothills of Western and Eastern Ghats, more focus was obviously required on these areas. There are however many study material on–line and elsewhere for specific areas and specific periods and does not represent a state wide or larger representation of land mass.

Tamil Nadu Butterfly Society Tamil Nadu Butterfly Society (TNBS) undertook this task of systematically collecting and recording number of butterfly species occurring in the state of Tamil Nadu in various habitats and in various times of the year. Towards this end, systematic data are being collected for closer to 4 years now mainly through personal efforts of members through Butterfly walks held in various habitats and through certain organised butterfly surveys with the co-operation and guidance of Tamil Nadu Forest Department.

An on-line forum was also created for this purpose and members where are encouraged to report the findings with species pictures as proof. The active participation of closer to 1200 members from various districts also helped generating useful data towards this purpose Target Species Butterflies are host plant sensitive. Each butterfly depends on exact set of plants for their life cycle and re-production. The plants are again sensitive to such arrangements and one cannot expect uniform vegetation across all areas. And, hence, butterflies are also not expected to be uniformly distributed across. Various checklists and yester year books describe the presence of about 330+ species for Peninsular India. There are certain species which are known to occur only on certain areas and hence those are removed from the target list. A target list of 323 species was arrived at after careful examination from the 6 families of butterflies put together. This was the set target to work with.

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A status on the re-validation of species in Tamil Nadu Process of Data Collection Weekly walks were held by the members usually on weekends covering as many habitats as possible from the following districts in the beginning: Nilgiris, Coimbatore, Erode and Thiruppur. No of species and approximate numbers in each species are recorded on a checklist. With the addition of on-line forum for this activity, representation of data from all districts has started pouring in. In fact, data from as many as 26 districts were represented out of 32 districts.

The regular species sightings were accepted on face value with pictorial proof, sighting of new species (new addition to the checklist) was thoroughly validated and in some cases by visiting the place again for secondary confirmation.

The on-line forum alone, if taken as exclusively, boasts all these species details along with pictures of the species. This is a tremendous achievement and was possible only with the advantage of modern communication technologies.

Species look alike in certain cases and is difficult to separate with ease and in such cases expert opinion is sought from panIndia forums and experts in the field of Lepidoptera.

Some species occur only on certain specific period and some throughout the year. So, a species may well be present but may not be recorded for want of the right period of visit and identification.

There are certain Butterfly hotspots which are visited more frequently for the survey purposes. For example, Kallar in Coimbatore District has provided 150 + species till date and so does certain other areas from Virudhunagar (Rajapalayam), Madurai, Chennai areas. On the plains area, wetlands and community preserved areas such as Sacred Groves were visited more often. City counts too were kept.

Systematic Survey with FD Certain specific species are believed to be well-hidden in the protected core area of Western Ghats and some of the species are endemic to the Ghats too. The society was handicapped in those accounts to record such species and specific help is sought from Tamil Nadu Forest Department. A few such surveys were undertaken, including Srivilliputtur GWLS, Pachamalai (Trichy Dt), Manjolai (KMTR) and one in Coimbatore District with due permission and support. These surveys resulted in adding a handful to the checklists and some first timer to the state too in the recent times. Some of these results are published too.

15

A status on the re-validation of species in Tamil Nadu Results of the survey: 298 species Compilation of the data, end of December 2016, yielded 298 species for the Tamil Nadu in the re-validation process. The family wise break up is given in the chart. Swallowtail butterflies accounting for 18, the Pierids (Whites and Yellows) accounting for 30, the Nymphalids- one of the bigger family accounting for 88, the blues 84, Metal marks 2 and the Skippers with 76.

Wit respect to Parnara species and Potanthus species, we have treated all of them are validated (although technically this is not correct). This is since experts of the opinion, these are closely resembling and need dissection to find the species identity. In the event of no such visible key readily available, we have treated them as seen. The numbers with respect to these two genus may change as we (TNBS) gain more knowledge on them.

Efforts are on to identify the missing ones by targeting specific habitats from the past experience and directions. A total of 92% of the target butterfly species have been re-validated end of this period. This exercise is a continuous process and Tamil Nadu Butterfly Society will march on with concerted efforts to find the remaining 25 species.

S. No

Scientific Name

Common Name (as per BNHS Field guide)

1

Graphium antiphates

Five-bar Swordtail

2 3 4

Eurema nilgiriensis Appias wardii Polyura schreiber/ Charaxes schreiber Amathusia phidippus Mycalesis igilia Mycalesis visala Argynnis hyperbius/ Argynnis castetsi Lasippa viraja Neptis (soma) palnica Doleschallia bisaltide Anthene emolus Tarucus indica Arhopala bazaloides Arhopala abseus Pratapa deva Tajuria maculata Creon cleobis Hasora badra Thoressa sitala Suastus minutus Salanoemia sala Zographetus ogygia Hyarotis microstictum/ Hyarotis coorga Caltoris canaraica

Nilgiri Grass Yellow Lesser Albatross

5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25

Other Common Names (as per IFB website)

Blue Nawab Palmking Small Long-brand Bushbrown Long-brand Bushbrown Indian Fritillary Yellow Jack Sailer Creamy Sailer Autumn Leaf Common Ciliate Blue Pointed Pierrot Tamil Oakblue Aberrant Bushblue Tufted White Royal Spotted Royal Broadtail Royal Common Awl Sitala Ace Small Palm Bob Maculate Lancer Purple Spotted Flitter

Sahyadri Long-branded Bushbrown Long-branded Bushbrown Palni Fritillary

Palni Sailer

Indian Pierrot Dusted Oakblue Aberrant Oakblue

Nilgiri Plain Ace

Brush Flitter

Kodagu Brush Flitter

Kanara Swift

Karwar Swift

What does this 298 mean?

To know that there are such a good number of species fluttering in the land of the state is a heart-warming phenomenon.

Presence of these species and its numbers indicate that the butterfly habitat is still good and intact. Interpreting this in the context that butterflies are good indicators of a healthy eco-system, gives alarm bells a little rest. These numbers and higher density in certain places (like Kallar and Kovai Kutralam, Anaikatti of Coimbatore), Connoor (In Nilgiris), Srivilliputtur GWLS (in Virudhunagar), Sirumalai (in Dindigul), Saptur & Alagar Malai (in Madurai) (and many more too) actually can lead to establishing Butterfly parks like the ones that has come up in Srirangam and one in Nilgiris District. This will, then help disseminating and knowing the importance of butterflies to the general public and to the conservation managers alike.

Contrary to the belief, city landscapes still possess good number of species from protected woodlands and parks like our team has observed the same from Chennai. Organised Butterfly walks and casual observation of butterflies can be a good pass time for the city dwellers as otherwise they are deprived of such pure joys in the city life. Simple garden plants and nectaring plants will attract butterfly automatically and is suggested to everyone to have a few specific plants which is useful to the mankind as well as to the butterflies like Curry plant, Lime, etc.

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17

Book Introduction: Butterflies of India Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS) has recently released through their BNHS Field Guides, “ Butterflies of India” authored by Isaac Kehimkar.

BNHS was founded in 1883 by 7 gentlemen interested in Natural History. A pan-India wildlife research organization since then, has been promoting the cause of nature conservation.

Isaac Kehimkar, the author, is the Deputy Director (Natural History). His special interests are reptiles and amphibians, insects and plants. He has authored many a book including his earlier work on the butterflies, The Book of Indian Butterfly.

“This book is aimed at amateur hobbyists to help them enjoy and identify Indian Butterfly. The increased interest in the subject made me realize that I need to keep this book updated with more images and more species” These words from the author sum up the tone of the book.

From 723 species in the earlier book, the new book is expanded to include many more, and the final number of species described in the book is at 1025 species and sub-species, which is a good thing. The family Riodinidae, which was clubbed earlier with Lycaenidae, has been recognised as a full family. The habitat and distribution of species seem to be refined to accommodate more areas like Andaman, etc. Technical contents on the general aspects like Mimicry, migration, life cycle have been improved upon. More pictures have been accommodated for species that are sexually dimorphic. And wherever possible open and closed wings.

Information such as Larval Host Plant, Behaviour, Availability of species in a year etc. which is available in the previous book is not provided this time. The new book also addresses/recognises some of the recent split of species.

The book could have attempted to address the identification of certain genus like Bushbrowns which are difficult to identify and needs expert guidance always.

The following table provides the impact on the understanding of the species occurring in the state of Tamil Nadu based on this book.

S. No

Scientific Name

Common Name (as per BNHS Field guide)

Impact Nature

1

Graphium teredon

Southern Bluebottle

2

Papilio paris tamilana

Paris Peacock

Sub-species of Graphium sarpedon elevated to full species Sub-species prominently mentioned

3

Papilio clytia

Common Mime

Scientific name changed

4

Pachliopta aristolochiae

Common Rose

Scientific name changed

5

Pachliopta pandiyana

Malabar Rose

Scientific name changed

6

Pachliopta hector

Crimson Rose

Scientific name changed

7

Lesser Albatross Nilgiri Grass Yellow

Species missing out for the region

8

Appias wardii Eurema nilgiriensis

9

Cepora nadina remba

Lesser Gull

Species not figuring (also not figuring in the previous book) Sub-species prominently mentioned

10

Colotis aurora

Plain Orange-tip

Scientific name changed

11

Pareronia hippia

Common Wanderer

Scientific name changed

12

Pieris canidia

Indian Cabbage White

Species Authority corrected to Linnaeus

13

Heteropsis davisoni

Palni Bushbrown

Species got added

18

Book Introduction: Butterflies of India S. No

Scientific Name

Common Name (as per BNHS Field guide)

Impact Nature

14

Ypthima striata

Nilgiri Jewel Four-ring

Species got added

15

Ypthima ypthimoides

Palni Four-ring

Species got added

16

Pantoporia sandaca davidsoni

Extra Lascar

Species got added

17

Neptis nata hampsoni

Sullied Sailer

Species got added

Red-eye Bushbrown

Species missing out from previous book

18 19

Parantirrhoea marshalli

Travancore Evening Brown

Neptis clinia

Clear Sailer

21

Libythea laius lepitoides

Southern Beak

Species sighted in TN but not included in the range Species not mentioned in the range which was mentioned earlier Sub-species elevated to full species

22

Charaxes psaphon imna

Indian Tawny Rajah

Sub-species elevated to full species

23

Elymnias caudata

Southern Palmfly

Sub-species elevated to full species

24

Ypthima singala

Small Jewel Four-ring

Sub-species elevated to full species

25

Ypthima tabella

Southern Baby Five-ring

Sub-species elevated to full species

26

Libythea myrrha rama

Club Beak

Sub-species prominently mentioned

27

Euploea sylvester coreta

Double-branded Crow

Sub-species prominently mentioned

28

Euploea klugii kollari

Brown King Crow

Sub-species prominently mentioned

29

Polyura schreiber wardii

Blue Nawab

Sub-species prominently mentioned

30

Melanitis phedima varaha

Dark Evening Brown

Sub-species prominently mentioned

31

Melanitis zitenius gokala

Great Evening Brown

Sub-species prominently mentioned

32

Athyma nefte inara

Colour Sergeant

Sub-species prominently mentioned

33

Lasippa viraja kanara

Yellow Jack Sailer

Sub-species prominently mentioned

34

Parthenos sylvia virens

Clipper

Sub-species prominently mentioned

35

Dophla evelina laudabilis

Redspot Duke

Sub-species prominently mentioned

Rohana parisatis atacinus

Black Prince

20

36 36

Doleschallia bisaltide malabarica 37 Orsotriaena medus

Sub-species prominently mentioned Sub-species prominently mentioned

Autumn Leaf Nigger

Common name not changed

38

Cethosia mahratta

Tamil Lacewing

Scientific name changed

39

Cynitia lepidea

Grey Count

Scientific name changed

40 41

Horaga viola Tajuria melastigma

Brown Onyx Branded Royal

Species got added Species missing out from previous book

42

Nacaduba calauria

Dark Ceylon 6-lineblue

Species missing out from previous book

43

Tarucus balkanicus

Black-spotted Pierrot

Species going beyond range

44

Tarucus callinara

Spotted Pierrot

Species going beyond range

45

Bindahara moorei

Blue-edged Plane

Sub-species elevated to full species

46 47

Zinaspa todara todara Megisba malaya thwaitesi

Silver-streaked Acacia Blue

Sub-species prominently mentioned Sub-species prominently mentioned

Arhopala centaurus

Centaur Oakblue

Arhopala abseus

Aberrant Bushblue

Freyeria putli

Small Grass Jewel

48 49 50

Malayan

19

Common name changed from Western Centaur Oakblue Common name changed from Aberrant Oakblue Common name given

Book Introduction: Butterflies of India S. No

Scientific Name

Common Name (as per BNHS Field guide)

Impact Nature

51

Virachola isocrates

Guava Blue

Scientific name changed

52

Virachola perse

Large Guava Blue

Scientific name changed

53

Catapaecilma major

Common Tinsel

Scientific name changed

54

Caleta decidia

Angled Pierrot

Scientific name changed

55

Abisara echerius

Straight Plum Judy

Common name changed from Plum Judy

56

Abisara bifasciata

Plum Judy

Species got added

57

Caprona alida

Pale Spotted Angle

Species got added

58

Celaenorrhinus putra

Bengal Spotted Flat

Species got added

59

Thoressa evershedi

Evershed’s Ace

Species got added

60

Arnetta mercara

Coorg Forest Hopper

Species got added

61

Zographetus ogygia

Purple Spotted Flitter

Species got added

62

Hyarotis microstictum

Brush Flitter

Species got added

63

Pelopidas agna

Little Branded Swift

Species got added

64

Caltoris canaraica

Kanara Swift

Species got added

65

Indian Dart

Species got added

66

Potanthus pseudomaesa pseudomaesa Potanthus confucius

Chinese Dart

Species got added

67

Cephrenes acalle

Plain Palm-Dart

Species got added

68

Erionota torus

Banana Red-eye

69

Parnara bada

Oriental Straight Swift

70

Baracus subditus

Hedge Hopper

Species although occurring, missing out on the range mentioned Species although occurring, missing out on the range mentioned Sub-species elevated to full species

71

Baracus hampsoni

Hampson’s hedge Hopper

Sub-species elevated to full species

72

Halpe hindu

South Indian Ace

Sub-species elevated to full species

73

Oriens goloides

Indian Dartlet

Sub-species elevated to full species

74

Burara jaina fergusonii

Orange-striped Awlet

75

Burara gomata

Pale Green Awlet

Scientific name changed. Common name changed Scientific name changed

76

Thoressa honorei

Madras Ace

Scientific name changed

Psolos fuligo

Coon

78

Borbo bevani

Bevan’s Swift

Scientific name changed. Common name not changed Scientific name changed

79

Suastus minutus bipunctus

Small Palm Bob

Sub-species prominently mentioned

80

Telicota ancilla bambusae

Dark Palm-Dart

Sub-species prominently mentioned

81

Celaenorrhinus pero

Mussoorie Spotted Flat

May be mentioned erroneously

77

Introduction by: A Pavendhan

20

21

Butterfly Migration in 2016 From end of September to November, every year, from time immemorial, Nymphalidae butterflies like Dark Blue Tiger, Blue Tiger, Common Crow and Doublebranded Crow along with a few other species will undertake their migration journey to Western Ghats from plains and Eastern Ghats of Tamil Nadu.

Butterflies undertake migration mainly to escape from harsh climate for their living and lack of sufficient food and environment for their survival. The Monarch Butterfly migration happening in America is a well-known and closely followed event.

In India, especially in South India, the Danainae butterfly mentioned above undertake their journey every year, fairly regularly and in large numbers of tens of thousands. The data available with Tamil nadu Butterfly Society (which has been tracking these since 2012) indicates that this migration to Western Ghats just before the commencement of North East Monsoon happened between September last week and October middle.

The return to the plains and Eastern Ghats by these species happens during AprilMay, before the commencement of South West Monsoon in the hills.

In the current year under observation, the butterfly migration from plains to Western Ghats has not happened till end of December. The migration is almost nil except a very few places reporting smaller numbers, not much to be called as a regular high number migration that was being witnessed every year.

Even in 2015, a reduction in number of species migrating to hills from plains is seen. In fact, it was Euploea species (The Crows) which were dominating on the migration and the Tirumala species (The Blue Tigers) almost gave a miss.

This reduction in migration last year and delayed migration so far is a worrying factor.

While these may be just an aberrant occurrence on large time scale over many years, we have to watch carefully in coming years to see its real impact. The delay in current year migration may be due to one of the worst monsoon that the state of Tamil Nadu had from the North East monsoon especially between Sep and Nov. However, on the long run, if the migration numbers come down, then they have to be taken as a measure of eco-system, as they are known to be the indicators of healthy eco-system and environment.

The butterfly season, especially in Western Ghats on the Tamil Nadu side is from October to December, and many a species are seen during these months than in any other months and in good numbers.

However, as the rains giving a miss this season, even those species were not seen in good numbers so far.

Hopefully Nymphalidae species resume the migration in coming the year !

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Butterfly Migration in 2016 Emigrants species (Catopsilia species) migration from Pachamalai 1st and 2nd October 2016: On the first day of October, it was reported that there are plenty of butterflies near Uppiliapuram and they were whitish yellow in colour and moving in one direction towards West. A quick reference photos sent confirmed that they are Migrants (Catopsilia species). And we know for sure that the common emigrants could have easily outnumbered the Mottled. Mr. Thyaneswaran took all the interest in tracking the exact movements of them and where and which direction they are going.

It looked like they have originated from Pachamalai Hills and the spread was about 7 Km width and they were initially observed to be moving towards Kolli Hills. The observer visited to a length of 40 km in one direction and reported that they are moving by, a village called “Pavithram” and some of them through a Pass in Kolli hills which is actually over a river called “Aiyaru”. It proves the theory and assumption that butterflies generally migrate along the path of rivers wherever possible.

However, on the first day, no serious movement or observation was made in Coimbatore which is theoretically to receive them if we draw a line of movement. The second day was equally filled with excitement as the migration is active from say about 10 AM to 430 PM in the evening at Pachamalai Hills area.

And then it stopped on the third day.

Meanwhile, on the second day, some of us tracked land route and Coimbatore foothills and were able to see Emigrants making steady westward migration movement in tickles. The rate could be 5 -10 / 5 min or so. We could easily recognise that for a migration movement by their steady speedy movement. And back in Coimbatore city, a similar observation was made on the 3rd Oct near Peelamedu. Meanwhile, Marudhamalai and Ponnuthu reported increased presence of Emigrants all indicating that the Emigrants have reached the Western Ghats all the way from Pachamalai (an assumption, needs confirmation by observing over longer periods of year). It is also safe to assume that since the reaching point is well spread from Mettupalayam to Coimbatore or even more, we are not noticing the migration in the same scale of the origin point! Also similar Emigrants movements noticed from Trichy & Madurai.

23

Butterfly Migration in 2016

This is a classical example of how an enthusiast can add so much to our understanding on the knowledge of butterfly migration which is yet to be fully understood by us.

While we do notice in pockets sudden surge in number of species in a particular place, linking dots of various events happening at the same time provides much better meaning.

We wish more and more volunteers from the various part of the state help generating data of a scale which will help us understand the migration behaviour, better!

24

25

Life Cycle: Ypthima striata Host Plant: Cynodon dactylon Striated Five-ring (Ypthima striata Hampson, 1889) is a rare endemic butterfly of Western Ghats. Recent sightings in Tamil Nadu were from various places of Tirunelveli and Theni district namely Grizzled Squirrel Wildlife Sanctuary, Kalakkad Mundanthurai Tiger Reserve and Megamalai Wildlife Reserve. The early stages of the butterfly underwent 3 stages of metamorphosis namely egg, caterpillar and chrysalis.

Egg Egg was laid on the dry leaf blades of its host plant very close to the ground. Egg was white, globular and 1mm in size. Pinkish striation started to appear day by day. The Egg stage lasted for 6 days.

Day 1

Day 2

Day 3

Day 4

Day 6

First Instar The young larva eclosed from egg fed on the egg shell completely as its first meal. The larva fed on young tender grass blades and grew from 2.5mm to 5mm. The body was white with alternate pale pink bands running from head to anal segment. First Instar stage lasted for 6 days.

Day 7

Day 8

Day 9

Day 10

Day 11

Day 12

Second Instar In the second instar larva, the alternate pinkish markings became darker, conical horns in the head and anal processes grew thicker, longer and got more pointed. The second instar lasted five days and the body length grew from 5 - 12mm.

Day 13

Day 15

Day 14

Day 16

Day 17 26

Third Instar The third instar larva developed numerous small white hairs on its body and the pink markings on the larva darkened. The third instar lasted about 9 days and the body length increased to 12 -23mm.

Day 18

Day 24

Day 19

Day 21

Day 26

Day 25

Fourth Instar The fourth instar larva was similar to the third instar larva. The larva started feeding on the leaf at a faster rate and the marking darkened further. The fourth instar stage lasted about 6 days and the body length increases to about 23—27mm.

Day 27

Day 28

Day 29

Day 31

Day 32

Fifth Instar Final instar larva was similar to the fourth instar larva. The final instar larva fed on leaves at a faster rate and grew to a maximum length of 34mm. After five days, the larva stopped feeding on the leaves and started searching for suitable place to pupate. The larva chose the stem of the host plant to pupate and gradually reduced its body length to 25mm. The larvae remained stationary and pupated after two days.

Day 33

Day 34

Day 35

Day 37

Day 38

Pupation The chrysalis was pale green in colour. It measured 15mm in size. The chrysalis turned darker to brown day by day. On the 7th day, the pupal case became transparent showcasing the ring marking of the butterfly. On the 8th day, the adult butterfly emerged out of chrysalis by mid-afternoon and was seen resting upside down, drying its wings and ejecting Meconium.

Day 44

Day 47

Day 48 27

Eclosion

Day 48 Life cycle by: H. Theivaprakasham

Some Major Events in 2016 Chasing Butterflies in High Wavy Mountains Meghamalai popularly called High Wavy Mountains is a cool and misty mountain range situated in the Western Ghats in Theni district, Tamil Nadu, near Kumaly Idukki District, South India. It is a place of natural beauty dotted with cardamom plantations and tea estates. The place is situated at an elevation of 1,500 m above sea level and it is rich in flora and fauna. This area, now mostly planted with tea, the access to which is now largely restricted. It still includes large untouched remnants of evergreen forest.

A total of 59 species is not a bad count for the month of February, but we considered this on the lower side and expected about 75+. Considering the butterfly dry months now and the habitation that is still intact in many places, we can expect a healthy species getting recorded in seasons and in more areas that can be covered! Nilgiri Tiger, Red-disc Bushbrown, Common Grass Yellow, Common Five-ring, Dingy Scrub Hopper and White Hedge Blue are the dominant species of the landscape at this point in time.

A shola around a Plantation was chosen on Day one in High wavys. The approach to the Shola was through a Tea plantation and the Shola had a path for the entire stretch of 1.5 Km before another Plantation intercepted the Shola. The day started with sighting a few Nilgiri Tigers apart from a few common species. A fast moving Palni Four-ring was recorded though could not be captured clearly by camera. As we entered the Shola, the sky was clear and sunlight was penetrating wherever open space was available and that was a good setting for Butterfly Watching. A lone Redspot Duke made its presence for a brief while. And thereafter, it was the show of Red-disc Bushbrowns. There were plenty of Red-discs which kept themselves busy by sun-bathing and the team to capture the same The Shola further yielded a Common Sergeant (a lifer to many), Common Treebrown, Dingy Scrub Hopper and a possible Palni Dartlet. Admirals- Blue & Indian red made brief appearance too. It was however disappointing that not much was recorded at the Shola and we moved to the Dream Views Estate where Glassy and Nilgiri Tigers were in good numbers along with Pansies.

At the far-end of the estate, the team enjoyed breath-taking views of the surrounding mountains and valley below. And a Common Sergeant soon joined the team for a photo-shoot. The trip to the estate ended with sighting a fast flying Tawny Rajah.

And the day one ended with sighting of about 50 species.

On an overall basis, on the day 1, except for Common Jezebels, Grass Blues and a few skippers, it was disappointing that all families except Nymphalidae were under-represented. Return to the place of stay yielded an Indian Cabbage White (again lifer to a few among us). Unfortunately, we booked a misty day (on the 2nd day) and until mid-noon, we were waiting for butterflies to explode and it only seemed to happen when we decided to end the day. On the butterfly front, couple of flats- Fulvous Pied and Suffused Snow are the first ones to be observed. The next on the list was a big one- A Palni Four-ring (probably in a form that is different from one which we have seen so far). No need to say the team has gone berserk. The week flying White Hedge Blues was there everywhere and they were very alert to our presence and flew away whenever they are approached. Common Treebrown, Evening Browns, Nilgiri Tigers, Common Jezebels were the ones that were seen of any significance. On the Skipper front, however, the Darts and Dartlets The day 2 recorded only less number of sightings compared to day 1 and the day ended with sighting a Large Branded Swift and 59 species overall for the trip .

Other Members: Ramasamy SRK, Vishwa Nathan, Bala Krishnan, Nishanth CV, Sharan Venkatesh & Santhosh and supported Mr. Pethanasamy (TN FD)

Narration & Pictures: A. Pavendhan Megamalai Picture: Mr. Balakrishnan

28

On the job @ Megamalai...

Pictures: TNBS Team

29

Winged Beauties @ Megamalai...

Nilgiri Tiger by CV Nishanth

Dingy Scrub Hopper by Sharan Venkatesh

30

31

32

Some Major Events in 2016 Pachamalai– The Treasure trove TNBS undertook a two days exploratory visit for the first of its kind on butterflies in recent times at Pachamalai Hills under the guidance of Mr. N. Satheesh, IFS, DFO, Trichy on 10th and 11th of September 2016. The exploratory visit was initiated based on a possibility assessment for a detailed survey of Pachamalai Hills soon. A total of 4 members participated in the two-day exercise. Surveys were conducted on forest areas, open spaces and fringes of the forests. Our heartfelt thanks are due to the DFO and Tamil Nadu Forest Department team.

On day 1, the route from Forest check post to Top Sengattupatti, Kaliamman trekking trail, and Kannimarsolai area were covered. On day 2, ECO Park areas and Kaliamman trekking trails were covered in detail.

With no expectation on the number of species expected, it is always interesting to know the results at the end. A total of 105 species for a two day exploratory visit is phenomenal.

The month of September is generally devoid of rains, and not much rain was heard recently there although on the day one, we had some rains for a brief. The hills were true to their name green. As usual the Nymphalids dominated, followed by Blues, Pierids, Skippers and Swallowtails.

Butterflies, in general, are seen in plenty and a fairly good number of species too both in Reserved Forests and Open areas.

The Reserve forests housed of rarity species while the open areas were dominated by common species.

Certain species which are usually thought to be present predominantly or exclusively in Western Ghats (according to certain standard literature) are present in this Eastern Ghats range like White-banded Awl, Glad-eye Bushbrown and Banded Blue Pierrot Most dominating species are Common Mormon, Common Banded Peacock, Blue Mormon, Common Grass Yellow, Small Grass Yellow, Common Emigrant, Common Crow, Dark Blue Tiger, Rustic, Castors, Grass Blues and Indian Skipper.

Rarities like Dark Pierrot, Peacock Royal, Redspot, and Plumbeous Silverline are sighted.

Papilionidae: All the dominant swallowtails were flying around including the Roses (Common & Crimson). While Mormons and Banded Peacocks were the most visible, the Southern Birdwing was just sighted once.

Pieridae: Grass Yellows were the dominant and surprisingly a significant of them is Small GY. Common Albatross and Wanderer species were the other easy to sight along with the ever dominant Emigrants.

Nymphalidae: Most number of species of this family was seen. Common Crows were seen accumulating in the RF in significant numbers, probably getting ready for the month end migration along with Tirumala species. Other dominant species were the Castors, Ypthima and Rustics.

Lycaenidae: Blues were the second most dominant family here. Dark Pierrot, which is a rarity, is seen here. Peacock Royals too were seen which again not a common sight is. Yamfly species was truly in good numbers which is a joy to watch generally. On the Grass Blues, except Dark, others were seen. The Malayan seen here was significantly larger in size compared to the ones which are seen in the Western Ghats.

Hesperiidae: A total of 15 species were sighted. The Malabar Spotted Flats were dominating the lower elevation while the Indian Skipper the plains and the Common Small Flat and the Awls on the Reserved Forests. Borbo species were seen too often.

The habitat is amazing and the varied (considering significant land mass is used by tribals), rare and good number of species indicates that the environment is healthy.

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Pachamalai– The Treasure trove

We would like to place on record our thanks to the Tamil Nadu Forest Department and especially Mr. N. Satheesh, IFS, DFO, Trichy District and his Pachamalai team comprising Mr. Ravikrishnan, FRO, Mr. Karunanidhi, Forester, Mr. Siva, FG and Watcher. Thanks are also due to members of Tamil Nadu Butterfly Society who have actively participated in the survey and to Mr. Mohan Prasath, for the arrangements and co-ordination.

Narration & Pictures: A. Pavendhan

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Some Major Events in 2016 Butterfly Walk in Siruvani Hills TNBS organised a Butterfly walk in order to create awareness of butterflies among public and fellow naturalists at Siruvani Hills and at the adjacent Vellingiri Hills on 18th of September 2016 in association with the District Forest Department. The Butterfly walk was in continuation of what we have conducted last year (Aug 2015) in Kallar RF. A total of 36 members participated in this one-day exercise. Walks were conducted on forest areas, open spaces and fringes of the forests. Our heartfelt thanks are due to the DFO Mr. Periya Samy, IFS, and Tamil Nadu Forest Department team at Kovai Kutralam.

Areas covered include the stretch from TN-KL border to Thanneer Pallam to bamboo Forests to check dam for 3 teams. Two other teams went along the river streams and tribal hamlets on the much lower elevation. Two teams took the pilgrimage route of the Vellingiri Hills until 2nd Mountain.

The following table provides family wise break up of no of species sighted: While the no of species sighted, 138, is a good number, the population density of the butterflies was very low. Except for the Emigrants and probably Common Bluebottles, we have not seen any butterflies dominating the proceedings. The first time exploration of Vellingiri Hills, even though in a small level, yielded 61 species. With the migration season expected to begin in a week, it looked like a dull before the storm.

36 people turned up for the walk and they were grouped into 7 teams. While five teams assigned to various places in Siruvani Hills, two teams (mainly the younger legs and hard-cores) were given the responsibility of exploring the tough Vellingiri Hills (which is hitherto not explored much from Butterfly angle).

Teams covered different habitat areas of the Hills, the plains, the secondary forests in the fringes, the river streams and the dense upper elevations. It is usually the October and November; the season of butterflies begins here after the spike in June. All teams participated enthusiastically and brought good results by end of the day. The day was bright and sunny to begin with ended with a slight drizzle.

A total of 138 species is sighted combining both the hills. 61 species were sighted in the Vellingiri Hills (only a small area of that is explored and much to explore further and later). Siruvani Hills alone returned a figure of 132 species. This number is a great number and confirms the rich bio-diversity of Siruvani Hills.

Although many species across families were sighted, the butterfly density was found to be low with only the Emigrants and the Common Bluebottles were seen more frequently. Butterflies to note were Large Four-lineblue (a new addition to TN checklist), Paris Peacock, Malabar Rose, Spotless Grass Yellow, Plain Puffin, Treebrowns (Common and Tamil), Sergeants (Common, Colour and Blackvein), White-tipped Lineblue, Silver-streaked Acacia Blue, Coon and Demons (Grass, Restricted and Common Banded).

9 species were added to the Siruvani Hills checklist which jumped to 198 from 189 and the Coimbatore District numbers to 237.

People have come in from all over Tamil Nadu, especially from Chennai, Rajapalayam, Madurai, Sivagangai, Erode, Mettupalayam, Thiruppur and Coimbatore. Bangalore too was represented.

TNBS members who organised the walk include Mr. Mohan Prasath (the lead organiser), Mr. Nishanth CV, Mr. Theivaprakasham Hari, Mr. Vishwa Nathan, Mr. Bala Krishnan, Mr. Gopal Krishnan. Mr. Pradeep Kumar and Mr. Pavendhan. A 35

In the Hills of Sweet Water & Divinity...

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In the Hills of Sweet Water & Divinity...

Narration : A. Pavendhan Pictures credit: Members of the Walk

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TN Butterflies Facebook 2016– An Analysis From Oct 2nd 2016 From the day, this forum is opened exclusively for the posts of butterfly occurring in the region of Tamil Nadu, we have been seeing an increased activities qualitatively as well as quantitatively. The forum was started with an aim to disseminate knowledge of butterflies to all stake holders of the state and create an enthusiasm and interest among every one.

The process also helped us as a by-product in one of the major exercises that we have undertaken that is re-validation of the species occurrence. Photographic evidences helped tick off many a species otherwise hiding from us. We hope the forum will continue to grow in stature with active participation of everyone.

It is the year 2015 which saw our forum grew slowly and steadily from January to December. And it is the first full year of its presence. Out of 276 species, that was validated for the state at that point in time, 271 of them were posted in our forum. Just 5 species missing. They were Small Leopard, Common Awl, Plain Banded Awl, Coorg Forest Hopper and Golden Flitter. And one or two of them were subsequently seen. Another significant and interesting point to note was 26 districts were represented out of 32 districts of Tamil Nadu. Among the districts, Coimbatore, Theni, Virudhunagar, Nilgiris, Chennai and Madurai contributed to the bulk of postings.

2016 The Year from Jan 1 to Dec 31 saw a total of 3580 posts.

These were contributed by 170 of our forum members. There are some diehard members whose numbers touch even a double century and many with a century of postings. As a break up, the posts containing a whopping 3200 photos and 21 videos.

707 members were one way or other associated with at least one post each. We do not have a ready comparison numbers of all these to put it against 2015, but in 2015, the overall posts were 3211. This means the year 2016 registered a 11.5% increase in overall posts which should be encouraging for the years to come!

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TN Butterflies Facebook 2016– An Analysis District wise species representation 29 out of 32 districts were represented in the forum at least by a post minimum. The districts which missed out are Perambalur, Ariyalur and Thanjavur. Perambalur is yet to make a debut in our forum. Districts with maximum no of species representation are Coimbatore (208), Tirunelveli (130), The Nilgiris (118), Virudhu Nagar (96), Chennai (92), Theni (86), Erode (70) and Trichy (64).

And the rest of them are with less than 50 representation. These have to be improved upon.

Family wise– Month wise species representation Tamil Nadu Butterfly season begins in line with North East Monsoon and another peak around June. The Year started with very good count on January as an end signal to the monsoon and then the months of Feb, March, April and May saw only a trend that is part of Summer months. A peak is seen in the month of June (could well be influenced from South West Monsoon) with 131 species reported. July and the August months went to the phase where it is just around the average numbers.

A good peak is seen in the month of September, much before NE monsoon and interior districts too reported good sightings.

All in all 157 species is reported which is highest for the year. Please note that the monsoon was a disaster to the state and probably worst rainfall recorded in the last 150 Years or so for these months (and final figures suggest a shortfall of 62% from Normal for NE Monsoon as a whole. Despite these and in anticipation, the peak continued for the month of October with 152 species. And then they are all gone. Even during these peak months, although more species were seen, the butterfly density was low. The monsoon should bounce back in the coming years and we hope for the butterfly bounty again!

180 160 140 Papilionidae

120

Pieridae

100

Nymphalidae Lycaenidae

80

Hesperiidae 60 Total

40 20 0 Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun

Jul

Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec 39

TN Butterflies Facebook 2016– An Analysis Family wise counts representation Papilionidae had more representation in the months of September and October. The Pieridae maintained their dominance from June up to October. While the Nymphalidae dominated the scene in January, September and October. Lycaenidae had a fairly consistent representation except for a peak in January. It is usually difficult to spot the Hesperiidae and also reflects in the number of posts and they had their moments in Jan and Sep-Oct.

Species wise Monthly representation The distribution of each and every species over a longer period in a year is always interesting information from not only to sight them at that point in time but also for their monitoring and conservation efforts. For the family of Papilionidae, we have plotted all the species that we could, while for the rest, we have handpicked as many as possible.

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TN Butterflies Facebook 2016– An Analysis

Narration : A. Pavendhan Analysis Team: Nishanth CV, Pradeep Kumar VB, Theivaprakasham H

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From the Facebook Pages...

Common Tinsel by H Theivaprakasham

Nilgiri Tit by Sharan Venkatesh

Club Beak by Arun Kumar

Common Shot Silverline by Prakash Loganathan

Malabar Banded Swallowtail by CV Nishanth

Banded Royal by Pavendhan Appavu

Tawny Coster by Amol Mande

Joker by Hema Mohandas

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From the Facebook Pages...

Chestnut Angle by Arun Vasimalai

Plain Tiger by Sureshsri Kanagaraj

Yellow Orange Tip by Rama Neelamegam

Blue Oakleaf by Manoj Sethumadhavan

Striped Tiger by Soundar Ells

Common Onyx by Jee Jeevith

Large Oakblue by Thalavai Pandi

Madras Ace by Vinod Sriramulu

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From the Facebook Pages...

Three-spot Grass Yellow by Bhanu Mathi

Common Dartlet by Pradeep Kumar

Dark Wanderer by Jeswin Kingsly

Oriental Grass Jewel by Anand Sundaram

Orsotrioena medus by Gopal Krishnan

Baronet by Gowathaman Ganesan

Plane by Sahithya Selvaraj

Plains cupid by Dhaarun Amirtha

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From the Facebook Pages...

Peacock Pansy by Arun Kumar Raman Maran

Blue Admiral by Vishwa Nathan

Joker by Shankar Balasubramaniyan

Lime Butterfly by Lakshmi Kumar

Double-branded Crow by Vinithashri Gautam

Plain Tiger by Sundaram Thiyanes

Malabar Spotted Flat by Mohan Prasath

Tawny Rajah by Ramasamy SRK

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From the Facebook Pages...

Plain Orange-tip by Vicky Chinna

Painted Lady by Andipatti Pandi

Shiva Sunbeam by Geethanjali Raghunathan

Centaur Oakblue by Shiva Kumar

Orchid Tit by Santhosh Kshathriya

Red Admiral by Sarayu Ramki

Pioneer by Senguttuvan Subburathina

Zebra Blue by Sankar R

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From the Facebook Pages...

Blue Tiger by Harish G. Mallaya

Chocolate Pansy by Ramanasaran Hari

Common Lime by Kishore Kumaran

Striped Tiger by Deepak Dante

Tawny Coster by Rajalakshmi Kalimuthu

Baron by Moses Velupillai

Common Crow by Ramesh Thiyagarajan

Golden Angle by Leema Robert

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From the Facebook Pages...

Common Evening Brown by Mymoon Moghul

Hampson’s Hedge Hopper by Radhakrishnan Sadasivam

Malabar Flash by Umesh Pavukandy

Angled Castor by Monika Gandhi

Slate Flash by Selva Singh Richard

Cruiser by Maxim Subhiksha

Blue Mormon by JK Velu

Painted Courtesan by Charles Nathan

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From the Facebook Pages...

Common Jezebel by Rajesh Rkm

Common Castor by Kavin Manoharan

Quaker by Bala Krishnan

Common Rose by Raveendran Natarajan

Peacock Pansy by Arun Kumar Raman Maran

Banded Blue Pierrot by Manohar Daniel

Common Mormon by Indira Srinivasan

Malabar Raven by Kumaresan Chandrabose

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From the Facebook Pages...

Spot Puffin by Aravind Amirtharaj

Small Salmon Arab by Abhinav

Fluffy Tit by Pranav Abi

Common Cerulean by Kishore Aravindh

Zebra Blue by ககௌரி சங்கர் மருதாசலம்

Small Cupid by Jobin James

Common Banded Peacock by Sabarish Kumar

Blue Admiral by Merlin Pgs

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From the Facebook Pages...

Common Five Ring by Amirtha Balan

White Orange Tip by Amogh Ks

Malabar Tree Nymph by Surya Narayanan

Blue Tiger by Sudesh Gabriel

Mottled Emigrant by Satya Seelan

Guava Blue by Ganeshwar SV

Danaid Eggfly by Kalyanasundaram Manickavasagam

Dark Blue Tiger by Kali Murugesan Selection & Compilation: Theivaprakasham H

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