Butterflies of Western Ghats

An e-Book

Dr. Raju Kasambe

Butterflies of Western Ghats . 2016

Butterflies of Western Ghats

An e-Book

Raju Kasambe, Ph.D.

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Butterflies of Western Ghats . 2016

© Dr. Raju Kasambe

Address:
B-205, Trimurti Apartments,
Borkar Lane, Lokmany Tilak Nagar,
Dombivli (East), Distt. Thane,
Maharashtra. PIN-421201.
Email: [email protected], [email protected]
Mobile: +91-9004924731.

Office/ Workplace:
Bombay Natural History Society,
Hornbill House, Dr. Salim Ali Chowk,
Shaheed Bhagat Singh Road,
Mumbai-400001, Maharashtra, INDIA
Off. Tel. 91-22-22821811 (Hornbill House).
Off. Tel. 91-22-22429477 (Conservation Education Center, Goregaon).

Cover photo credits: Clockwise from top:

Southern Birdwing: Vengolis
Tamil Yeoman: Vivek Puliyeri
Blue Oakleaf: Raju Kasambe

Text and lay-out © Dr. Raju Kasambe

Photographs © Copyright as credited for each photograph.
Author’s photographs are copyrighted under Creative Commons Attribution 3.0
License.

ISBN No. Applied on 2 August 2016.

Price: Free.

Recommended citation:
Kasambe, Raju (2016): Butterflies of Western Ghats. An e-Book. Self Published.
Pp.327+vii.

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Butterflies of Western Ghats . 2016

Dedicated to
Two butterfly-passionate persons

Sri Isaac Kehimkar

the ‘Butterfly-Man of India’

and

Sri Rajendra Ovalekar

The teacher who created a beautiful butterfly garden in Mumbai

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Butterflies of Western Ghats . 2016

CONTENTS

Foreword………………………………………………………………………….V

Preface……………………………………………………………………………VI

Acknowledgements……………………………………………………………...VII

Introduction: Life cycle and Morphology of a Butterfly…………………….1–6

Western Ghats – Butterflies……………………………………………………7–8

Importance of Butterflies in Nature………………………………………….9–11

Western Ghats–Hotspot of Biodiversity……………………………………12–18

Hesperiidae—Skipper Butterflies…………………………………………..19–72

Papilionidae—Swallowtail Butterflies………………………………….......73–92

Pieridae—White and Yellow Butterflies………………………………….93–124

Lycaenidae—Blues………………………………………………………..125–210

Nymphalidae—Brush-footed Butterflies………………………………...211–300

Butterfly Gardening in India: An Introduction…………………………301-314

List of Endemic species……………………………………………………315-317

Index to common names…………………………………………………..318-321

Index to scientific names…………………………………………………..322-325

References……………………………………………………………………….326

About this e-Book………………………………………………………………327

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Butterflies of Western Ghats . 2016

Foreword

Dr. Raju Kasambe, an ornithologist by profession, is

an all round naturalist, interested in plants, insects,
butterflies, birds, mammals and reptiles. He is a
perfect staff of BNHS – the organization known for its
natural history work for the last 134 years. Raju, as
he is affectionately called by his colleagues and admirers, is an affable
man and a prolific writer. I am proud to write Foreword for his new
book, Butterflies of Western Ghats.

This is an e-Book which can be downloaded free of cost and used on

any smart phone or computer. It is made as a simple PDF so that any
species can be searched using the search option. This is the second
eBook written by Raju. He has already published an eBook in Marathi
on “100 Common Birds in Maharashtra” which was much appreciated
in Maharashtra.

This e-Book has descriptions and photographic illustrations of 277

species of butterflies. Each page has information like common and
complete scientific name, wings span, distribution, larval host plants,
and information about the subspecies found in South India.

I think, this is the first of its kind e-Book on the subject, as books
which are accessible to the masses are need of the day. Now a day,
even Android Apps are becoming an important source of information.
The e-Book has an entire chapter highlighting the importance of the
Western Ghats as a ‘Biodiversity Hotspot’. The diversity and
endemicity of butterflies found here drives home the point that the
entire Western Ghats should be conserved at any cost.

I am sure the e-Book will be useful to all, including butterfly lovers and
naturalists.

Asad R. Rahmani

Senior Scientific Advisor,

Bombay Natural History Society, Mumbai

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Butterflies of Western Ghats . 2016

Preface

If we want to spread knowledge about butterflies to the present generation, it should

be provided in the most accessible and handy format. There are more chances of a
nature lover referring to a book, if he has an easy access to it. Hence Android Apps and
e-Books are the latest educational tools we must utilise. After publishing an e-Book on
the “Maharashtratil 100 Samanya Pakshi” (aka 100 Common Birds in Maharashtra) in
Marathi, I received tremendous response and equal satisfaction. I believe in sharing best
of the photographs clicked by me for public usage on websites like Wikimedia Commons
or Wikipedia under the Creative Commons License.

This e-Book is being published solely for the educational purpose and no commercial
gains are expected out of it. The e-Book is free for downloading and distribution and
does not bear any price. I urge nature lovers and butterfly photographers to help with
better quality photographs of the remaining species of butterflies found in the Western
Ghats, so that the second edition of this e-Book will be more comprehensive and better.

I believe in sharing knowledge and propagation of knowledge for the conservation of

the flora and fauna of our country.

Photographs taken by me are copyrighted under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0
License. These can be used by anybody for educational purpose. However, for
photographs taken by others, the copyright remains with them. I suggest that the
individual photographers be contacted, or the appropriate licenses be checked before
they are used by anybody.

I request experts to suggest improvements in the e-Book. Please inform me if you find
any mistakes in the e-Book, which can be rectified in the second edition.

I hope this e-Book will be of use to the young nature lovers, it will give them company at
the most inaccessible places. I look forward to your help by providing photographs of
missing species and suggestions for the second edition of this e-Book.

Raju Kasambe

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Butterflies of Western Ghats . 2016

Acknowledgements

My sincere thanks to the following friends (in alphabetical order) who have contributed their
beautiful and photographs of rare butterfly species for this e-Book. Some of the friends literally
opened up their vast collections for me to take any photographs. I am grateful to all of them.
Without photographs the e-Book would not have been useful. Many of them have selflessly
contributed their innumerable photographs to Wikipedia and Wikimedia Commons making
them available to the world without any expectations or gains.

Aditya Joshi, Dr. Amol Patwardhan, Anila Manalil, Aparajita Datta, Ashwatha K.N., Ashok
Sengupta, Ayan Chakraborty, Blaise Pareira, Chinmayi S.K., Dattaprasad Sawant, David Raju,
Delip Kumar Das, Dhaval Momaya, Divakar Thombre, Dr. Amol Patwardhan, Dr. Jayant
Wadatkar, Dr. M.S. Mayilavahanan, Dr. Tarique Sani, Dr. V.C. Balakrishnan, Erin Silversmith,
Gaurab Nandi Das, Gopakumar, Harishchandra Mhatre, Hariharan Subramanian, Hemant Ogale,
J.M. Garg, Kalyan Varma, Jeevan Jose, K. Mohan Raj, Kishen Das, L. Shyamal, Makarand
Kulkarni, Mandar Sawant, Manidip Mandal, Manu Gangadhar, Marvelyn Dias, Morry G., Mukul
Hinge, Nandish Songire, Parag Giri, Parag Rangnekar, Parixit Kafley, Pinakin Karve, PKG Mohan,
Pranav Gokhale, Pranav Ovalekar, Prashanth Bhat, Praveen G. Nair, Praveen J., R. Ravi, Raghu,
Rahul K. Natu, Rajendran TM, Rajkamal Goswami, Ravi Vaidyanathan, Richard Parker, Rohith
Sanjay, Sagar Sarang, Saish Borkar, Sanket Mhatre, Shyam Ghate, Sneha, Shreesh Deshpande,
Subhajit Mazumder, Subhiksha S., Sujit Borkar, Tarun Karmakar, Uajith, Varun Omanakuttan,
Vedant Kasambe, Vengolis, Vijay Barve, Vinayraj, Vivek Puliyeri, Yathin S. Krishnappa and
Yuwaraj Gurjar.

I want to thank the two websites (www.ifoundbutterflies.org and www.flutters.org) for making
an exhaustive knowledge bank on Indian butterflies available to all.

Dr. Deepak Apte (Director, Bombay Natural History Society) has always inspired me to write
books against all odds. I learnt a lot from Dr. Asad Rahmani (Senior Scientific Advisor, BNHS)
and I feel indebted to him for his guidance. Guidance from Mr. Isaac Kehimkar (butterfly expert)
about butterflies has immensely helped me in working on this e-Book. Isaac’s books had always
been the most referred and inspiring source for me.

I had written most part of this e-Book in 2012, when I published my Marathi book on
‘Maharashtratil Phulpakhare’ (aka Butterflies of Maharashtra), but the book got delayed due to
other priority work at hand. Support by many friends and colleagues at BNHS and my family has
always helped me in keeping myself motivated.

Raju Kasambe

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Butterflies of Western Ghats: Dr. Raju Kasambe Introduction 2016

Introduction: Life cycle and Morphology of a Butterfly

Butterflies are classified under the Order Lepidoptera, together with the moths.

Life Cycle of Butterfly

To grow into an adult butterfly, butterflies go through of four stages. These are
egg, caterpillar (or pupa), cocoon (or chrysalis) and the adult butterfly.

Egg
Like humans, there are male butterflies and female butterflies. After the
fertilization of the female’s eggs by the
male’s sperm, the female deposits the eggs
on leaves or stems of plants. This is the first
stage in the life cycle of a butterfly - the egg
stage. Butterflies have their own choice of
plant on which to lay eggs, they may lay eggs
on one or many species of plants. But, they
do not lay eggs on every plant. The eggs of
Egg of Common Palmfly by Raju Kasambe each species are different in shape and size
and can be spherical or oval etc. This stage
lasts from days to weeks.

Caterpillar or Larva
The second stage occurs when then the egg hatches and gives rise to the butterfly
larva or caterpillar. At this stage, which may
last for several days or weeks, the larva
spends its time eating and sleeping. Most
butterfly caterpillars eat plant leaves but a
few caterpillars can eat insects (e.g. Apefly
in India).

The development of caterpillars involves

developmental stages called instars. The
Caterpillar of Common Rose by Raju Kasambe

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Butterflies of Western Ghats: Dr. Raju Kasambe Introduction 2016

instar signifies moulting of the skin (cuticle) by the caterpillar. Instars are
important because they allow the caterpillar to grow. The butterfly undergoes
about 4 to 6 moultings before finally going to the next stage, i.e. pupation.

Chrysalis or Cocoon
The third stage involves the transformation of the larva into chrysalis or pupa.
When the larva has grown to its full size,
it seeks a safe location for pupation. This
location is usually the underside of the
leaf but can also occur in the stems or
secluded place on a tree trunk.

After the larva molts for the last time, it

then surrounds itself with the material
that makes up the cocoon. The pupa
inside the cocoon is incapable of
Pupa of Common Rose by Raju Kasambe
movement and it is not able to actively
hide. Mostly it is hard to locate the cocoon since its color usually camouflages with
the background environment.

Pupation may last for 2–3 weeks, after which the butterfly adult emerges from the
cocoon.

Butterfly
The fourth and final stage is the adult stage. It is a delight to see an adult butterfly
emerge from the cocoon. However, the
butterfly cannot fly immediately after
emerging out of the cocoon. It spends
the sometime (few hours or minutes)
drying its body and wings before it
finally takes off.

During this stage, the butterfly already

has six legs and four wings—a pair of
Common Nawab adult by Raju Kasambe

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Butterflies of Western Ghats: Dr. Raju Kasambe Introduction 2016

forewings and another pair of hindwings. When the butterfly is already an adult, it
can gather nectar from flowers for its food and reproduce. It can give rise to other
beautiful butterflies.

Morphology of a Butterfly
Here are the meaning of the terminology used to describe various body parts of a
butterfly.

Butterfly underside morphology illustration (Blue Tiger Male) by Raju Kasambe

Head
Anterior portion of the butterfly’s body containing the sensory organs and the
brain.

Thorax
Portion of the butterfly’s body divided into three segments; it contains the motor
appendages, such as the legs and wings.

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Butterflies of Western Ghats: Dr. Raju Kasambe Introduction 2016

Wing vein
Protruding line that gives the wing its rigidity and enables the blood to circulate.

Cell
Constituent element of a butterfly’s wing contained between the wing veins.

Antenna
Sensory organ made up of several segments and having mainly tactile and
olfactory functions.

Compound eye
Organ of vision made up of thousands of facets that perceive shapes, colors,
motion and distance.

Proboscis
Mouthlike part allowing the butterfly to feed through aspiration; the proboscis
folds back onto itself to avoid interfering with flight.

Foreleg
Articulated member attached to the first segment of the thorax and having
powerful sensory organs.

Middle leg
Large articulated member attached to the central segment of the thorax and having
powerful sensory organs.

Hind leg
Large articulated member attached to the terminal segment of the thorax and
having powerful sensory organs.

Abdomen
Posterior portion of the butterfly’s body made up of 10 segments and containing
the major vital organs, such as the heart, the intestines and the genital organs.

Hind wing
Appendage of flight attached to the terminal segment of the thorax.

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Butterflies of Western Ghats: Dr. Raju Kasambe Introduction 2016

Forewing
Appendage of flight attached to the central segment of the thorax.

Butterfly upperside morphology illustration (Blue Tiger Male) by Raju Kasambe

Parts of wings
Here is an illustration showing parts of butterfly wings.

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Butterflies of Western Ghats: Dr. Raju Kasambe Introduction 2016

Difference between moths and butterflies

Moths are stout and fuzzy, whereas butterflies are slender and smooth.

Butterflies are diurnal (active during the day) whereas moths are nocturnal. There
are some exceptions to this, as some butterflies are crepuscular and some moths are
diurnal.

Butterfly antennae are thin with club-shaped tips, compared with the feathery or
comb-like antennae of moths.

While at rest, butterflies usually fold their wings back over the bodies, while moths
flatten their wings against their bodies or spread them out in a "jet plane" position.

Butterflies form chrysalises (or cocoons) which are hard smooth and silkless.
Moths make cocoons that are wrapped in silk coverings.

Clockwise from left:

Atlas Moth showing typical wing
position (Photo by Raju
Kasambe)

Blue Mormon showing club-

shaped antenna (Photo by
Vinayraj)

Comb-like antennae of a moth

(Photo by Raju Kasambe)

Moth showing feathery antenna

and furry body (Photo by
Alvesgasper)

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Butterflies of Western Ghats: Dr. Raju Kasambe Western Ghats - Butterflies 2016

Western Ghats – Butterflies

Evergreen forests in Western Ghats in Periyar Tiger Reserve in Kerala by Manu Gangadhar.

Based on the distribution and status of butterflies and their host plants, Western
Ghats can be divided into three biogeographical parts (Gaonkar 1996).

Southern Western Ghats: The southern and most important part starts from just
north of Nagacoil (in Tamil Nadu) up to the Palghat gap. This area is home to the
highest number of species as well as endemics. Unfortunately, the lowland
evergreen forests in this area have mostly been replaced with plantations other
anthropogenic pressures exist here. The unique species of this area are Red-disc
Bushbrown Mycalesis oculus and Palni Fourring Ypthima ypthimoides. This area is
home to around 317 species of butterflies.

Centrel Western Ghats: The second important part starts north of the Palghat
Gap from the Nilgiri Wynaad area to South Goa. However, some endemic species

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 Butterflies of Western Ghats: Dr. Raju Kasambe Western Ghats - Butterflies 2016

are found even up to southern Maharashtra, at least up to Amboli Ghat area in

Sawantwadi taluq, Sindhudurg district. Many endemic species are not found above
Amboli Ghat. The species diversity is less than the southern part. The only species
unique to this area is Redeye Bushbrown Mycalesis adolphei. Butterfly fauna in
three districts, viz., the Nilgiris, Coorg and North Canara are well documented.
This area is home to around 316 species of butterflies.

Northern Western Ghats: The third part is in Maharashtra and south Gujarat.
This area is has less diversity with around 200 species reported north of Amboli
Ghat. Many species from the central Western Ghats are not found here.

State-wise Butterfly diversity of Western Ghats (Gaonkar, 1996):

Butterfly Families States

No. of species Kerala Tamil Karnataka Goa Maharashtra Gujarat
(Endemics) Nadu
Papilionidae 19 (5) 19 19 19 18 13 11
Pieridae 33 (3) 31 31 29 27 24 23
Nymphalidae 96 (12) 95 94 92 70 59 41
Lycaenidae 101 (5) 93 97 98 78 71 51
Hesperiidae 81 (12) 76 75 78 56 40 32
Total species 330 314 316 316 249 208 158
(37)

Karnataka, Goa and Maharashtra will also increase their species numbers once
study becomes more intensive and systemic.

Forest in monsoon in Sanjay Gandhi National Park, Mumbai, Maharashtra by Shreesh

Deshpande

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Butterflies of Western Ghats: Dr. Raju Kasambe Importance of Butterflies 2016

Importance of Butterflies in Nature

Butterflies may be better indicators of the health of our environment than birds.
— Roger Tory Peterson

Why butterflies are important

There are many reasons why butterflies and moths are important, both in their own right but also
as quality of life indicators. Here is a summary of the main reasons for conserving butterflies and
moths in the world.

As pollinators of crops and other flowers

Butterflies serve as important plant pollinators in the local environment, and help pollinate
hundreds of economically important plant crops. The role played by pollination and cross-
pollination in the development of crop varieties and evolution of plants is immense and not really
understood well. The thousand-year old silk industry is also dependent on Lepidoptera (moths),
but increased pesticide use around the world has caused population declines of silk moths.

Our Natural Heritage

Butterflies are the natural heritage of our country. The entire biodiversity we have is the treasure
trove we have, which we have got from our ancestors and need to preserve them. Butterflies are
flagship species for conservation in general, and in particular for invertebrates.

Intrinsic value
Butterflies and moths are intrinsically valuable and are worthy of conservation in their own right.
Butterflies and moths are part of the life on the earth and an important component of its rich
biodiversity. They have been around for at least 50 million years and probably first evolved some
150 million years ago. Butterflies and moths are a highly diverse group comprising over 250,000
species and make up around one quarter of all named species.

Aesthetic value
Butterflies and moths are beautiful. We humans love all beautiful things in nature. Butterflies
add to the aesthetic value of any natural landscape and heritage. Many butterflies are iconic and
popular. Butterflies have been studied for over 300 years by humans.

People like butterflies

There are many references to butterflies and moths in literature, from the Bhagwad Gita to Bible
through Indian folklore modern day literature, and from poetry to musical lyrics. Butterflies are
used by advertisers and illustrators the world over as way of indicating that something is
environmentally friendly. Butterflies are often portrayed as the essence of nature or as
representing freedom, beauty or peace.

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Butterflies of Western Ghats: Dr. Raju Kasambe Importance of Butterflies 2016

Educational value
Butterflies and moths have fascinating life-cycles that are used in many countries to teach
children about the natural world. The transformation from egg to caterpillar to chrysalis is one of
the wonders of nature.

Other educational aspects include the intricate wing patterns and iridescence, and as examples of
insect migration.

Scientific value
Butterflies (and moths to a lesser extent) are an extremely important group of ‘model’ organisms
used, for centuries, to investigate many areas of biological research, including such diverse fields
as navigation, pest control, embryology, mimicry, evolution, genetics, population dynamics and
biodiversity conservation.

The long history and popularity of butterfly study have provided a unique data resource on an
insect group unmatched in geographical scale and timescale anywhere in the world. This has
proved extremely important for scientific research on climate change.

Ecosystem value
Butterflies and moths are indicators of a healthy environment and healthy ecosystems. They
indicate a wide range of other invertebrates, which comprise over two-thirds of all species. Areas
rich in butterflies and moths are rich in other invertebrates. These collectively provide a wide
range of environmental benefits, including pollination and natural pest control.

Moths and butterflies are an important element of the food chain and are prey for birds (like bee-
eaters, drongos and flycatchers), bats and other insectivorous animals (like lizards and geckos).
Butterflies and moths support a range of other predators and parasites (like the parasitoid wasps),
many of which are specific to individual species, or groups of species.

As Indicators of the Health of Environment

Butterflies have been widely used by ecologists as model organisms to study the impact of
habitat loss and fragmentation, and climate change.

Health value
People enjoy seeing butterflies both around their homes and in the countryside. Social media
groups of butterfly lovers in India have more than 20,000 members. These people photograph,
survey and share butterfly information on social media. They travel thousands of kilometers in
search of butterflies. Now, butterfly gardening is becoming an important passion and many
butterfly gardens are in the making in India. People feel distressed in the company of butterflies
and they love to watch and photograph them.

Economic value

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Butterflies of Western Ghats: Dr. Raju Kasambe Importance of Butterflies 2016

Thousands of people visit India each year looking for butterflies. Eco-tourism and now butterfly
tourism is bringing in valuable income to many local tribes and butterfly garden owners across
the country. Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Kerala and Maharashtra have become hubs of
butterfly tourism and related businesses.

Every butterfly and moth has developed its own suite of chemicals to deter predators and
parasites, find a mate, and overcome the chemical defences of its host plant. Each of these
chemicals has a potential value and could be exploited economically.

Conservation of butterflies
In India, study and research on butterflies is still at the basic level. We are still working mostly
on the diversity inventories of various places. There are some good research papers coming out
on other aspects of Lepidoptera.

We have few names for butterflies in regional languages, but people do not have detailed
information about butterflies. People’s awareness regarding butterflies and their conservation is
almost next to nothing. It is for this reason butterflies are given little importance in the issues of
wildlife conservation.

Only recently, in June 2015, Maharashtra declared Blue Mormon Papilio polymnestor as the
‘State Butterfly’. Recently, in August 2016, Karnataka also declared Southern Birdwing Troides
minos as its ‘State Butterfly’ recognizing the importance of the butterflies in nature.

Now a good amount of academic research on butterflies is taking place in India but we do not
have good bibliographies on published information or baseline data on butterflies. For many of
our protected areas we have inventories for several other biological groups (mammals, birds,
reptiles, trees etc.), most of our parks and sanctuaries do not even have butterfly lists.

Moreover, very few serious ecological studies on the Lepidoptera of the region have been
undertaken and thus very little technical information is available for managers and policy makers
to take steps for effective butterfly conservation.

Habitats have been and are being destroyed on a massive scale. Now with the looming threat of
climate change and increasing pollution of the atmosphere may result into the disappearance or
drastic decline in the numbers of butterflies in many areas.

Conserving butterflies will improve our whole environment for wildlife and enrich the lives of
people now and in the future.

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Butterflies of Western Ghats: Dr. Raju Kasambe Western Ghats 2016

Western Ghats – Hotspot of Biodiversity

The Western Ghats or Sahyadri runs north to south along the western edge of the
Deccan Plateau of India, and separates the plateau from a narrow coastal plain
along the Arabian Sea. The range starts near the border of Gujarat and
Maharashtra, south of the Tapti River, and runs approximately 1600 km through
the states of Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kerala ending at
Kanyakumari. These hills cover 160,000 km² (roughly 6% of India’s total
geographical area) and form the catchment area for complex riverine drainage
systems that drain almost 40% of India. The average elevation is around 1200-
1300 metres. Western Ghats are home to 30% of flora and fauna species found in
India.

Older than the Himalaya mountains,

the mountain chain of the Western
Ghats represents geomorphic features
of immense importance with unique
biophysical and ecological processes.
The site is recognized as one of the
world’s eight ‘hottest hotspots’ of
biological diversity by UNESCO.

Western Ghats are spread in six states

viz. Gujarat, Maharashtra, Goa,
Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and
two Union Territories viz. Dadra &
Nagar Haveli and Pondicherry. The
range starts near the border of Gujarat
south of Tapti river where foothills of
the ranges are occupying the eastern
portion of Dadra and Silvassa in
D&N. Running around 1600
kilometers down south, it ends at its
southern part at Anamudi peak in

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Butterflies of Western Ghats: Dr. Raju Kasambe Western Ghats 2016

Kerala. The mountain stretch is interrupted only by the 30 km Palghat Gap at

around 11°N. Mahe in Pondicherry is situated on the Malabar coast on the Western
Ghats surrounded by Kerala Mountains.

In northern Maharashtra Western Ghats are known as Sahyadri, in Kerala as Sahya

Parvatam and in Tamil Nadu as Nilagiri Malai.

Western Ghats are home to many hill stations like Matheran, Lonavala-Khandala,
Mahabaleshwar, Panchgani, Amboli Ghat, Kudremukh and Kodagu. The extreme
northern parts of Western Ghats falls in the Dangs district of Gujarat, known for
Dang (Bamboo) forests. The confluence of the Eastern and the Western Ghats is at
Biligirirangan Hills in Karnataka. Anamudi at 2,695 metres in Kerala is the highest
peak in Western Ghats. Mullayanagiri is the highest peak in Karnataka at 1,950
meters.

The smaller ranges of the Western Ghats include the Cardamom Hills and the
Nilgiri Hills. Cardamom hills are located in southeast Kerala and southwest Tamil
Nadu. They conjoin the Anaimalai Hills to the northwest, the Palni Hills to the
northeast and the Agasthyamalai Hills to the south as far as the Ariankavu pass.
The crest of the hills forms the boundary between Kerala and Tamil Nadu.
Anamudi is also located in Cardamom Hills. The Nilgiri Hills are home to the hill
station Ooty. There are many important passes in Western Ghats such as Tamhini
Ghat, Palakkad Gap, Naneghat, Kasara ghat etc.

The northern portion of the narrow coastal plain between the Western Ghats and
the Arabian Sea is known as the Konkan Coast, the central portion is called Kanara
and the southern portion is called Malabar region or the Malabar Coast. The
foothill region east of the Ghats in Maharashtra is known as Desh, while the
eastern foothills of central Karnataka state is known as Malenadu.

A significant characteristic of the Western Ghats is the exceptionally high level of

biological diversity and endemism. This mountain chain is recognized as one of the
world’s eight ‘hottest hotspots’ of biological diversity along with Sri Lanka. The
forests of the Western Ghats include some of the best representatives of non
equatorial tropical evergreen forests in the world. At least 325 globally threatened
(IUCN Red Data List) species occur in the Western Ghats. The globally threatened
flora and fauna in the Western Ghats are represented by 229 plant species, 31
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Butterflies of Western Ghats: Dr. Raju Kasambe Western Ghats 2016

mammal species, 15 bird species (now 26), 43 amphibian species, 5 reptile species
and 1 fish species. Of the total 325 globally threatened species in the Western
Ghats, 129 are classified as Vulnerable, 145 as Endangered and 51 as Critically
Endangered (Source: http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1342).

Rivers
The rivers that originate in Western Ghats and flow towards west are Periyar,
Bharathappuzha, Netravati, Sharavathi, Mandovi etc. The west flowing rivers of
Western Ghats are fast-moving, owing to the short distance travelled and steeper
gradient. The steep gradient makes the Jog Falls on Shravasthi River in Karnataka
as one of the most spectacular waterfalls in India. The rivers that originate in
Western Ghats and flow towards east include three major rivers viz. Godavari,
Krishna and Kaveri, and many smaller tributary rivers such as Tunga, Bhadra,
Bhima, Malaprabha, Ghataprabha, Hemavathi, Kabini. These east flowing rivers
are comparatively slower moving and eventually merge into larger rivers such as
the Kaveri and Krishna.

Climate
Climate In comparison to the eastern side, the western side of the Western Ghats is
area of high rainfall because the mountains intercept the rain-bearing westerly
monsoon winds. The dense montane forests also contribute to high precipitation.
The climate is humid and tropical in the lower reaches tempered by the proximity
to the sea. Elevations of 1,500 m and above in the north and 2,000 m and above in
the south have a more temperate climate.

Average annual temperature here is around 15 °C. In some parts frost is common,
and temperatures touch the freezing point during the winter months. Mean
temperature range from 20 °C in the south to 24 °C in the north. It has also been
observed that the coldest periods in the south Western Ghats coincide with the
wettest. During the monsoon season between June and September, the unbroken
Western Ghats chain acts as a barrier to the moisture laden clouds. The heavy,
eastward-moving rain-bearing clouds are forced to rise and in the process deposit
most of their rain on the windward side. Rainfall in this region averages 3,000–
4,000 mm. The eastern region of the Western Ghats which lie in the rain shadow,
receive far less rainfall averaging about 1,000 mm bringing the average rainfall
figure to 2,500 mm.

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Butterflies of Western Ghats: Dr. Raju Kasambe Western Ghats 2016

Vegetation
Due to a sharp contrast in precipitation between western and eastern slopes of the
Western Ghats, there is a clear difference between the vegetation of the two sides.
Similarly, there is also a clear contrast between the northern and southern Western
Ghats. Moreover, the vegetation found on the high hills is also different from the
low hills. Thus, there are various kinds of vegetations found in Western Ghats as
follows: The western slopes have tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests
marked predominantly by Rosewood, Mahogany, Cedar etc. These slopes appear
green in almost all parts of the year. No time is fixed when these trees would shade
their leaves. The eastern slopes of the Western Ghats have dry as well as moist
deciduous forests marked predominantly by Teak, Sal, Shisham, Sandalwood etc.
trees. Further, on the northern side of the Wayanad forests; we find dry deciduous
forests while on the southern side there are wet deciduous forests. The evergreen
Wayanad forests of Kerala mark the transition zone between the northern and
southern ecoregions of the Western Ghats.

The southern ecoregions are generally wetter and more species-rich. South
Western Ghats Montane rain forests are the most species-rich ecoregions in
peninsular India. Eighty percent of the flowering plant species of the entire
Western Ghats range are found in this ecoregion. The areas which are high in
elevation are cooler and wetter in the north and so the forests there are called North
Western Ghats Montane rain forests. The vegetation here is evergreen
characterized by trees of family Lauraceae. Such plants include Litsea glutinosa or
Maida lakri in Hindi (a plant of medicinal value), Cinnamomum (Tejpatta) etc.
There are montane grasslands as well as stunted forests also in the Western Ghats.
The forest in the Western Ghats has been severely affected due to human activities,
especially clear felling for tea, coffee, and teak plantations during 1860 to 1950.

Species that are rare, endemic and habitat specialists are more adversely affected
and tend to be lost faster than other species. Complex and species rich habitats like
the tropical rainforest are much more adversely affected than other habitats. The
area is ecologically sensitive to development. Though this area covers barely five
percent of India’s land, 27% of all species of higher plants in India (4,000 of
15,000 species) are found here. Almost 1,800 of these are endemic to the region.

15
Butterflies of Western Ghats: Dr. Raju Kasambe Western Ghats 2016

Protected Areas

Western Ghats is home to India’s two biosphere reserves, 13 National parks,

several wildlife sanctuaries, Important Bird Areas (IBAs) and many Reserve
Forests. The Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve comprising 5500 km² of the evergreen
forests of Nagarahole, deciduous forests of Bandipur National Park and Nugu in
Karnataka and adjoining regions of Wayanad and Mudumalai National Park in the
states of Kerala and Tamil Nadu forms the largest contiguous protected area in the
Western Ghats. The Silent Valley National Park in Kerala is among the last tracts
of virgin tropical evergreen forest in India.

Fauna
There are two biodiversity hotspots in our country viz. Eastern Himalayas and
Western Ghats. Western Ghats are home to over 5000 species of flowering plants,
139 mammal species, 508 bird species and 179 amphibian species, many
undiscovered species lives.

Mammals
There are at least 139 mammal species. Of the 16 endemic mammals found in
Western Ghats, 13 are threatened. Following four are important species endemic to
Western Ghats. Malabar Large-spotted Civet or just Malabar Civet Viverra
civettina (Critically Endangered), Lion-tailed Macaque Macaca silenus
(Endangered), Brown Palm Civet Paradoxurus jerdoni (Least Concerned) and
Nilgiri Tahr Nilgiritragus hylocrius (Endangered).

Birds
There are more than 500 bird species reported from Western Ghats. There are at
least 26 species of birds endemic to the Western Ghats including the Nilgiri
Imperial-pigeon Ducula cuprea, Nilgiri Woodpigeon Columba elphinstonii, Grey-
fronted Green-pigeon Treron affinis, Malabar Parakeet (Blue-winged Parakeet)
Psittacula columboides, Malabar Grey Hornbill Ocyceros griseus, Malabar Barbet
(Crimson-fronted Barbet) Xantholaema malabarica, Nilgiri Pipit Anthus
nilghiriensis, Malabar Woodshrike Tephrodornis sylvicola, Flame-throated Bulbul
(Ruby-throated Yellow Bulbul) Pycnonotus gularis (Rubigula gularis), Grey-
headed Bulbul Pycnonotus priocephalus, Nilgiri Thrush Zoothera neilgherriensis,

16
Butterflies of Western Ghats: Dr. Raju Kasambe Western Ghats 2016

White-bellied Blue Robin Myiomela albiventris, Nilgiri Blue Robin Myieomela

major, Black-and-Orange Flycatcher (Black-and-rufous Flycatcher) Ficedula
nigrorufa, Nilgiri Flycatcher Eumyias albicaudatus, White-bellied Blue-
Flycatcher Cyornis pallipes, Wynaad Laughingthrus Dryonastes (Garrulax)
delesserti, Black-chinned Laughingthrush Strophocincla cachinnans, Kerala
Laughingthrush Strophocincla fairbanki, Indian Rufous Babbler Turdoides
subrufa, Indian Broad-tailed Grass-warbler Schoenicola platyururs, Plain
(Nilgiri) Flowerpecker Dicaeum concolor, Small Sunbird (Crimson-backed
Sunbird) Leptocoma minima (Nectarinia minima), Vigor’s Sunbird Aethopyga
vigorsii, Malabar White-headed Starling Sturnia blythii, White-bellied Treepie
Dendrocitta leucogastra.

Amphibians
Western Ghats is home to at least 179 amphibian species as many more are being
described and more than 80% of these are endemic to the rainforests of the
mountains. The region is also home to many endemic caecilian species.

Fish, Insects
As of 2004, 288 freshwater fish species are listed from the Western Ghats,
including 35 which are also known from brackish or marine water. Several new
species have been described from the region since then.

Insects
Western Ghats is home to roughly 6,000 insect species. This includes 334 species
of butterflies. The Western Ghats is home to 174 species of odonates (107
dragonflies and 67 damselflies), including 69 endemics. Most of the endemic
odonates are closely associated with rivers and streams, while the non-endemics
typically are generalists. There are several species of leeches found all along the
Western Ghats.

Flora
Of the 7,402 species of flowering plants occurring in the Western Ghats, 5,588
species are native or indigenous and 376 are exotics naturalised and 1,438 species
are cultivated or planted as ornamentals. Among the indigenous species, 2,253
species are endemic to India and of them, 1,273 species are exclusively confined to
the Western Ghats.

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Butterflies of Western Ghats: Dr. Raju Kasambe Western Ghats 2016

UNESCO World Heritage Site

In 2006, India applied to the UNESCO for the Western Ghats to be listed as a
protected World Heritage Site. In 2012, the following places are declared as World
Heritage Sites: Kalakkad Mundanthurai Tiger Reserve, Shendurney Wildlife
Sanctuary, Neyyar Wildlife Sanctuary, Peppara Wildlife Sanctuary, Periyar Tiger
Reserve, Srivilliputtur Wildlife Sanctuary, Eravikulam National Park, Grass Hills
National Park, Karian Shola National Park, Sathyamangalam Wildlife Sanctuary,
Chinnar Wildlife Sanctuary, Silent Valley National Park, New Amarambalam
Reserved Forest, Mukurthi National Park, Pushpagiri Wildlife Sanctuary,
Brahmagiri Wildlife Sanctuary, Talakaveri Wildlife Sanctuary, Aralam Wildlife
Sanctuary, Kudremukh National Park, Someshwara Wildlife Sanctuary, Kaas
Plateau, Koyna Wildlife Sanctuary, Chandoli National Park and Radhanagari
Wildlife Sanctuary.

Sources:
http://www.gktoday.in/western-ghats/
http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1342
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_Ghats
Map: https://i2.wp.com/www.insightsonindia.com/wp-
content/uploads/2012/07/western-ghats-detailed-map.jpg

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 Butterflies of Western Ghats: Dr. Raju Kasambe Family: Hesperiidae 2016

Family Facts
Hesperiidae: The Skippers
Butterflies belonging to the family Hesperiidae are known as the “skippers”
because the butterflies exhibit a rapid, erratic or "skipping" flight pattern. The
Skippers are not considered to be "true" butterflies, but are more closely related to
the true butterflies than are the moths.

These butterflies are generally characterized by the following: 1) a large, hairy

body; 2) a large head, at least as wide or wider than the thorax; 3) fully developed
and functioning forelegs in both sexes; 4) small, pointed wings; 5) unique pattern
of veination on the forewing; and 6) curved or hooked antennae tips. Males of
many species possess a patch of scent scales on the forewing, called a stigma,
useful in attracting females. Males may also have a folded portion of the forewing
on the leading edge, called a costal fold, which encloses scent scales.

Many species of Skippers has a habit of basking in the sunlight with a unique
posture, the forewings being open only half way and the hindwings open fully.
This gives them a "fighter-jet" like appearance. They are largely brown, orange and
tawny.

Many species have very long proboscis which makes it possible for them to get
nectar from flowers with long tubular corolla. Many fly at dawn or dusk but others
fly during the daytime.

Eggs are tiny (less than the width of the head of a pin!) and vary in appearance, but
often are dome-shaped. Caterpillars generally are green with tapered bodies, often
live in shelters constructed with leaves and silk. Pupae hang in loose cocoons and
may have a silk girdle.

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Butterflies of Western Ghats: Dr. Raju Kasambe Family: Hesperiidae 2016

Brown Awl Badamia exclamationis (Fabricius, 1775)

UN by Raju Kasambe

Wing span: 50–55 mm.

Larval Host Plants:

Combretum albidum, Combretum latifolium, and Combretum ovalifolium,
Terminalia bellerica, Terminalia catappa (Family Combretaceae), Hiptage
benghalensis (Family Malpighiaceae), Linociera purpurea, Ficus spp.

Distribution:
Throughout India.

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 Butterflies of Western Ghats: Dr. Raju Kasambe Family: Hesperiidae 2016

Orange Awlet Bibasis jaina (Moore, 1865)

UN and UP by Raju Kasambe

Wing span: 60–70 mm.

Larval Host Plants:

Combretum extensum (Family Combretaceae), Hiptage benghalensis (Family
Malpighiaceae).

Distribution: Subspecies:
B. j. fergusonii de Niceville, [1894]: Maharashtra to Kerala.

21
Butterflies of Western Ghats: Dr. Raju Kasambe Family: Hesperiidae 2016

Pale Green Awlet Burara gomata (Moore, [1866])

(Syn. Bibasis gomata Moore, 1866)

UN by Anila Manalil

Wing span: 50–65 mm

Larval Host Plants:

Heptapleurum venulosum (Family Araliaceae).

Distribution: Subspecies:
B. g. kanara (Evans, 1926): Goa to Kerala.

22
Butterflies of Western Ghats: Dr. Raju Kasambe Family: Hesperiidae 2016

Orange-tailed Awlet Bibasis sena (Moore, 1865)

UN by Dr. Amol Patwardhan

Wing span: 42–50 mm.

Larval Host Plants:

Combretum latifolium, Combretum extensum (Family Combretaceae), Hiptage
benghalensis (Malpighiaceae).

Distribution: Subspecies:
B. s. sena (Moore, [1866]): Maharashtra to Madhya Pradesh and south to Kerala,
Himachal Pradesh to N.E. India; Andaman & Nicobar Is.

23
Butterflies of Western Ghats: Dr. Raju Kasambe Family: Hesperiidae 2016

Indian Awlking Choaspes benjaminii (Guérin-Meneville, 1843)

UN by Raju Kasambe

Wing span: 50–60 mm.

Larval Host Plants:

Meliosma pungens, Sabia campanulata (Family Sabiaceae).

Distribution: Subspecies:
C. b. benjaminii (Guerin-Meneville, 1843): Karnataka to Kerala.

24
Butterflies of Western Ghats: Dr. Raju Kasambe Family: Hesperiidae 2016

Common Awl Hasora badra (Moore, 1857)

UN and UP by Raju Kasambe

Wing span: 50–55 mm.

Larval Host Plants:

Derris uliginosa, Pongamia spp. (Family
Fabaceae).

Distribution:
H. b. badra (Moore, [1858]): Maharashtra to Kerala; North Bihar to N.E. India;
Andaman & Nicobar Is.

25
Butterflies of Western Ghats: Dr. Raju Kasambe Family: Hesperiidae 2016

Common Banded Awl Hasora chromus (Cramer, 1780)

UN by Raju Kasambe

Wing span: 45–50 mm.

Larval Host Plants: Castor-oil-plant Ricinus communis (Family Euphorbiaceae),

Derris scandens, Pongam Tree Pongamia pinnata (Family Fabaceae), Trichilia
connaroides (Family Meliaceae).

Distribution:
H. c. chromus (Cramer, [1780]): Throughout India and Andaman & Nicobar Is.

26
Butterflies of Western Ghats: Dr. Raju Kasambe Family: Hesperiidae 2016

White Banded Awl Hasora taminatus (Hübner, 1818)

UN by Tarun Karmakar

Wing span: 45–55 mm.

Larval Host Plants:

Derris scandens (Family Fabaceae).

Distribution: Subspecies:
H. t. taminatus (Huebner, 1818): Karnataka to Kerala.

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Butterflies of Western Ghats: Dr. Raju Kasambe Family: Hesperiidae 2016

Plain Banded Awl Hasora vitta (Butler, 1870)

UN by Dattaprasad Sawant

Wing span: 45–55 mm.

Larval Host Plants:

Millettia extensa, M. pallida, Pongamia pinnata (Family Fabaceae).

Distribution: Subspecies:
H. v. indica Evans, 1932: Sikkim to N.E. India; Goa to Kerala.

28
Butterflies of Western Ghats: Dr. Raju Kasambe Family: Hesperiidae 2016

Pygmy Scrub Hopper Aeromachus pygmaeus (Fabricius, 1775)

UN by Anila Manalil

Wing span: 20–22 mm.

Larval Host Plants:

Data deficient.

Distribution:
Maharashtra to Kerala; N.E. India.

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Butterflies of Western Ghats: Dr. Raju Kasambe Family: Hesperiidae 2016

Bush Hopper Ampittia dioscorides (Fabricius, 1793)

Clockwise from top left: UN by Jeevan

Jose, UP Male by Raju Kasambe, UP
Female by Raju Kasambe

Wing span: 22–28 mm.

Larval Host Plants:

Rice Oryza sativa, grass spp.
(Family Poaceae).

Distribution:
A. d. dioscorides (Fabricius, 1793): Maharashtra east to West Bengal and south to
Kerala; Himachal Pradesh to N.E. India.

30
Butterflies of Western Ghats: Dr. Raju Kasambe Family: Hesperiidae 2016

Vindhyan Bob Arnetta vindhiana (Moore, 1883)

UN WSF and UN DSF by Raju Kasambe

Wing span: 25–32 mm.

Larval Host Plants:

Data deficient.

Distribution: Subspecies:
A. v. nilgiriana (Moore, 1883): Tamil Nadu to Kerala.

Subspecies:
A. v. vindhiana (Moore, 1883): Rajasthan to Tamil Nadu; Madhya Pradesh.

31
Butterflies of Western Ghats: Dr. Raju Kasambe Family: Hesperiidae 2016

Paintbrush Swift Baoris farri (Moore, 1878)

UN and UP by Raju Kasambe

Wing span: 43–48 mm.

Larval Host Plants:

Ochlandra travancorica, Ochlandra scriptoria, Bambusa striata and Bambusa
wamin.

Distribution: Subspecies:
B. f. farri (Moore, 1878): Maharashtra southwards to Kerala and eastwards to W.
Bengal; Uttarakhand to N.E. India.

32
Butterflies of Western Ghats: Dr. Raju Kasambe Family: Hesperiidae 2016

Bevan's Swift Pseudoborbo bevani (Moore, 1878)

UN and UP by Blaise Pareira

Wing span: 32–36 mm.

Larval Host Plants:

Imperata cylindrica, Paspalum conjugatum, Saccharum spp. (Family Poaceae).

Distribution:
Gujarat east to W. Bengal and southwards to Kerala; Jammu & Kashmir to N.E.
India.

33
Butterflies of Western Ghats: Dr. Raju Kasambe Family: Hesperiidae 2016

Rice Swift Borbo cinnara (Wallace, 1866)

UN and UP by Raju Kasambe

Wing span: 30–36 mm.

Larval Host Plants:

Andropogon spp., Cymbopogon sp., Eragrostis sp., Ischaeum sp., Rice Oryza sp.,
Oryza sativa, Pennisetum sp., Setaria barbata, S. glauca, S. pumila, Grass spp.
Axonopus compressus, Rottboellia cochinchinensis, Brachiaria mutica (Family
Poaceae).

Distribution:
Throughout India except Jammu & Kashmir.

34
Butterflies of Western Ghats: Dr. Raju Kasambe Family: Hesperiidae 2016

Wax Dart Cupitha purreea (Moore, 1877)

UN and UP by Subhajit Mazumder

Wing span: 28–33 mm.

Larval Host Plants:

Combretum ovalifolium, C. indicum (Syn. Quisqualis indica), Combretum spp.,
Terminalia paniculata, Terminalia bellirica (Family Combretaceae).

Distribution:
Maharashtra to Kerala; Jharkhand; Sikkim to N.E. India.

35
Butterflies of Western Ghats: Dr. Raju Kasambe Family: Hesperiidae 2016

Indian Ace Halpe hindu Evans, 1937

UN by Kishen Das UP by Hemant Ogale

Wing span: 30–36 mm.

Larval Host Plants: Bamboo spp. (Family Poaceae).

Distribution: Subspecies:
H. h. hindu Evans, 1937: Karnataka; Kerala; Tamil Nadu.

36
Butterflies of Western Ghats: Dr. Raju Kasambe Family: Hesperiidae 2016

Moore's Ace Halpe porus (Mabille, 1877)

UN and UP by Yuwaraj Gurjar

Wing span: 32 mm.

Larval Host Plants:

Bamboo spp. (Family Poaceae).

Distribution:
Maharashtra to West Bengal and southward to Kerala; Uttarakhand to N.E. India;
Andaman & Nicobar Is.

37
 Butterflies of Western Ghats: Dr. Raju Kasambe Family: Hesperiidae 2016

Chestnut Bob Iambrix salsala (Moore, 1865)

UN and UP by Raju Kasambe

Wing span: 26–30 mm.

Larval Host Plants:

Bamboo and grass spp. (Family Poaceae).

Distribution: Subspecies:
I. s. luteipalpis (Ploetz, 1886). Gujarat to Kerala.

38
Butterflies of Western Ghats: Dr. Raju Kasambe Family: Hesperiidae 2016

Common Redeye Matapa aria (Moore, 1866)

UN by Raju Kasambe

Wing span: 40–55 mm.

Larval Host Plants:

Bamboo spp. Bambusa striata, B. arundinacea, Ochlandra travancorica and
Ochlandra scriptoria (Family Poaceae).

Distribution:
Gujarat to West Bengal and southward to Kerala; Delhi; Uttarakhand to N.E India.

39
Butterflies of Western Ghats: Dr. Raju Kasambe Family: Hesperiidae 2016

Giant Redeye Gangara thyrsis (Fabricius, 1775)

UN by Raju Kasambe

Wing span: 70–76 mm.

Larval Host Plants:

Palms and canes including Cocos nucifera, Caryota urens, Calamus pseudotenuis,
Calamus rotang, Calamus thwaitesii, Phoenix loureirii, P. acaulis, Licuala
chinensis, L. grandis and Phoenix humilis (Family Arecaceae). Also Zingiber
officinale (Family Zingiberaceae).

Distribution:
G. t. thyrsis (Fabricius, 1775): Maharashtra to Kerala; Andhra Pradesh; to N.E.
India, Himachal Pradesh; Andaman & Nicobar Is.

40
Butterflies of Western Ghats: Dr. Raju Kasambe Family: Hesperiidae 2016

Restricted Demon Notocrypta curvifascia (Felder & Felder, 1862)

UN by Pranav Gokhale UP by Raju Kasambe

Wing span: 38–50 mm.

Larval Host Plants:

Costus speciosus, Curcuma decipiens, Kaempferia rotunda, Zingiber casumunar
(Ginger), Z. montanum, Z. officinale and members of the Families Zingiberaceae
and Musaceae.

Distribution:
N. c. curvifascia (C. & R. Felder, 1862): Andaman & Nicobar Is. (Andamans);
Maharashtra to Kerala; Uttarakhand to N.E. India.

41
Butterflies of Western Ghats: Dr. Raju Kasambe Family: Hesperiidae 2016

Common Banded Demon Notocrypta paralysos (Wood-Mason & de

Nicéville, 1881)

UP by Jeevan Jose

Wing span: 30–40 mm.

Larval Host Plants: Ginger and turmeric species of Family Zingiberaceae.

Distribution: Subspecies:
N. p. mangla Evans, 1939: Maharashtra to Kerala; Andhra Pradesh.

42
Butterflies of Western Ghats: Dr. Raju Kasambe Family: Hesperiidae 2016

Conjoined Swift Pelopidas conjuncta (Herrich-Schäffer, 1869)

UP and UN by Raju Kasambe

Wing span: 45–52 mm.

Larval Host Plants:

Grass spp. Andropogon spp., Bambusa sp., Oryza sativa (Rice), Saccharum
officinarum (Sugarcane), Sorghum spp. (Jowar), Zea mays (Maize), and Rottboellia
cochinchinensis (Itchgrass).

Distribution: Subspecies:
P. c . narooa (Moore,1878): Gujarat to Kerala and Jharkhand.

43
Butterflies of Western Ghats: Dr. Raju Kasambe Family: Hesperiidae 2016

Variable Swift Pelopidas mathias (Fabricius, 1798)

(Syn. Small Branded Swift)

UN and UP by Raju Kasambe

Wing span: 32–38 mm.

Larval Host Plants: Oryza sativa (Rice), Cymbopogon nardus (Citronella Grass),
Imperata cylindrica (Blady Grass), Saccharum officinarum (Sugarcane).

Distribution:
Throughout India including Andaman & Nicobar Islands (Central Nicobars).

44
Butterflies of Western Ghats: Dr. Raju Kasambe Family: Hesperiidae 2016

Coon Psolos fuligo (Mabille, 1876)

UP by Jeevan Jose UN by Parag Rangnekar

Wing span: 36–46 mm.

Larval Host Plants:

Maranta arundinacea, Schumannianthus virgatus, Stachyphrynium spicatum
(Family Marantaceae).

Distribution:
P. f. subfasciatus (Moore, 1878): Karnataka to Kerala; N.E. India.

45
Butterflies of Western Ghats: Dr. Raju Kasambe Family: Hesperiidae 2016

Indian Palm Bob Suastus gremius (Fabricius, 1798)

UN and UP by Raju Kasambe

Wing span: 32–45 mm.

Larval Host Plants:

Calamus spp., Caryota urens, Cocos nucifera, Licuala grandis, Phoenix acaulis, P.
lourierii (Family Arecaceae).

Distribution:
S. g. gremius (Fabricius, 1798): Throughout India.

46
 Butterflies of Western Ghats: Dr. Raju Kasambe Family: Hesperiidae 2016

Common Grass Dart Taractrocera maevius (Fabricius, 1793)

UN and UP by Ashwatha K.N.

Wing span: 22–28 mm.

Larval Host Plants:

Grass species, including rice, Oryza sativa.

Distribution:
T. m. sagara (Moore, [1866]): Gujarat to Kerala; Madhya Pradesh;W. Bengal;
Jammu & Kashmir to N.E. India.

47
 Butterflies of Western Ghats: Dr. Raju Kasambe Family: Hesperiidae 2016

Tamil Grass Dart Taractrocera ceramas (Hewitson, 1868)

UN and UP both by Dattaprasad Sawant

Wing span: 23–30 mm.

Larval Host Plants:

Grass species, including rice, Oryza sativa.

Distribution:
Subspecies: T. c. ceramas (Hewitson, 1868): Karnataka, Kerala and Andhra
Pradesh.
Subspecies: T. c. media Evans, 1934: Goa and Karnataka.
Subspecies: T. c. nicevillei Watson, 1893: Maharashtra.
Subspecies: T. c. oberthueri Elwes & Edwards, 1897: Tamil Nadu (Anaimalai
Hills).

48
Butterflies of Western Ghats: Dr. Raju Kasambe Family: Hesperiidae 2016

Dark Palm Dart Telicota bambusae (Moore, 1878)

(Syn. Telicota aneilla bambusae)

UN and UP by Raju Kasambe

Wing span: 33–36 mm.

Larval Host Plants:

Calamus spp., Cocos nucifera (Family Arecaceae), grass species, such as Imperata
cylindrica, Oryza sativa, Paspalum urvillei, Sorghum halepense, Saccharum spp.,
Ochlandra travancorica, Bambusa striata and Bambusa wamin (Family Poaceae).

Distribution:
Throughout India except Rajasthan.

49
Butterflies of Western Ghats: Dr. Raju Kasambe Family: Hesperiidae 2016

Common Palm Dart Telicota colon (Fabricius, 1775)

(Syn. Pale Palm Dart)

UN and UP by Divakar Thombre

Wing span: 32–36 mm.

Larval Host Plants: Sugarcane Saccharum officinarum, bamboo species including

Bambusa striata and Ochlandra travancorica.

Distribution:
T. c. colon (Fabricius, 1775): Gujarat to W. Bengal and southwards to Kerala;
Delhi to Uttar Pradesh; Uttarakhand to Sikkim.

50
Butterflies of Western Ghats: Dr. Raju Kasambe Family: Hesperiidae 2016

Plain Palm Dart Cephrenes acalle (Höpffer, 1874)

UN by Raju Kasambe UP by Chinmayi S.K.

Wing span: 42–44 mm.

Larval Host Plants:

Palm sp. (Arecaceae) especially Cocos nucifera (Coconut) and Calamus

Distribution: Subspecies:
C. c. oceanica (Mabille, 1904): Andaman & Nicobar Is. (Andamans), Sikkim to
N.E. India; west coast of India.

51
Butterflies of Western Ghats: Dr. Raju Kasambe Family: Hesperiidae 2016

Madras Ace Thoressa honorei (De Nicéville, 1887)

UP and UN both Anila Manalil

Wing span: 30–38 mm.

Larval Host Plants:

Bamboo (Family Poaceae).

Distribution:
Goa to Kerala.

Endemicity:
Endemic to Western Ghats.

52
Butterflies of Western Ghats: Dr. Raju Kasambe Family: Hesperiidae 2016

Grass Demon Udaspes folus (Cramer, 1775)

UN and UP by Raju Kasambe

Wing span: 40–48 mm.

Larval Host Plants:

Species of ginger and turmeric including Curcuma aromatica, C. decipiens, C.
pseudomontana, Hedychium spp., Zingiber sp. (Family Zingiberaceae). Also on
Grasses.

Distribution:
Gujarat to West Bengal and south to Kerala; Himachal Pradesh to N. E. India.

53
Butterflies of Western Ghats: Dr. Raju Kasambe Family: Hesperiidae 2016

Tree Flitter Hyarotis adrastus (Stoll, 1780)

UN by Chinmayi S.K.

Wing span: 38–48 mm.

Larval Host Plants:

Palm spp., Phoenix acualis (Family Arecaceae).

Distribution:
H. a. praba (Moore, [1866]): Himachal Pradesh to N. E. India; Andaman Is.; Goa
to Kerala.

54
Butterflies of Western Ghats: Dr. Raju Kasambe Family: Hesperiidae 2016

Ceylon Dartlet Oriens goloides (Moore, 1881)

(Syn. Indian Dartlet)

UN by Jeevan Jose UP by Raju Kasambe

Wing span: 24–28 mm.

Larval Host Plants:

Grass species namely, Axonopus compressus and Oplismenus composites (Family
Poaceae)

Distribution:
Maharashtra to Kerala; Sikkim to N.E. India.

55
Butterflies of Western Ghats: Dr. Raju Kasambe Family: Hesperiidae 2016

Golden Angle Caprona ransonnetti (Felder, 1868)

Clockwise from left: Male UN, DSF and WSF by Raju Kasambe

Wing span: 35–45 mm.

Larval Host Plants:

Helicteres isora (Family Sterculiaceae)

Distribution:
C. r. potiphera Hewitson, 1873: Gujarat east to Jharkhand and South to Kerala.

56
Butterflies of Western Ghats: Dr. Raju Kasambe Family: Hesperiidae 2016

Spotted Angle Caprona agama (Moore, 1857)

UN and UP by Gopakumar

Wing span: 30–50 mm.

Larval Host Plants:

Data deficient.

Distribution:
C. a. agama (Moore, [1858]): Maharashtra east to Jharkhand and southward to
Kerala; Uttarakhand to N.E. India.

57
Butterflies of Western Ghats: Dr. Raju Kasambe Family: Hesperiidae 2016

Evans’Angle Caprona alida (De Nicéville, 1891)

(Syn. Yellow Spotted Angle)

UN and UP by Gopakumar

Wing span: 30–50 mm.

Larval Host Plants:

Data deficient.

Distribution: Subspecies:
C. a. vespa Evans, 1949: Tamil Nadu to Madhya Pradesh and Odisha.

58
Butterflies of Western Ghats: Dr. Raju Kasambe Family: Hesperiidae 2016

Malabar Flat Celaenorrhinus ambareesa (Moore, 1866)

(Syn. Malabar Spotted Flat)

UP by Raju Kasambe

Wing span: 45–55 mm.

Larval Host Plants:

Carvia callosa, Eranthemum purpurescens, E. roseus (Family Acanthaceae).

Distribution:
Peninsular India, south from Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh.

59
Butterflies of Western Ghats: Dr. Raju Kasambe Family: Hesperiidae 2016

Common Spotted Flat Celaenorrhinus leucocera (Kollar, 1844)

UP by Raju Kasambe

Wing span: 45–55 mm.

Larval Host Plants:

Asystasia gangetica, Carvia callosa, Ecbolium linguistrinum, Eranthemum roseus,
E. pulchellum, Strobilanthes angustifrons, Thelepaepale ixiocephala, Nilgirianthus
heyneanus, N. barbatus (Family Acanthaceae).

Distribution:
Gujarat eastwards to West Bengal and southwards Kerala; Jammu and Kashmir to
N.E India; Andaman & Nicobar Is.

60
Butterflies of Western Ghats: Dr. Raju Kasambe Family: Hesperiidae 2016

Fulvous Pied Flat Pseudocoladenia dan (Fabricius, 1787)

UN by Raju Kasambe

Wing span: 40–46 mm.

Larval Host Plants: Achyranthes aspera (Family Amaranthaceae).

Distribution: Subspecies:
P. d. dan (Fabricius, 1787): Gujarat to Kerala; Andhra Pradesh.

61
Butterflies of Western Ghats: Dr. Raju Kasambe Family: Hesperiidae 2016

Tricoloured Pied Flat Coladenia indrani (Moore, 1866)

UN by Raju Kasambe

Wing span: 40–46 mm.

Larval Host Plants: Mallotus philippinensis (Family Euphorbiaceae), Desmodium

sp. (Family Fabaceae), Xylia dolabriformis (Family Mimosaceae), Grewia
microcos (Family Tiliaceae).

Distribution: Subspecies:
C. i. indra Evans, 1926: Gujarat eastwards to West Bengal and southward to
Kerala.

62
Butterflies of Western Ghats: Dr. Raju Kasambe Family: Hesperiidae 2016

Common Yellow-breasted Flat Gerosis bhagava (Moore, 1866)

UP by Tarun Karmakar

Wing span: 35–45 mm.

Larval Host Plants:

Dalbergia lanceolaria (Family Fabaceae).

Distribution: Subspecies:
G. b. bhagava (Moore, [1866]): Goa to Jharkhand and south to Kerala; Sikkim to
N.E. India.

63
Butterflies of Western Ghats: Dr. Raju Kasambe Family: Hesperiidae 2016

African Marbled Skipper Gomalia elma (Trimen, 1862)

UN and UP by Manidip Mandal

Wing span: 25–30 mm.

Larval Host Plants:

Abutilon indicum (Family Malvaceae).

Distribution:
G. e. albofasciata Moore, 1879: Himachal Pradesh; Maharashtra to Kerala and
Telangana.

64
Butterflies of Western Ghats: Dr. Raju Kasambe Family: Hesperiidae 2016

Chestnut Angle Odontoptilum angulatum (C. & R. Felder, 1862)

UP by Dhaval Momaya

Wing span: 40–45 mm.

Larval Host Plants:

Ceiba sp. (Family Bombacaceae), Hibiscus tiliaceus, Urena lobata (Family
Malvaceae), Allophyllus cobbe (Family Sapindaceae).

Distribution:
O. a. angulatum (C. & R. Felder, 1862): Maharashtra to Kerala; Himachal Pradesh
to N.E. India.

65
Butterflies of Western Ghats: Dr. Raju Kasambe Family: Hesperiidae 2016

Common Small Flat Sarangesa dasahara (Moore, 1866)

UP by Raju Kasambe

Wing span: 26–35 mm.

Larval Host Plants:

Asystasia spp., Blepharis asperrima (Family Acanthaceae).

Distribution: Subspecies:
S. d. adona Evans, 1949: Rajasthan to Odisha and south to Andhra Pradesh.

Subspecies:
S. d. davidsoni Swinhoe, 1912: Gujarat to Kerala.

66
Butterflies of Western Ghats: Dr. Raju Kasambe Family: Hesperiidae 2016

Spotted Small Flat Sarangesa purendra (Moore, 1882)

UP by Vinayraj

Wing span: 25–35 mm.

Larval Host Plants:

Asystasia spp., Blepharis spp. (Family Acanthaceae).

Distribution: Subspecies:
S. p. hopkinsi Evans, 1921: Karnataka; Tamil Nadu.

Subspecies:
S. p. pandra Evans, 1949: Kerala to Rajasthan.

67
Butterflies of Western Ghats: Dr. Raju Kasambe Family: Hesperiidae 2016

Indian Skipper Spialia galba (Fabricius, 1793)

UP and UN both by Dattaprasad Sawant

Wing span: 20–27 mm.

Larval Host Plants:

Hibiscus spp., Sida rhombifolia (Family Malvaceae), Waltheria indica, Melochia
corchorifolia (Family Sterculiaceae).

Distribution:
Throughout India.

68
Butterflies of Western Ghats: Dr. Raju Kasambe Family: Hesperiidae 2016

Large Snow Flat Tagiades gana (Moore, 1866)

(Syn. Suffused Snow Flat)

UP by Anila Manalil

Wing span: 45–50 mm.

Larval Host Plants: Dioscorea oppositifolia, D. alata (Family Dioscoreaceae).

Distribution: Subspecies:
T. g. silvia Evans, 1934: Maharashtra to Kerala. Chhota Nagpur?

69
Butterflies of Western Ghats: Dr. Raju Kasambe Family: Hesperiidae 2016

Suffused Snow Flat Tagiades jepetus (Stoll, 1781)

(Syn. Common Snow Flat)

UP by Ayan Chakraborty

Wing span: 45–50 mm.

Larval Host Plants:

Dioscorea oppositifolia, D. alata (Family Dioscoreaceae).

Distribution:
Subspecies: T. j. obscurus Mabille, 1876: Gujarat to Kerala.

70
 Butterflies of Western Ghats: Dr. Raju Kasambe Family: Hesperiidae 2016

Water Snow Flat Tagiades litigiosa (Moeschler, 1878)

UP by Raju Kasambe

Wing span: 37–44 mm.

Larval Host Plants:

Dioscorea oppositifolia, Dioscorea alata (Family Dioscoreaceae) and Smilax sp.
(Family Smilacaceae).

Distribution: Subspecies:
T. l. litigiosa Fruhstorfer, 1910: Himachal Pradesh to N.E. India; Maharashtra to
Andhra Pradesh and Kerala; Jharkhand.

71
Butterflies of Western Ghats: Dr. Raju Kasambe Family: Hesperiidae 2016

Black Angle Tapena thwaitesi (Moore, 1881)

DSF UP by Raju Kasambe WSF UP by Yuwaraj Gurjar

Wing span: 40 mm.

Larval Host Plants:

Dalbergia latifolia (Family Fabaceae)

Distribution: Subspecies:
T. t. thwaitesi Moore, [1881]: Gujarat to Kerala and Andhra Pradesh.

72
Butterflies of Western Ghats: Dr. Raju Kasambe Family: Papilionidae 2016

Family Facts
Family Papilionidae: Swallowtails
The Swallowtails are large butterflies having tails at the rear of the hindwing.
They are often black and yellow in color.

Swallowtails are generally characterized by the following: 1) have tails at the rear
of the hindwing; 2) medium to large in size; 3) unique pattern of wing veination on
the wings; and 3) fully developed and functioning forelegs in both sexes.

Other interesting traits of Swallowtails include a behavior called hill topping, in

which males and females congregate at the tops of slopes or ridges in their effort to
locate a mate. Swallowtails continue to flutter their wings while taking nectar
from flowers, unlike other butterflies. This behavior is believed to help stabilize
the large butterflies which otherwise might unbalance the flower, causing it to tip
or bend.

Eggs of Swallowtails are round and green. The young caterpillars of Swallowtails
often look like a bird dropping while older caterpillars are often greenish and
marked with large eyespots. They are equipped with an osmeterium, a Y-shaped
gland located behind the head which pops out and emit a pungent chemical to ward
off potential predators. Swallowtail pupae often have both a cremaster and a silk
girdle. Most beautiful (like Peacocks), threatened (like Kaiser-i-Hind, Bhutan
Glory) and largest of the butterflies (like the Birdwings) belong to this family.
These are much coveted as trophies and hence are illegally traded for their beauty.

Common Mormon showing ‘Osmetorium’ by Dr. Jayant Wadatkar

73
Butterflies of Western Ghats: Dr. Raju Kasambe Family: Papilionidae 2016

Southern Bluebottle Graphium teredon (C. & R. Felder, 1865)

UP by K. Mohan Raj UN by Raju Kasambe

Wing span: 80–90mm.

Larval Host Plants:

Alseodaphne semecarpifolia, Cinnamomum camphora, Cinnamomum
macrocarpum, Cinnamomum malabathrum, Litsea chinensis, Polyalthia longifolia,
Miliusa tomentosa, Persea macrantha and Michelia doltospa.

Distribution: W. Ghats as far north as Gujarat; ? Madhya Pradesh.

Note: Previously treated as Common Bluebottle Graphium sarpedon (Linnaeus,

1758).

74
Butterflies of Western Ghats: Dr. Raju Kasambe Family: Papilionidae 2016

Common Jay Graphium doson (C. & R. Felder, 1864)

UP by School of Ecology and Conservation UN by Raju Kasambe

Wing span: 70–80mm.

Larval Host Plants:

Plants of the families Annonaceae, Lauraceae, Magnoliaceae such as Annona lawii,
Cinnamomum macrocarpum, Magnolia grandiflora, Michelia champaca, Milliusa
tomentosum and Polyalthia longifolia.

Distribution: Subspecies:
G. d. eleius (Fruhstorfer, 1907): S. India to W. Bengal.

75
Butterflies of Western Ghats: Dr. Raju Kasambe Family: Papilionidae 2016

Tailed Jay Graphium agamemnon (Linnaeus, 1758)

UN by Raju Kasambe; UP by Divakar Thombre

Wing span: 85–100mm.

Larval Host Plants:

Polyalthia longifolia, Polyalthia cerasoides, Annona squamosa, Annona reticulata,
Annona discolor, Annona muricata, Goniothalamus cardiopetalus, Mitrephora
heyneana and Uvaria narum of the family Annonaceae, Michelia doltospa,
Michelia champaca, Milliusa tomentosum, Cinnamomum spp., and Artabotrys
hexapetalus.

Distribution: Subspecies:
G. a. menides (Fruhstorfer, 1904): Kerala to Gujarat and W. Bengal.

76
Butterflies of Western Ghats: Dr. Raju Kasambe Family: Papilionidae 2016

Fivebar Swordtail Pathysa antiphates (Cramer, 1775)

UN by Anila Manalil

Wing span: 80–95mm.

Larval Host Plants:

Annona elegans, A. lawii, A. zeylanica, Uvaria sp. (Family Annonaceae).

Distribution: Subspecies:
G. a. alcibiades (Fabricius, 1787): Western Ghats as far north as Goa.

77
Butterflies of Western Ghats: Dr. Raju Kasambe Family: Papilionidae 2016

Spot Swordtail Graphium nomius (Esper, 1799)

UN by Raju Kasambe

Wing Span: 75-90mm.

Larval Host Plants:

Miliusa tomentosum, Miliusa velutina, Polyalthia longifolia and P. cerasoides
(Family Anonaceae).

Distribution: Subspecies:
G. n. nomius (Esper, 1799): Delhi; Rajasthan; Sikkim; Uttarakhand; Uttar Pradesh;
Bihar; throughout drier parts of Southern India to W. Bengal.

78
Butterflies of Western Ghats: Dr. Raju Kasambe Family: Papilionidae 2016

Common Mime Papilio clytia, Linnaeus, 1758

(Syn. Chilasa clytia)

Form clytia. by Jeevan Jose Form dissimilis by J.M. Garg

Wing span: 90–100mm.

Larval Host Plants:

Alseodaphne semecarpifolia, Cinnamomum camphora, Cinnamonum
macrocarpum, Cinnamomum verum, Litsea chinensis, Litsea deccansis,
Tetranthera apetala (family Lauraceae).

Distribution: Subspecies:
P. c. clytia Linnaeus, 1758: Throughout India except Jammu & Kashmir, Punjab
and Rajasthan, below 2750 m elevation.

79
Butterflies of Western Ghats: Dr. Raju Kasambe Family: Papilionidae 2016

Common Mormon Papilio polytes (Linnaeus, 1758)

Male by Varun Omanakuttan Female form romulus by Jeevan Jose

Female form stichius by Jeevan Jose Female form stichius by Raju Kasambe

Wing span: 90–100mm.

Larval Host Plants:

Aristolochia bracteolate, A. indica, A. tagala, A. griffithi, A. elegans, Thottea
siliquosa (family Aristolochiaceae).

Distribution: Subspecies:
P. p. romulus Cramer, [1775]: Throughout India below 2000 m elevation.

80
Butterflies of Western Ghats: Dr. Raju Kasambe Family: Papilionidae 2016

Malabar Raven Papilio dravidarum (Wood-Mason, 1880)

UP by Anila Manalil UN by Vinayaraj

Wing span: 80–120mm.

Larval Host Plants:

Glycosmis pentaphylla, Toddalia asiatica and Clausena heptaphylla (family
Rutaceae).

Distribution:
Western Ghats as far north as Goa.

Endemicity:
Endemic to Western Ghats.

81
Butterflies of Western Ghats: Dr. Raju Kasambe Family: Papilionidae 2016

Red Helen Papilio helenus (Linnaeus, 1758)

UN by Erin Silversmith UP by J.M. Garg

Wing span: 110–130mm.

Larval Host Plants:

Evodia sp., Glycosmis arborea, Toddalia asiatica, Zanthoxylum acanthopodium, Z.
rhetsa (Rutaceae).

Distribution: Subspecies:
P. h. daksha Hampson, 1889: Western Ghats south of Gujarat.

82
Butterflies of Western Ghats: Dr. Raju Kasambe Family: Papilionidae 2016

Blue Mormon Papilio polymnestor (Cramer, 1775)

UP by Raju Kasambe UN by Vinayraj

Wing span: 120–150mm.

Larval Host Plants:

Atalantia racemosa and Atalantia wightii, Glycosmis arborea, Paramigyna
monophylla, Citrus grandis, Citrus limon, other Citrus cultivars (Family
Rutaceae).

Endemicity:
Endemic to India and Sri Lanka.

Distribution:
P. p. polymnestor Cramer, [1775]: Peninsular India as far north asW. Bengal and
Bangladesh, to Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat.

Note: It is the ‘State butterfly’ of Maharashtra state.

83
Butterflies of Western Ghats: Dr. Raju Kasambe Family: Papilionidae 2016

Malabar Banded Swallowtail Papilio liomedon (Moore, 1875)

UP by Praveen J. UN by Kalyan Varma

Wing span: 90–100mm.

Larval Host Plants:

Acronychia laurifolia, A. pedunculata and Evodia roxburghiana (Family
Rutaceae).

Distribution:
Western Ghats as far north as Goa.

Endemicity:
Endemic to Western Ghats.

84
Butterflies of Western Ghats: Dr. Raju Kasambe Family: Papilionidae 2016

Lime Butterfly Papilio demoleus (Linnaeus, 1758)

Clockwise from left: Fresh specimen UN by Raju Kasambe; Fresh specimen UN by Raju
Kasambe and old specimen UN by Ravi Vaidyanathan

Wing span: 80–100mm.

Larval Host Plants:

Cultivated lime, orange and lemons (Family Rutaceae). C. aurantifolia, C. grandis,
C. limon, C. sinensis, Atalanta racemosa, Glycosmis pentaphylla, Glycosmis
arborea, Ruta graveolens, Bael Aegle marmelos, Curry Tree Murraya koenigii,
Chloroxylon swietenia, Acronychia pedunculata (Family Rutaceae). Ber Ziziphus
mauritiana (Family Rhamnaceae).

Distribution:
P. d. demoleus Linnaeus, 1758: Throughout India below 2000 m elevation.

85
Butterflies of Western Ghats: Dr. Raju Kasambe Family: Papilionidae 2016

Paris Peacock Papilio paris (Linnaeus, 1758)

UP by Aparajita Datta UN by J.M. Garg

Wing span: 90–140mm.

Larval Host Plants:

Citrus spp., Evodia roxburghiana, Toddalia asiatica, Zanthoxylum ovalifolium
(Family Rutaceae).

Distribution: Subspecies:
P. p. tamilana Moore, 1881: Western Ghats as far north as Maharashtra.

86
Butterflies of Western Ghats: Dr. Raju Kasambe Family: Papilionidae 2016

Common Banded Peacock Papilio crino (Fabricius, 1792)

UP by J.M. Garg UN by Kalyan Varma

Wing span: 80–100mm.

Larval Host Plants:

Satinwood tree Chloroxylon swietenia (Family Rutaceae).

Distribution:
Peninsular India as far north as West Bengal.

87
Butterflies of Western Ghats: Dr. Raju Kasambe Family: Papilionidae 2016

Malabar Banded Peacock Papilio buddha (Westwood, 1872)

UP by Vengolis UN by Vengolis

Wing span: 90–100mm.

Larval Host Plants:

Zanthoxylon rhetsa (Family Rutaceae).

Distribution:
Western Ghats as far north as Goa.

Endemicity:
Endemic to Western Ghats.

88
Butterflies of Western Ghats: Dr. Raju Kasambe Family: Papilionidae 2016

Common Rose Pachliopta aristolochiae (Fabricius, 1775)

UNUP by Raju Kasambe UN by Yathin S. Krishnappa

Wing span: 80–110mm.

Larval Host Plants:

Aristolochia bracteolate, A. indica, A. tagala, A. griffithi, A. elegans, Thottea
siliquosa (family Aristolochiaceae).

Distribution: Subspecies:
P. a. aristolochiae (Fabricius, 1775): Throughout India.

89
Butterflies of Western Ghats: Dr. Raju Kasambe Family: Papilionidae 2016

Malabar Rose Pachliopta pandiyana (Moore, 1881)

UN by Hariharan Subramanian UN by Hariharan Subramanian

Wing Span: 100–130mm.

Larval Host Plants:

Thottea siliquosa (family Aristolochiaceae).

Distribution:
Western Ghats south of Goa.

Endemicity:
Endemic to Western Ghats.

90
Butterflies of Western Ghats: Dr. Raju Kasambe Family: Papilionidae 2016

Crimson Rose Pachliopta hector (Linnaeus, 1758)

UP by Dr. Tarique Sani UN by Raju Kasambe

Wing span: 90–110mm.

.Larval Host Plants:

Aristolochia indica, A. bracteolata, and Thottea siliquosa (Family
Aristolochiaceae).

Distribution:
Peninsular India to W. Bengal. Straggler to the Andamans and Uttarakhand.

91
Butterflies of Western Ghats: Dr. Raju Kasambe Family: Papilionidae 2016

Southern Birdwing Troides minos (Cramer, 1779)

UP by Vengolis UN by Anila Manalil

Wing span: 140–190 mm.

Larval Host Plants:

Aristolochia indica, Aristolochia tagala and Thottea siliquosa (Creepers and
climbers of the family Aristolochiaceae).

Distribution:
Maharashtra to Kerala.

Endemicity:
Endemic to Western Ghats.

92
 Butterflies of Western Ghats: Dr. Raju Kasambe Family:: Pieridae 2016

Family Facts
Family Pieridae: Whites and Yellows

Most butterflies of the Family Pieridae are white or yellow in color, as the family's
common name suggests. They have black, red or orange markings.

Butterflies belonging to this family have following general features: 1) medium

size; 2) the tips of the legs, called the claws, are forked; 3) the forelegs of males
and females are full-sized and fully functional; and 4) many exhibit sexual
dimorphism, meaning that male and female butterflies of the same species look
different. Several species show seasonal variations, like dry season forms (DSF)
and wet season forms (WSF). They love basking in the sunlight with wings open,
hence majority are found in open country. Males of many species gather at wet
patches for mudpuddling.

Eggs are generally round and elongated, like a cylinder, and ribbed. They are laid
either singly or in batches. Caterpillars are generally green and without hairs or
spines. Pupae typically have both a cremaster and a silk girdle, and often are
pointed at the head. They are anchored at the tail.

93
 Butterflies of Western Ghats: Dr. Raju Kasambe Family:: Pieridae 2016

Indian Cabbage White Pieris canidia (Linnaeus, 1768)

UN by J.M. Garg UP by J.M. Garg

Wing span: 45–60mm.

Larval Host Plants:

Nasturtium spp., Rorippa dubia, Sisymbrium sp., Cabbage and related species
(Family Cruciferae).

Distribution:
P. c. canis Evans, 1912: Kerala; Tamil Nadu.

94
 Butterflies of Western Ghats: Dr. Raju Kasambe Family:: Pieridae 2016

Pioneer Anaphaeis aurota Fabricius, 1793

UN and UP by Raju Kasambe

Wing span: 40–55mm.

Larval Host Plants:

Capparis zeylanica, C. decidua, C. rheedi, C. sepiaria, C. spinosa, Maerua
oblongofolia, Cadaba fruticosa (Capparaceae).

Distribution:
Throughout India except north eastern states.

95
 Butterflies of Western Ghats: Dr. Raju Kasambe Family:: Pieridae 2016

Common Gull Cepora nerissa (Fabricius, 1775)

Clockwise from top left: Male UN, Male UP, Female UP and Female UN all by Raju Kasambe

Wing span: 40–65mm.

Larval Host Plants

Capparis spp. e.g., Capparis zeylanica.

Distribution: Subspecies:
C. n. evagete (Cramer, [1779]): Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Delhi, Goa,
Gujarat, Haryana, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra,
Odisha, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, W. Bengal.

96
 Butterflies of Western Ghats: Dr. Raju Kasambe Family:: Pieridae 2016

Lesser Gull Cepora nadina (Lucas, 1852)

UN by Aditya Joshi

Wing span: 55–65mm.

Larval Host Plants:

Capparis cleghornii, C. moonii, C. rheedii (Family Capparaceae).

Distribution: Subspecies:
C. n. remba (Moore, [1858]) Gujarat to Kerala.

97
 Butterflies of Western Ghats: Dr. Raju Kasambe Family:: Pieridae 2016

White Orange Tip Ixias marianne (Cramer, 1779)

Upper- UP Male; Lower: UP Female; Right side: UN. All by Raju Kasambe

Wing span: 50–55mm.

Larval Host Plants:

Capparis grandis, C. decidua, C. divaricata, C. sepiaria, Maerua oblongifolia,
Cadaba fruticosa (Family Capparaceae).

Distribution:
Throughout India excluding the North Eastern states and Jammu & Kashmir.

98
 Butterflies of Western Ghats: Dr. Raju Kasambe Family:: Pieridae 2016

Yellow Orange Tip Ixias pyrene Linnaeus, 1764

Upper- UP Male; Lower: UN; Right side: UP Yellow form. All by Raju Kasambe

Wing span: 50–70mm.

Larval Host Plants

Capparis decidua, C. divaricata, C. sepiaria,C. zeylanica (Family Capparaceae).

Distribution: Subspecies:
I. p. sesia (Fabricius, 1777): Throughout mainland India.

99
 Butterflies of Western Ghats: Dr. Raju Kasambe Family:: Pieridae 2016

Common Jezebel Delias eucharis (Drury, 1773)

UN by Raju Kasambe UNUP by Raju Kasambe

Wing span: 66–83mm.

Larval Host Plants:

Dendrophthoe falcata, Helicanthes elastica, Scurrula parasitica (Family
Loranthaceae), Viscum spp. (Family Viscaceae). The host plants are various
species of small parasitic shrubs such as Mistletoe or Loranthus which grow on
branches of woody trees.

Distribution:
Throughout India except Andaman & Nicobar Is., Lakshadweep.

100
 Butterflies of Western Ghats: Dr. Raju Kasambe Family:: Pieridae 2016

Painted Sawtooth Prioneris sita (C. & R. Felder, 1865)

UN by Kishen Das UN by Anila Manalil

Wing span: 80–90mm.

Larval Host Plants:

Capparis tenera, C. zeylanica (Family Capparaceae).

Endemicity: Endemic to South India and Sri Lanka.

Distribution:
Maharashtra to Kerala.

101
 Butterflies of Western Ghats: Dr. Raju Kasambe Family:: Pieridae 2016

Spot Puffin Appias lalage (Doubleday, 1842)

UN by Rahul K. Natu

Wing span: 55–80mm.

Larval Host Plants:

Data deficient.

Distribution:
A. l. lalage (Doubleday, 1842): Uttarakhand to N.E. India; Kerala, Tamil Nadu.

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Plain Puffin Appias indra (Moore, 1857)

UN Male and UN Female both photos by Sagar Sarang

Wing span: 60–70mm.

Larval Host Plants:

Drypetes oblongifolia and Putranjiva roxburghii, family Putranjivaceae.

Distribution: Subspecies:
A. i. shiva (Swinhoe, 1885): Goa, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu.

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Striped Albatross Appias libythea (Fabricius, 1775)

Clockwise from top left: Female UN and Female UP, Male UP and Male UN all by Raju
Kasambe

Wing span: 50–60mm.

Larval Host Plants:

Capparis cleghornii, C. sepiaria, C. zeylanica, Crateva adansonii (Family
Capparaceae).

Distribution: Subspecies: A. l. libythea (Fabricius, 1775): Rajasthan eastwards to

Odisha and southwards to Kerala; Andaman & Nicobar Is., Punjab, Uttar Pradesh,
Uttarakhand.
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Common Albatross Appias albina (Boisduval, 1836)

Male UN by Kishen Das Female UN by Vijay Barve

Wing span: 60–75mm.

Larval Host Plants:

Drypetes oblongifolia, Drypetes roxburghii and Drypetes venusta (Family
Euphorbiaceae).

Distribution: Subspecies:
A. a. darada (C. & R. Felder, [1865]): Uttarakhand to N.E. India; Maharashtra to
Kerala, Odisha.

Subspecies:
A. a. swinhoei (Moore, 1905): Gujarat to Kerala; Madhya Pradesh, Odisha.

105
 Butterflies of Western Ghats: Dr. Raju Kasambe Family:: Pieridae 2016

Chocolate Albatross Appias lyncida (Cramer, 1777)

UN and UP

UN by Nandish Songire UP by Raju Kasambe

Wing span: 55–70mm.

Larval Host Plants:

Crataeva religiosa, Capparis roxburghii, C. cleghornii, and C. heyneana (Family
Capparaceae).

Distribution: Subspecies:
A. l. latifasciata Moore, 1881: Maharashtra to Kerala.

106
 Butterflies of Western Ghats: Dr. Raju Kasambe Family:: Pieridae 2016

Psyche Leptosia nina (Fabricius, 1793)

UN and UP by Raju Kasambe

Wing span: 35–50mm.

Larval Host Plants:

Cleome viscosa (Family Cleomaceae), Capers e.g. Capparis zeylanica, C. rheedii,
C. sepiaria, C. spinosa, Crataeva adansonii (Family Capparaceae).

Distribution: Subspecies:
L. n. nina (Fabricius, 1793): Throughout India east of Punjab, including the
Andaman Is.

107
 Butterflies of Western Ghats: Dr. Raju Kasambe Family:: Pieridae 2016

Great Orange Tip Hebomoia glaucippe (Linnaeus, 1758)

UP and UN by Raju Kasambe

Wing span: 80–100mm.

Larval Host Plants:

Crataeva religiosa, Capparis monii, Capparis roxburghii, Capparis cantoniensis
and Capparis sepiaria (Family Capparaceae).

Distribution:
Subspecies: H. g. australis Butler, 1898: Gujarat to Kerala.

108
 Butterflies of Western Ghats: Dr. Raju Kasambe Family:: Pieridae 2016

Small Salmon Arab Colotis amata (Cramer, 1775)

UN and UP by Raju Kasambe

Wing span: 35–50mm.

Larval Host Plants:

Toothbrush Tree Salvadora persica (also called Meswak), Pilu S. oleoides, Azima
tetracantha (Family Salvadoraceae).

Distribution: Subspecies:
C. a. amata (Fabricius, 1775): Delhi; Gujarat; Haryana; Maharashtra; Punjab;
Rajasthan; Uttar Pradesh.

Subspecies:
C. a. modestus (Butler, 1876): Andhra Pradesh; Karnataka; Kerala; Odisha; Tamil
Nadu; W. Bengal.

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 Butterflies of Western Ghats: Dr. Raju Kasambe Family:: Pieridae 2016

White Arab Colotis phisadia (Godart, 1819)

UP and UN by Raju Kasambe

Wing span: 40–50mm.

Larval Host Plants:

Salvadora spp. (Family Salvadoraceae).

Distribution:
C. p. vestalis (Butler, 1876): Delhi, Haryana, Gujarat, Punjab, Rajasthan, Uttar
Pradesh.

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 Butterflies of Western Ghats: Dr. Raju Kasambe Family:: Pieridae 2016

Large Salmon Arab Colotis fausta (Olivier, 1804)

UP and UN by Dr. M. S. Mayilavahanan

Wing span: 40–50mm.

Larval Host Plants:

Maerua oblongifolia (Hindi: Hemkand, Telangana: Bhoochakra Gadda and
Andhra: Bhoochakra dumpa) (Family Capparaceae).

Distribution: Subspecies:
C. f. fausta (Olivier, 1804): Delhi, Haryana, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh,
Maharashtra, Punjab, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh.

Subspecies:
C. f. fulvia (Wallace, 1867): Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu.

111
 Butterflies of Western Ghats: Dr. Raju Kasambe Family:: Pieridae 2016

Little (Small) Orange-Tip Colotis etrida (Boisduval, 1836)

UP and UN by Raju Kasambe

Wing span: 25–45mm.

Larval Host Plants:

The Toothbrush Tree Salvadora persica (also called Meswak), Pilu Salvadora
oleiodes, and Indian Cadaba (Cadaba indica).

Distribution:
C. e. etrida (Boisduval, 1876): Andhra Pradesh, Delhi, Goa, Gujarat, Haryana,
Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Punjab,
Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand.

112
 Butterflies of Western Ghats: Dr. Raju Kasambe Family:: Pieridae 2016

Plain Orange Tip Colotis aurora (Cramer, [1780])

(Syn. Colotis eucharis Fabricius, 1775)

Clockwise from left: UN, UP Male and UP Female all by Dattaprasad Sawant

Wing span: 40–45mm.

Larval Host Plants:

Indian Cadaba Cadaba fruticosa (Family Capparaceae).

Distribution:
C. a. aurora (Cramer, [1780]): Goa; Gujarat; Karnataka; Kerala, Madhya Pradesh,
Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu.
113
 Butterflies of Western Ghats: Dr. Raju Kasambe Family:: Pieridae 2016

Crimson Tip Colotis danae (Fabricius, 1775)

Clockwise from left: UN by J. M. Garg, UP Male by Raju Kasambe, UP Female by Chinmayi

S.K.

Wing span: 40–50mm.

Larval Host Plants:

Indian Cadaba Cadaba fruticosa, Capparis divaricata, C. sepiaria, Maerua
oblongifolia (Hindi: Hemkand, Telangana: Bhoochakra Gadda and Andhra:
Bhoochakra dumpa) (Family Capparaceae).

Distribution:
C. d. danae (Fabricius, 1775): Goa, Gujarat, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh,
Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu.

114
 Butterflies of Western Ghats: Dr. Raju Kasambe Family:: Pieridae 2016

Dark Wanderer Pareronia ceylanica (C. & R. Felder, 1865)

UP by Saish Borkar

Wing span: 65–80mm.

Larval Host Plant: Capparis heyneana.

Endemicity: Endemic to Western Ghats and Sri Lanka.

Distribution:
Subspecies: P. c. ceylanica (C. & R. Felder, 1865): Goa to Kerala.

115
 Butterflies of Western Ghats: Dr. Raju Kasambe Family:: Pieridae 2016

Common Wanderer Pareronia valeria (Cramer, 1776)

Left: UP Male, right UP Female by Raju Kasambe

Left: UP female Philomela form by Dr. Amol Patwardhan and right UN Male by Raju Kasambe

Wing span: 65–85mm.

Larval Host Plants:

Capparis zeylanica, C. rheedii (Family Capparaceae).

Distribution:
P. v. hippia (Fabricius, 1787): Throughout India except Jammu & Kashmir, Punjab
and Rajasthan.
116
 Butterflies of Western Ghats: Dr. Raju Kasambe Family:: Pieridae 2016

Common Emigrant Catopsilia pomona (Fabricius, 1775)

Male UN and Female form catilla by Raju Kasambe

Female UN by Raju Kasambe Female UN by J.M. Garg

Wing span: 55–80mm.

Larval Host Plants:

Species of Cassia. Other host plants include Palash or Flame of the Forest Butea
monosperma (Family Fabaceae), Cassia fistula, C. tora, C. siamea, Bidi Leaf Tree
Bauhinia racemosa (Marathi: Apta) (Family Caesalpiniaceae), Pterocarpus
indicus, Senna alata and Sesbania species (Family Fabaceae).

Distribution:
Throughout India.

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 Butterflies of Western Ghats: Dr. Raju Kasambe Family:: Pieridae 2016

Mottled Emigrant Catopsilia pyranthe (Linnaeus, 1758)

UN by Raju Kasambe

Wing span: 50–70mm.

Larval Host Plants:

Cassia spp. (e.g., C. fistula, C. auriculata, C. occidentalis, C. tora (Family
Caesalpiniaceae), Sesbania bispinosa (Family Fabaceae).

Distribution:
Throughout India.

118
 Butterflies of Western Ghats: Dr. Raju Kasambe Family:: Pieridae 2016

Small Grass Yellow Eurema brigitta (Stoll, [1780])

UN by Raju Kasambe

Wing span: 30–40mm.

Larval Host Plants:

Cassia cleinii (Family Caesalpiniaceae), Smithia sensitiva, Chamaecrista
mimosoides (Family Fabaceae).

Distribution:
E. b. rubella (Wallace, 1867): Throughout India including the Andaman and
Nicobar Is.

119
 Butterflies of Western Ghats: Dr. Raju Kasambe Family:: Pieridae 2016

Spotless Grass Yellow Eurema laeta (Boisduval, 1836)

WSF UN by Raju Kasambe DSF UN by Vedant Kasambe

Wing span: 30–45mm.

Larval Host Plants:

Cassia pumila (Family Caesalpiniaceae), Chamaecrista mimosoides (Family
Fabaceae).

Distribution: Subspecies:
E. l. laeta (Boisduval, 1836): Throughout India, west of Sikkim and West Bengal.

120
 Butterflies of Western Ghats: Dr. Raju Kasambe Family:: Pieridae 2016

One-Spot Grass Yellow Eurema andersoni Moore, 1886

UN by Raju Kasambe

Wing span: 38-45mm.

Larval Host Plants:

Data deficient.

Distribution: Subspecies:
E. a. shimai Yata & Gaonkar, 1999: Karnataka; Kerala; Tamil Nadu.

121
 Butterflies of Western Ghats: Dr. Raju Kasambe Family:: Pieridae 2016

Common Grass Yellow Eurema hecabe (Linnaeus, 1758)

UN by Raju Kasambe UN by L. Shyamal

Wing span: 40–50mm.

Larval Host Plants:

Abrus precatorius, Aeschynomene spp. (A. americana, A. indica), Calliandra
haematocephala, Senna alata, Sesbania sesban, Smithia sensitiva, Caesalpinia
spp. (C. pulcherrima, C. sappan, C. haematocephala) (Family Fabaceae). Cassia
fistula, Gulmohar Delonix regia (Family Caesalpiniaceae), Acacia spp.,
Pithecellobium dulce, Albizzia spp. (A. procera), (Family Mimosaceae).

Distribution:
E. h. hecabe (Linnaeus, 1758): Throughout India, including the Andaman and
Nicobar Islands.

122
 Butterflies of Western Ghats: Dr. Raju Kasambe Family:: Pieridae 2016

Three-spot Grass Yellow Eurema blanda (Boisduval, 1836)

UN by Vengolis UN by Raju Kasambe

Wing span: 40–45mm.

Larval Host Plants:

Cassia spp., Gulmohar Delonix regia, Moulluva spicata (Family Caesalpiniaceae),
Albizia spp., Pithecellobium dulce (Family Mimosaceae).

Distribution: Subspecies:
E. b. davidsoni Moore, 1906: Gujarat to Kerala.

123
 Butterflies of Western Ghats: Dr. Raju Kasambe Family:: Pieridae 2016

Nilgiri Clouded Yellow Colias nilagiriensis (C. & R. Felder, 1859)

UN by Anila Manalil

Wing span: 45–55mm.

Larval Host Plants:

Parochetus communis (Family Fabaceae).

Distribution:
Kerala; Tamil Nadu.

Endemicity: Endemic to Western Ghats.

124
 Butterflies of Western Ghats: Dr. Raju Kasambe Family: Lycaenidae 2016

Family Facts
Lycaenidae: Blues
Most butterflies belonging to the family Lycaenidae has blue uppersides. The
butterflies are generally characterized by: 1) small size, 2) reduced forelegs in
males but full-sized forelegs in females; thus they use only the remaining four legs.
Females have normal six legs. 3) A slightly different pattern of wing veins.

Many of the blues have lobes to their hind wings. Many have short or long fluffy
tails to their hind wings.

Eggs generally appear round and flattened like turbans. Caterpillars generally are
small, shaped like slugs, and hairy. The caterpillars of many of the species of
blues have a dorsal secretory organ which produces a sugary solution which
attracts to ants. The ants feed on the solution and in turn protect the caterpillar
from predators (a symbiotic behavior referred to as "tending"). Pupae are
generally small and round, may have a silk girdle, and are located near or on the
ground. Generally no cocoon is formed.

Caterpillars of some species of Lycaenidae are insectivorous, feeding on aphids or

scale insects.

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 Butterflies of Western Ghats: Dr. Raju Kasambe Family: Lycaenidae 2016

Two-spot Plum Judy Abisara bifasciata Moore, 1877

(Syn. Plum Judy)

UN and UP by Raju Kasambe

Wing span: 40–50 mm.

Larval Host Plants:

Distribution: Subspecies:
A. b. suffusa Moore, 1882. Gujarat southwards to Karnataka and Tamil Nadu and
eastwards to West Bengal; Himachal Pradesh to N.E. India.

Note: The similar looking Plum Judy Abisara echerius (Stoll, 1790) (Syn. Straight
Plum Judy) (Subspecies: A. e. prunosa Moore, 1879) is distributed across Kerala
and Tamil Nadu in Southern Western Ghats. It has a Wing span of 40–50 mm. It’s
larval host plants are Ardisia spp., Maesa indica and Embelia robusta, R. laeta
(family Primulaceae).

126
 Butterflies of Western Ghats: Dr. Raju Kasambe Family: Lycaenidae 2016

Dark Mottle Logania distanti Semper, 1889.

UN by Raju Kasambe

Wing span: 20–25 mm.

Larval Host Plants:

Data deficient.

Distribution:
L. d. massalia Doherty, 1891. Karnataka. Sikkim to N.E. India.

127
 Butterflies of Western Ghats: Dr. Raju Kasambe Family: Lycaenidae 2016

Common Apefly Spalgis epius (Westwood, 1852)

UN by Aditya Joshi UP by Sanket Mhatre

Wing span: 20–30 mm.

Larval Host Plants:

Feeds on scale insects and mealy bugs. Do not feed on plants. Caterpillars are
carnivorous.

Distribution: Subspecies:
S. e. epius (Westwood, 1852): Uttarakhand to N.E. India; Gujarat to Kerala and
east to W. Bengal.

128
 Butterflies of Western Ghats: Dr. Raju Kasambe Family: Lycaenidae 2016

Red Pierrot Talicada nyseus (Guérin-Meneville, 1843)

UN Raju Kasambe UP by Ravi Vaidyanathan

Wing span: 30–35 mm.

Larval Host Plants:

Kalanchoe laciniata and K. pinnata (Syn. Bryophyllum pinnatum) (Family
Crassulaceae).

Distribution: Subspecies:
T. n. nyseus (Guerin-Meneville, 1843): Maharashtra to Kerala, eastward to Andhra
Pradesh; Himachal Pradesh; Uttarakhand; Uttar Pradesh; Delhi.

129
 Butterflies of Western Ghats: Dr. Raju Kasambe Family: Lycaenidae 2016

Common Pierrot Castalius rosimon (Fabricius, 1775)

UN and UP by Raju Kasambe

Wing span: 24–34 mm.

Larval Host Plants:

Ziziphus jujuba, Z. mauritiana, Z. rugosa (Family Rhamnaceae).

Distribution:
C. r. rosimon (Fabricius, 1775): Throughout India including Andaman & Nicobar
Is.

130
 Butterflies of Western Ghats: Dr. Raju Kasambe Family: Lycaenidae 2016

Dark Pierrot Tarucus ananda (de Nicéville, 1884)

UN by Raju Kasambe UP by Chinmayi S.K.

Wing span: 22–28 mm.

Larval Host Plants:

Zizyphus spp. (Family Rhamnaceae).

Distribution:
Maharashtra to Kerala; Sikkim to N.E. India.

131
 Butterflies of Western Ghats: Dr. Raju Kasambe Family: Lycaenidae 2016

Angled Pierrot Caleta decidia (Hewitson, 1876)

UN by Raju Kasambe

Wing span: 26–32 mm.

Larval Host Plants:

Zizyphus rugosa (Family Rhamnaceae).

Distribution:
C. d. decidia (Hewitson, 1876): Peninsular India; Sikkim to N.E. India.

132
 Butterflies of Western Ghats: Dr. Raju Kasambe Family: Lycaenidae 2016

Banded Blue Pierrot Discolampa ethion (Westwood, 1851)

UN by Raju Kasambe

Wing span: 26–30 mm.

Larval Host Plants:

Zizyphus spp. (Family Rhamnaceae).

Distribution:
Subspecies: D. e. ethion (Westwood, 1851): Andaman & Nicobar Is. (Andamans);
Gujarat to Kerala; Uttarakhand to N.E. India.

133
 Butterflies of Western Ghats: Dr. Raju Kasambe Family: Lycaenidae 2016

Spotted Pierrot Tarucus callinara Butler, 1886

UN by Raju Kasambe

Wing span: 24–26 mm.

Larval Host Plants:

Ber or Indian Plum Ziziphus mauritiana (Family Rhamnaceae).

Distribution:
Goa to Kerala; Himachal Pradesh to West Bengal and Chhattisgarh.

134
 Butterflies of Western Ghats: Dr. Raju Kasambe Family: Lycaenidae 2016

Striped Pierrot Tarucus nara (Kollar, 1848)

UN and UP by Raju Kasambe

Wing span: 23–28 mm.

Larval Host Plants:

Ber or Indian Plum Ziziphus mauritiana, Z. nummularia (Family Rhamnaceae).

Distribution:
Throughout India excluding Jammu & Kashmir; Rajasthan and N.E. India.

135
 Butterflies of Western Ghats: Dr. Raju Kasambe Family: Lycaenidae 2016

Black-spotted Pierrot Tarucus balkanicus (Freyer, 1844)

(Syn. Balkan Pierrot)

UN and UP by Raju Kasambe

Wing span: 23–28 mm.

Larval Host Plants:

Ziziphus jujuba, Z. nummularia (Family Rhamnaceae).

Distribution:
T. b. nigra Bethune-Baker, [1918]: India north of Maharashtra to West Bengal.

136
 Butterflies of Western Ghats: Dr. Raju Kasambe Family: Lycaenidae 2016

Zebra Blue Leptotes plinius (Fabricius, 1793)

UN and UP by Raju Kasambe

Wing span: 22–30 mm.

Larval Host Plants:

Albizia lebbeck, Indigofera suffruticosa, Sesbania bispinosa, S. sesban, Dalbergia
lanceolaria (Family Fabaceae), Mimosa spp. (Family Mimosaceae), Dyerophytum
indicum, Plumbago zeylanica, P. indica (Family Plumbaginaceae).

Distribution:
Throughout India except Jammu & Kashmir.

137
 Butterflies of Western Ghats: Dr. Raju Kasambe Family: Lycaenidae 2016

Bright Babul Blue Azanus ubaldus (Stoll, [1782])

UN by Raju Kasambe

Wing span: 20–25 mm.

Larval Host Plants:

Wattle Acacia arabica, Kher A. catechu, Babul A. nilotica, A. senegal (Family
Mimosaceae).

Distribution:
Throughout India except the N.E. states.

138
 Butterflies of Western Ghats: Dr. Raju Kasambe Family: Lycaenidae 2016

Dull Babul Blue Azanus uranus Butler, 1886

UN by Raju Kasambe

Wing span: 20–25 mm.

Larval Host Plants:

The Wattle Acacia arabica, Kher A. catechu, Babul A. nilotica, A. senegal, A.
farnesiana, A. modesta (Family Mimosaceae).

Distribution:
Throughout India except the N.E. states.

139
 Butterflies of Western Ghats: Dr. Raju Kasambe Family: Lycaenidae 2016

African Babul Blue Azanus jesous (Guérin–Méneville, 1849)

UN by Raju Kasambe

Wing span: 21–26 mm.

Larval Host Plants:

The Wattle Acacia arabica, Kher A. catechu, Babul A. nilotica, A. senegal, A.
leucophloea (Family Mimosaceae).

Distribution:
A. j. gamra (Lederer, 1855): India except east of W. Bengal.

140
 Butterflies of Western Ghats: Dr. Raju Kasambe Family: Lycaenidae 2016

Quaker Neopithecops zalmora (Butler 1870)

UN by Raju Kasambe

Wing span: 16–30 mm.

Larval Host Plants:

Glycosmis pentaphylla (Family Rutaceae).

Distribution: N. z. dharma (Moore, [1881]): Gujarat to Kerala.

141
 Butterflies of Western Ghats: Dr. Raju Kasambe Family: Lycaenidae 2016

Malayan Megisba malaya (Horsfield, 1828)

UN by Raju Kasambe

Wing span: 19–30 mm.

Larval Host Plants:

Allophyllus cobbe (Family Sapindaceae), Kumkum tree Mallotus
philippensis (Family Euphorbiaceae)

Distribution: Subspecies:
M. m. thwaitesi Moore, [1881]: Maharashtra to Kerala; Sikkim; South India toWest
Bengal. Single record from Arunachal Pradesh.

142
 Butterflies of Western Ghats: Dr. Raju Kasambe Family: Lycaenidae 2016

Common Hedge Blue Acytolepis puspa (Horsfield, 1828)

WSF UN by L. Shyamal DSF UN by Raju Kasambe

Wing span: 28–35 mm.

Larval Host Plants:

Paracalyx scariosus, Xylia xylocarpa, Peltophorum pterocarpum, Gliricidia
sepium (Family Fabaceae), Hiptage benghalensis (Family Malpighiaceae),
Schleichera oleosa, Lepisanthes tetraphylla (Family Sapindaceae), Bridelia retusa
(Family Euphorbiaceae).

Distribution: Subspecies:
A. p. felderi Toxopeus, 1927: Gujarat to Kerala.

143
 Butterflies of Western Ghats: Dr. Raju Kasambe Family: Lycaenidae 2016

White Hedge Blue Udara akasa (Horsfield, 1828)

UN by Dhaval Momaya

Wing span: 26–30 mm.

Larval Host Plants:

Chinese Knotweed Persicaria chinensis (Syn. Polygonum chinense)(Family
Polygonaceae).

Distribution:
U. a. mavisa (Fruhstorfer, 1917): Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu.

144
 Butterflies of Western Ghats: Dr. Raju Kasambe Family: Lycaenidae 2016

Plain Hedge Blue Celastrina lavendularis (Moore, 1877)

UN by Anila Manalil

Wing span: 28–34 mm.

Larval Host Plants:

Data deficient.

Distribution: Subspecies:
C. l. lavendularis (Moore, 1877): Karnataka; Kerala and Tamil Nadu.

145
 Butterflies of Western Ghats: Dr. Raju Kasambe Family: Lycaenidae 2016

Lime Blue Chilades lajus (Stoll, [1780])

Clockwise from left: WSF UN and DSF UN by Raju Kasambe. UP Female by Sneha

Wing span: 26–30 mm.

Larval Host Plants:

Species of lime and orange like Citrus aurantifolia, C. maxima (Syn. C. grandis),
C. limon, C. sinensis, C. limetta, Atlantia racemosa, A. wightii, Orange Jasmine
Murraya paniculata, Naringi crenulata (Family Rutaceae).

Distribution:
C. l. lajus (Stoll, [1780]): Throughout India.

146
 Butterflies of Western Ghats: Dr. Raju Kasambe Family: Lycaenidae 2016

Indian Cupid Everes lacturnus (Godart, 1824)

UN by Raju Kasambe

Wing span: 22–28 mm.

Larval Host Plants:

Desmodium spp, Trifolium spp. (Family Fabaceae).

Distribution: Subspecies:
E. l. syntala Cantlie, 1963: Gujarat southwards to Andhra Pradesh and Kerala.

147
 Butterflies of Western Ghats: Dr. Raju Kasambe Family: Lycaenidae 2016

Small Cupid Chilades parrhasius (Fabricius, 1793)

UN and UP (female) by Raju Kasambe

Wing span: 20–25 mm.

Larval Host Plants:

Bell Mimosa Dichrostachys cinerea (Family Fabaceae).

Distribution:
C. p. parrhasius (Fabricius 1793): Rajasthan to Kerala; eastwards to Uttar Pradesh;
Himachal; Pradesh and Uttarakhand.

148
 Butterflies of Western Ghats: Dr. Raju Kasambe Family: Lycaenidae 2016

Dark Grass Blue Zizeeria karsandra (Moore, 1865)

Clockwise from left UN, Male UP, Female UP by Raju Kasambe

Wing span: 18–24 mm.

Larval Host Plants:

Amaranthus spinosus (Family Amaranthaceae), Glinus lotoides (Family
Molluginaceae), Zornia gibbosa (Family Fabaceae), Polygonum plebeium (Family
Polygonaceae), Tribulus terrestris (Family Zygophyllaceae).
Distribution:
Throughout India; Andaman and Nicobar Is.

149
 Butterflies of Western Ghats: Dr. Raju Kasambe Family: Lycaenidae 2016

Lesser Grass Blue Zizina otis (Fabricius, 1787)

Clockwise from left: UN by Raju Kasambe, UP male by Jeevan Jose, UP female by Raju
Kasambe

Wing span: 19–26 mm.

Larval Host Plants:

Desmodium heterophyllum, Sesbania bispinosa, Lathyrus spp., Vicia spp. (Family
Fabaceae).

Distribution:
Z. o. indica (Murray, 1874): Throughout India as far east as Jharkhand.

150
 Butterflies of Western Ghats: Dr. Raju Kasambe Family: Lycaenidae 2016

Pale Grass Blue Pseudozizeeria maha (Kollar, 1844)

UN and Male UP by Raju Kasambe

Wing span: 26–30 mm.

Larval Host Plants:

Oxalis corniculata (Family Oxalidaceae), Tephrosia spp. (Family Fabaceae),
Strobilanthes spp. (Family Acanthaceae).

Distribution: Subspecies:
P. m. ossa (Swinhoe 1885): Maharashtra to Kerala and Andhra Pradesh.

151
 Butterflies of Western Ghats: Dr. Raju Kasambe Family: Lycaenidae 2016

Tiny Grass Blue Zizula hylax (Fabricius, 1775)

UN by Raju Kasambe

Wing span: 16–22 mm.

Larval Host Plants:

Lantana camara (Family Verbenaceae), Ruellia simplex, R. tuberosa,
Dipteracanthus prostratus, Hygrophila auriculata, Nelsonia canescens, Phaulopsis
dorsiflora, P. imbricata, Strobilanthes spp. (Family Acanthaceae), Vicia spp.
(Family Fabaceae).

Distribution:
Throughout India; Andaman and Nicobar Is..

152
 Butterflies of Western Ghats: Dr. Raju Kasambe Family: Lycaenidae 2016

Grass Jewel Freyeria trochylus (Freyer, 1845)

UN and UP by Raju Kasambe

Wing span: 15–22 mm.

Larval Host Plants:

Goniogyna hirta, Heliotropium strigosum, Indigofera spp., Lotus corniculatus,
Pisum sativum, Rhynchosia minima, Vicia spp. (Family Fabaceae), Heliotropium
strigosum, Heliotropium bacciferum, Oxalis corniculata (Family Oxalidaceae).

Distribution:
S. India; N. India from Punjab to N.E. India.

153
 Butterflies of Western Ghats: Dr. Raju Kasambe Family: Lycaenidae 2016

Gram Blue Euchrysops cnejus (Fabricius, 1798)

Clockwise from left: UN by Raju Kasambe, Male UP by Jeevan Jose, Female Up by Anila
Manalil

Wing span: 25–33 mm.

Larval Host Plants:

Palash Butea monosperma, Ougeinia dalbergioides, Paracalyx scariosa, Pea
Pisum sativum, Vigna cylindrica, V. trilobata, cultivated grams and beans (Family
Fabaceae), Acacia spp. (Family Mimosaseae).

Distribution:
Throughout India.

154
 Butterflies of Western Ghats: Dr. Raju Kasambe Family: Lycaenidae 2016

Plains Cupid Luthrodes pandava (Horsfield, [1829])

(Syn. Chilades pandava (Horsfield, 1829)

UN by Raju Kasambe UP by Sneha

Wing span: 25–33 mm.

Larval Host Plants:

Cycas circinalis, Cycas revoluta (Family Cycadaceae), Acacia spp., Xylia
xylocarpa (Mimosaceae).

Distribution:
Throughout India.

155
 Butterflies of Western Ghats: Dr. Raju Kasambe Family: Lycaenidae 2016

Common Ciliate Blue Anthene emolus (Godart, 1824)

UN by Rohith Sanjay

Wing span: 28–35 mm.

Larval Host Plants:

Saraca asoca (Family Caesalpiniaceae), Combretum extensum, Terminalia
paniculata (Family Combretaceae).

Distribution: Subspecies:
A. e. emolus (Godart, 1824): Bihar; Sikkim; Maharashtra southwards to Kerala and
eastwards to West Bengal and N.E. India.

156
 Butterflies of Western Ghats: Dr. Raju Kasambe Family: Lycaenidae 2016

Pointed Ciliate Blue Anthene lycaenina (C. Felder, 1868)

Clockwise from left: UN, UP male and UP female by Raju Kasambe

Wing span: 24–29 mm.

Larval Host Plants:

Buchanania lanzan, Bridelia retusa, Drypetes roxburghii.

Distribution: Subspecies:
A. l. lycaenina (Felder, 1868): Gujarat southwards to Kerala and eastwards to
Odisha and W. Bengal.

157
 Butterflies of Western Ghats: Dr. Raju Kasambe Family: Lycaenidae 2016

Forget-me-not Catochrysops strabo (Fabricius, 1793)

Clockwise from left UN, UP Female and UP Male by Raju Kasambe

Wing span: 25–35 mm.

Larval Host Plants:

Ougeinia dalbergioides, Cylista scariosa, Desmodium elegans, cultivated legumes
(family Fabaceae), Schleichera trijuga (Family Sapindaceae).

Distribution:
C. s. strabo (Fabricius, 1793): Throughout India including Andaman & Nicobar Is.

158
 Butterflies of Western Ghats: Dr. Raju Kasambe Family: Lycaenidae 2016

Silver Forget-me-not Catachrysops panormus (C. Felder, 1860)

UN by Parixit Kafley UP by Parixit Kafley

Wing span: 25–35 mm.

Larval Host Plants:

Cultivated legumes (Family Leguminoseae).

Distribution: Subspecies:
C. p. exiguus (Distant, 1886): Karnataka to Kerala; Sikkim to N.E. India.

159
 Butterflies of Western Ghats: Dr. Raju Kasambe Family: Lycaenidae 2016

Pea Blue Lampides boeticus (Linnaeus, 1767)

UP and UN female by Raju Kasambe

Wing span: 24–36 mm.

Larval Host Plants:

Palash Butea monosperma, Crotalaria spp., Pea Pisum sativum, Cowpea Vigna
sinensis, cultivated peas and beans (Family Fabaceae).

Distribution:
Throughout India including Andaman & Nicobar Is.

160
 Butterflies of Western Ghats: Dr. Raju Kasambe Family: Lycaenidae 2016

Dark Cerulean Jamides bochus (Stoll, 1782)

UN by Raju Kasambe

Wing span: 25–34 mm.

Larval Host Plants:

Palash Butea monosperma, Crotalaria spp., Pongamia pinnata (Family Fabaceae),
Xylia spp. (Family Mimosaceae).

Distribution: Subspecies:
J. b. bochus (Stoll, [1882]): Andaman & Nicobar Is. (Andamans); throughout
India.

161
 Butterflies of Western Ghats: Dr. Raju Kasambe Family: Lycaenidae 2016

Common Cerulean Jamides celeno (Cramer, 1775)

UN

UN WSF and UN DSF by Raju Kasambe

Wing span: 27–40 mm.

Larval Host Plants:

Saraca asoka (Family Caesalpiniaceae), Abrus precatorius, Butea monosperma,
Phaseolus adenanthus, Pongamia pinnata (Family Fabaceae), Xylia xylocarpa
(Family Mimosaceae), Trichilia connaroides (Family Meliaceae), Elettaria
cardamomum (Family Zingiberaceae).

Distribution: Subspecies:
J. c. aelianus (Fabricius, 1793): Gujarat south to Kerala and eastward to West
Bengal; Uttarakhand to N.E. India.

162
 Butterflies of Western Ghats: Dr. Raju Kasambe Family: Lycaenidae 2016

Large Four-Lineblue Nacaduba pactolus (C. Felder, 1860)

UN by Ashok Sengupta

Wing span: 27–38 mm.

Larval Host Plants:

Entada spp. (Family Fabaceae).

Distribution: Subspecies:
N. p. continentalis Fruhstorfer, 1916: Sikkim to N.E. India; Maharashtra to Kerala.

163
 Butterflies of Western Ghats: Dr. Raju Kasambe Family: Lycaenidae 2016

Transparent Six-Lineblue Nacaduba kurava (Moore, 1858)

UN By L. Shyamal UN by J.M. Garg

Wing span: 30–38 mm.

Larval Host Plants:

Ardisia humilis, Embelia robusta (Family Myrsinaceae)), Waltheria indica (Family
Sterculiaceae).

Distribution:
Subspecies: N. k. canaraica Toxopeus,1927: Gujarat to Kerala.

164
 Butterflies of Western Ghats: Dr. Raju Kasambe Family: Lycaenidae 2016

Common Lineblue Prosotas nora (C. Felder, 1860)

UN and UP by Raju Kasambe

Wing span: 18–25 mm.

Larval Host Plants:

Kher Acacia catechu, A. tora, Mimosa spp., Pithecellobium dulce (Family
Mimosaceae).

Distribution: Subspecies:
P. n. nora (C. Felder, 1860): Throughout India except arid regions.

165
 Butterflies of Western Ghats: Dr. Raju Kasambe Family: Lycaenidae 2016

Tailless Lineblue Prosotas dubiosa (Semper, 1879)

UN by Raju Kasambe

Wing span: 22–26 mm.

Larval Host Plants:

Acacia spp., Mimosa pudica, Leucaena spp. (Family Mimosaceae).

Distribution:
P. d. indica (Evans, [1925]): India including Andaman & Nicobar Is. (Andamans).

166
 Butterflies of Western Ghats: Dr. Raju Kasambe Family: Lycaenidae 2016

White-tipped Lineblue Prosotas noreia (R. Felder, 1868)

UN by Divakar Thombre

Wing span: 22–28 mm.

Larval Host Plants:

Data deficient.

Distribution:
P. n. hampsoni (de Niceville, 1885): Peninsular India as far north as Maharashtra;
Uttarakhand to N.E.India.

167
 Butterflies of Western Ghats: Dr. Raju Kasambe Family: Lycaenidae 2016

Dingy Lineblue Petrelaea dana (De Nicéville, 1884)

UN by Raju Kasambe

Wing span: 24–28 mm.

Larval Host Plants:

Data deficient.

Distribution:
Uttarakhand to N.E. India; Maharashtra to Kerala; Jharkhand and Andaman Is.

168
 Butterflies of Western Ghats: Dr. Raju Kasambe Family: Lycaenidae 2016

Indian Sunbeam Curetis thetis (Drury, 1773)

Clockwise from left: UN, UP Male and UP Female by Raju Kasambe

Wing span: 40–48 mm.

Larval Host Plants:

Abrus precatorius, Derris scandens, Pongamia pinnata, Aganope thyrsiflora,
Palash Butea monosperma (Family Fabaceae), Xylia dolabriformis (Family
Mimosaceae).

Distribution: Subspecies:
C. t. thetis (Drury, 1773): Gujarat east to Odisha and south to Kerala.

169
 Butterflies of Western Ghats: Dr. Raju Kasambe Family: Lycaenidae 2016

Siva (Shiva’s) Sunbeam Curetis siva Evans, 1954

UN by Vengolis

Wing span: 35–40 mm.

Larval Host Plants:

Ougeinia oojeinensis (Desmodium oojeinense)(Family Fabaceae).

Distribution:
Goa to Kerala.

170
 Butterflies of Western Ghats: Dr. Raju Kasambe Family: Lycaenidae 2016

Angled Sunbeam Curetis acuta Moore, 1877

Clockwise from left: UN and UP Male by Raju Kasambe; UP Female by Ravi Vaidyanathan

Wing span: 35–42 mm.

Larval Host Plants:

Pongamia pinnata, Palash Butea monosperma (Family Fabaceae).

Distribution:
C. a. dentata Moore, 1879: Himachal Pradesh to N.E. India; Gujarat to Kerala;
Madhya Pradesh to Odisha.

171
 Butterflies of Western Ghats: Dr. Raju Kasambe Family: Lycaenidae 2016

Silverstreak Blue Iraota timoleon (Stoll, 1790)

UN by Divakar Thombre

Wing span: 40–48 mm.

Larval Host Plants:

Indian Banyan Ficus benghalensis, Cluster Fig Tree F. glomerata (F. racemosa),
Sacred Fig or Peepal Tree F. religiosa (Family Moraceae), Punica granatum
(Family Lythraceae).

Distribution: Subspecies:
I. t. arsaces Fruhstorfer, 1907: Gujarat to Madhya Pradesh and Kerala.

172
 Butterflies of Western Ghats: Dr. Raju Kasambe Family: Lycaenidae 2016

Purple Leaf Blue Amblypodia anita Hewitson, 1862

Clockwise from left: UN and Female UP by Raju Kasambe; Male UP by Shyam Ghate

Wing span: 45–52 mm.

Larval Host Plants:

Olax imbricata, O. scandens (Family Olacaceae).

Distribution: Subspecies:
A. n. dina Fruhstorfer, 1907: Gujarat to Kerala and W. Bengal; Assam.

173
 Butterflies of Western Ghats: Dr. Raju Kasambe Family: Lycaenidae 2016

Many-tailed Oakblue Thaduka multicaudata (Moore, 1879)

UN by Prashanth Bhat

Wing span: 40–48 mm.

Larval Host Plants:

Trewia nudifolia (Family Euphorbiaceae).

Distribution:
T. m. kanara Evans, 1925: Maharashtra to Kerala.

174
 Butterflies of Western Ghats: Dr. Raju Kasambe Family: Lycaenidae 2016

Large Oakblue Arhopala amantes (Hewitson, 1862)

UN by Raju Kasambe UN by Anila Manalil

Wing span: 45–57 mm.

Larval Host Plants:

Terminalia alata, T. catappa, T. paniculata, Lagerstroemia microcarpa, L. reginae
(Family Lythraceae), Xylia xylocarpa (Family Mimosaceae).

Distribution: Subspecies:
A. a. amantes (Hewitson, 1862): Gujarat to Andhra Pradesh and southwards to
Kerala.

175
 Butterflies of Western Ghats: Dr. Raju Kasambe Family: Lycaenidae 2016

Aberrant Bushblue Arhopala abseus (Hewitson, 1862)

(Syn. Aberrant Oakblue)

UN by Uajith

Wing span: 32–35 mm.

Larval Host Plants:

Sal tree Shorea robusta (Family Dipterocarpaceae).

Distribution:
A. a. indicus Riley, 1923: Karnataka; Kerala; Tamil Nadu; Uttarakhand to N.E.
India.

176
 Butterflies of Western Ghats: Dr. Raju Kasambe Family: Lycaenidae 2016

Centaur Oakblue Arhopala centaurus (Fabricius, 1775)

UN by J.M. Garg

Wing span: 53–62 mm.

Larval Host Plants:

Terminalia paniculata (Family Combretaceae), Lagerstroemia microcarpa (Family
Lythraceae), Xylia xylocarpa (Family Mimosaceae), Schleichera oleosa (Family
Sapindaceae).

Distribution: Subspecies:
A. c. pirama (Moore, [1881]): Maharashtra to Kerala.

177
 Butterflies of Western Ghats: Dr. Raju Kasambe Family: Lycaenidae 2016

Tamil Oakblue Arhopala bazaloides (Hewitson, 1878)

UN by Anila Manalil

Wing span: 44–47 mm.

Larval Host Plants:

Data deficient.

Distribution:
A. b. bazaloides (Hewitson, 1878): Sikkim to N.E. India, Maharashtra to Kerala.

178
 Butterflies of Western Ghats: Dr. Raju Kasambe Family: Lycaenidae 2016

Common Acacia Blue Surendra quercetorum (Moore, 1858)

UN by Raju Kasambe

Wing span: 30–40 mm.

Larval Host Plants:

Acacia torta, A. pennata, A. suma (Family Mimosaceae).

Distribution:
S. q. quercetorum (Moore, [1858]): Uttarakhand to N.E. India.

179
 Butterflies of Western Ghats: Dr. Raju Kasambe Family: Lycaenidae 2016

Silver Streaked Acacia Blue Zinaspa todara (Moore, 1884)

UN by Anila Manalil

Wing span: 34–38 mm.

Larval Host Plants:

Acacia pennata, A. suma, A. torta (Family Mimosaceae).

Distribution:
Z. t. todara (Moore, [1884]): Goa to Kerala.

180
 Butterflies of Western Ghats: Dr. Raju Kasambe Family: Lycaenidae 2016

Yamfly Loxura atymnus (Stoll, 1780)

UN and UP by Raju Kasambe

Wing span: 36–40 mm.

Larval Host Plants:

Dioscorea pentaphylla (Family Dioscoreaceae), Smilax zeylanica, Smilax spp.
(Family Smilacaceae).

Distribution: Subspecies:
L. a. atymnus (Stoll, 1780): Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh to Kerala;
Uttarakhand to West Bengal &. N. E. India.

181
 Butterflies of Western Ghats: Dr. Raju Kasambe Family: Lycaenidae 2016

Common Silverline Spindasis vulcanus (Fabricius, 1775)

UN Dr. Jayant Wadatkar UP Raju Kasambe

Wing span: 26–34 mm.

Larval Host Plants:

Cadaba fruticosa (Family Capparaceae), Ziziphus mauritiana, Z. rigosa (Family
Rhamnaceae), Canthium coromandelicum (Family Rubiaceae), Allophylus cobbe
(Family Sapindaceae), Clerodendrum indicum, C. inerme (Family Lamiaceae).

Distribution:
S. v. vulcanus (Fabricius, 1775): Throughout India.

182
 Butterflies of Western Ghats: Dr. Raju Kasambe Family: Lycaenidae 2016

Long-banded Silverline Spindasis lohita (Horsfield, 1829)

UN and UP by Raju Kasambe

Wing span: 30–42 mm.

Larval Host Plants:

Dioscorea spp. (Family Dioscoreaceae), Xylia spp., Psidium guajava (Family
Myrtaceae).

Distribution: Subspecies:
S. l. lazularia (Moore, [1881]): Maharashtra to Kerala.

183
 Butterflies of Western Ghats: Dr. Raju Kasambe Family: Lycaenidae 2016

Plumbeous Silverline Spindasis schistacea (Moore, 1881)

UN and UP by Pranav Gokhale

Wing span: 28–37 mm.

Larval Host Plants:

Data deficient.

Distribution:
Gujarat to Kerala.

184
Butterflies of Western Ghats: Dr. Raju Kasambe Family: Lycaenidae 2016

Abnormal Silverline Spindasis abnormis (Moore, 1884)

UN and UP by Sujit Borkar

Wing span: 40–44 mm.

Larval Host Plants:

Data deficient.

Distribution:
Maharashtra to Tamil Nadu.

UN by Raju Kasambe

185
 Butterflies of Western Ghats: Dr. Raju Kasambe Family: Lycaenidae 2016

Common Shot Silverline Spindasis ictis (Hewitson, 1865)

UN and UP Female by Manidip Mandal

Wing span: 27–35 mm.

Larval Host Plants:

Dendrophthoe sp. (Family Loranthaceae)

Distribution:
S. i. ictis (Hewitson, 1865): Rajasthan northwards to Himachal Pradesh, eastwards
to W. Bengal and southwards to Kerala.

186
 Butterflies of Western Ghats: Dr. Raju Kasambe Family: Lycaenidae 2016

Scarce Shot Silverline Spindasis elima (Moore, 1877)

UN and UP by Parag Giri

Wing span: 28–42 mm.

Larval Host Plants:

Data deficient.

Distribution: Subspecies:
S. e. elima (Moore, 1877): Gujarat eastwards to W. Bengal and southwards to
Kerala; Himachal Pradesh to N.E. India.

187
 Butterflies of Western Ghats: Dr. Raju Kasambe Family: Lycaenidae 2016

Redspot Zesius chrysomallus Hüebner, [1819]

UN by Makarand Kulkarni

Wing span: 38–44 mm.

Larval Host Plants:

Caterpillars probably feed on ant larvae.

Distribution:
Maharashtra to Kerala; Uttarakhand; Uttar Pradesh to N.E. India.

188
 Butterflies of Western Ghats: Dr. Raju Kasambe Family: Lycaenidae 2016

White Royal Pratapa deva (Moore, 1858)

L: Specimen from Nepal by Alan Cassidy and R: UPUN by Anila Manalil

Wing span: 32–40 mm.

Larval Host Plants:

Dendrophthoe falcata, Scurrula parasitica (Family Loranthaceae).

Distribution: Subspecies:
P. d. deva (Moore, 1858): Madhya Pradesh; Kerala to Maharashtra; West Bengal.

189
 Butterflies of Western Ghats: Dr. Raju Kasambe Family: Lycaenidae 2016

Silver Royal Ancema blanka (De Nicéville, 1894)

UN by Pinakin Karve

Wing span: 37–42 mm.

Larval Host Plants:

Data deficient.

Distribution: Subspecies:
A. b. sudica (Evans, 1926): Maharashtra to Kerala.

190
 Butterflies of Western Ghats: Dr. Raju Kasambe Family: Lycaenidae 2016

Peacock Royal Tajuria cippus (Fabricius, 1798)

UN by Raju Kasambe UP by Vedant Kasambe

Wing span: 31–45 mm.

Larval Host Plants:

Dendrophthoe falcata, Helicanthus elastica, Helixanthera wallichiana (Family
Loranthaceae).

Distribution:
T. c. cippus (Fabricius, 1798): Andaman & Nicobar Is. (Andamans); throughout
India except arid regions.

191
 Butterflies of Western Ghats: Dr. Raju Kasambe Family: Lycaenidae 2016

Spotted Royal Tajuria maculata (Hewitson, 1865)

UN by Dr. V.C. Balakrishnan

Wing span: 36–44 mm.

Larval Host Plants:

Dendrophthoe spp. (Family Loranthaceae).

Distribution:
Sikkim to N.E. India, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Kerala.

192
 Butterflies of Western Ghats: Dr. Raju Kasambe Family: Lycaenidae 2016

Branded Royal Tajuria melastigma (de Niceville, 1884)

Specimen from Karwar and Cherrapunji illustrations by Alan Cassidy

Wing span: 40–46 mm.

Larval Host Plants:

Dendrophthoe spp. (Family Loranthaceae).

Distribution:
Goa to Kerala; Uttarakhand to N.E. India.

193
 Butterflies of Western Ghats: Dr. Raju Kasambe Family: Lycaenidae 2016

Banded Royal Eliotiana jalindra (Horsfield, 1829)

UN by Praveen G Nair

Wing span: 36–44 mm.

Larval Host Plants:

Dendrophthoe elastica (Family Loranthaceae).

Distribution:
Subspecies: E. j. macanita Fruhstorfer, 1912: Goa to Kerala.

194
 Butterflies of Western Ghats: Dr. Raju Kasambe Family: Lycaenidae 2016

Common Imperial Cheritra freja (Fabricius, 1793)

UN by Raju Kasambe UP by Anila Manalil

Wing span: 38–42 mm.

Larval Host Plants:

Cinnamomum spp., (Family Lauraceae), Xylia xylocarpa (Family Mimosaceae),
Lepisanthes tetraphylla (Family Sapindaceae).

Distribution: Subspecies:
C. f. butleri Cowan, 1965: Maharashtra to Kerala.

195
 Butterflies of Western Ghats: Dr. Raju Kasambe Family: Lycaenidae 2016

Monkey Puzzle Rathinda amor (Fabricius, 1775)

UN and UP by Raju Kasambe

Wing span: 26–28 mm.

Larval Host Plants:

Ixora spp. (Family Rubiaceae), Mangifera indica (Family Anacardiaceae),
Barringtonia acutangula (Family Lecythidaceae), Schleichera oleosa (Family
Sapindaceae ) and plants belonging to families Dipterocarpaceae, Euphorbiaceae,
Loranthaceae, and Myrtaceae.

Distribution:
Kerala to N.E. India.

196
 Butterflies of Western Ghats: Dr. Raju Kasambe Family: Lycaenidae 2016

Common Onyx Horaga onyx (Moore, 1858)

UN and UP by Raju Kasambe

Wing span: 27–33 mm.

Larval Host Plants:

Coriaria nepalensis (Family Coriariaceae).

Distribution: Subspecies:
H. o. cingalensis Moore, 1884: Maharashtra to Kerala.

197
 Butterflies of Western Ghats: Dr. Raju Kasambe Family: Lycaenidae 2016

Brown Onyx Horaga viola Moore, 1882

Left: UP by L. Shyamal; Right: Illustration from Lepidoptera Indica. Volume 9. Author: C.

Swinhoe (text); J N Fitch (art)

Wing span: 22–28 mm.

Larval Host Plants:

Coriaria nepalensis (Family Coriariaceae).

Distribution:
S. India, Himachal Pradesh to N.E. India.

198
 Butterflies of Western Ghats: Dr. Raju Kasambe Family: Lycaenidae 2016

Common Tinsel Catapaecilma elegans Druce, 1895

UN by Hemant Ogale

Wing span: 28–32 mm.

Larval Host Plants:

Terminalia paniculata, T. arjuna (Family Combretaceae), Ziziphus rugosa (Family
Rhamnaceae).

Distribution: Subspecies:
C. m. callone Fruhstorfer, 1915: Maharashtra to Kerala.

199
 Butterflies of Western Ghats: Dr. Raju Kasambe Family: Lycaenidae 2016

Orchid Tit Chliaria othona (Hewitson, 1865)

UN and UP by Raju Kasambe

Wing span: 24–27 mm.

Larval Host Plants:

Epiphytic orchids.

Distribution:
Maharashtra to Kerala; Uttarakhand to N.E. India; Andaman Is.

200
 Butterflies of Western Ghats: Dr. Raju Kasambe Family: Lycaenidae 2016

Nilgiri Tit Hypolycaena nilgirica (Moore, 1884)

UN by R. Ravi

Wing span: 28–32 mm.

Larval Host Plants:

Data deficient.

Distribution:
Karnataka; Kerala; Tamil Nadu.

201
 Butterflies of Western Ghats: Dr. Raju Kasambe Family: Lycaenidae 2016

Fluffy Tit Zeltus amasa (Hewitson, 1865)

UN and UP by Raju Kasambe

Wing span: 28–32 mm.

Larval Host Plants:

Data deficient.

Distribution:
Goa to Kerala; Sikkim to N.E. India.

202
 Butterflies of Western Ghats: Dr. Raju Kasambe Family: Lycaenidae 2016

Cornelian Deudorix epijarbas (Moore, 1857)

Clockwise from left: UN by Raju Kasambe, Female UP by Anila Manalil and Male UP by
Divakar Thombre

Wing span: 34–44 mm.

Larval Host Plants:

Connarus wightii (Family Connaraceae), Pomegranate Punica granatum (Family
Lythraceae), Aesculus indica, Litchi Litchi chinensis, Sapindus marginatus, S.
trifoliatus (Family Sapindaceae).

Distribution: Subspecies:
D. e. epijarbas (Moore, 1857): South India to West Bengal.

203
 Butterflies of Western Ghats: Dr. Raju Kasambe Family: Lycaenidae 2016

Common Guava Blue Virachola isocrates (Fabricius, 1793)

UN by Raju Kasambe

Wing span: 34–50 mm.

Larval Host Plants:

Tamarind Tamarindus indica (Family Fabaceae), Nux vomica Strychnos nux-
vomica (Family Loganiaceae), Common Guava Psidium guajava (Family
Myrtaceae), Pomegranate Punica granatum (Family Lythraceae), Catunaregam
spinarum, Gardenia latifolia (Family Rubiaceae).

Distribution:
Throughout India.

204
 Butterflies of Western Ghats: Dr. Raju Kasambe Family: Lycaenidae 2016

Large Guava Blue Virachola perse (Hewitson, 1863)

UN by Raju Kasambe

Wing span: 48–52 mm.

Larval Host Plants:

Catunaregam spinarum (Family Rubiaceae).

Distribution: Subspecies:
V. p. ghela Fruhstorfer, 1912: Maharashtra to Kerala.

205
 Butterflies of Western Ghats: Dr. Raju Kasambe Family: Lycaenidae 2016

Indigo Flash Rapala varuna (Horsfield, [1829])

UN by Aditya Joshi

Wing span: 28–29 mm.

Larval Host Plants:

Rangoon creeper or Madhumalti Quisqualis indica (Syn. Combretum
indicum)(Family Combretaceae), Ziziphus rugosa, Z. xylopyrus (Family
Rhamnaceae), Ritha Sapindus laurifolius (Family Sapindaceae), Lantana camara
(Family Verbenaceae).

Distribution: Subspecies:
R. v. lazulina (Moore, 1879): Maharashtra to Kerala, West Bengal.

206
 Butterflies of Western Ghats: Dr. Raju Kasambe Family: Lycaenidae 2016

Slate Flash Rapala manea (Hewitson, 1863)

UN by Raju Kasambe

Wing span: 30–33 mm.

Larval Host Plants:

Rangoon creeper or Madhumalti Quisqualis indica (Syn. Combretum indicum)
(Family Combretaceae), Antidesma acidum (Family Phyllanthaceae), Acacia
pennata, A. torta (Family Mimosaceae), Sorbaria sorbifolia (Family Rosaceae),
Camelia sinensis (Family Theaceae), Trema orientalis (Family Cannabaceae),
Duabanga grandiflora (Family Lythraceae).

Distribution:
R. m. schistacea (Moore, 1879): Throughout India; Andaman & Nicobar Is.
(Andamans).

207
 Butterflies of Western Ghats: Dr. Raju Kasambe Family: Lycaenidae 2016

Common Red Flash Rapala iarbus (Fabricius, 1787)

UN by Raju Kasambe UP by Tarun Karmakar

Wing span: 33–44 mm.

Larval Host Plants:

Ougeinia dalbergioides (Syn. O. oojeinensis or Desmodium oojeinense) (Family
Fabaceae), Melastoma malabathricum (Melastomataceae), Ziziphus rugosa
(Family Rhamnaceae), Nephelium lappaceum (Family Sapindaceae).

Distribution: Subspecies:
R. i. sorya (Kollar, [1844]): Jammu & Kashmir; Odisha; Punjab; Peninsular India;
Uttarakhand; Uttar Pradesh and W. Bengal.

208
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Malabar Flash Rapala lankana (Moore, 1879)

UN by Vinayaraj UN by Dr. Prashanth Bhat

Wing span: 38–41 mm.

Larval Host Plants:

Data deficient.

Distribution:
Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu.

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Plane Bindahara phocides (Fabricius, 1793)

UN by Raju Kasambe

Wing span: 36–42 mm.

Larval Host Plants:

Fruit of Salacia spp. (Family Celastraceae).

Distribution:
Subspecies: B. p. moorei Fruhstorfer, 1904: Goa to Kerala.

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 Butterflies of Western Ghats: Dr. Raju Kasambe Family: Nymphalidae 2016

Family Facts
Family Nymphalidae: Brush-footed Butterflies

The family is known as the Brush-footed butterflies because the forelegs of the
adults are small and hairy resembling tiny brushes, and are not used for
walking.

The butterflies in this family vary considerably in their appearance in all stages
of the life cycle (adult, eggs, larval, pupal), but generally can be characterized
by the following, 1) size of the forelegs is reduced (except female of Beaks),
thus they use only four legs to walk or perch; 2) medium to large in size and
brightly and/or uniquely marked; 3) the pattern of wing veins of the forewing is
unique; and 4) the rigid antennae have club shaped tips.

Interesting traits demonstrated by some members of this family include long

distance migrations (Painted Lady, milkweeds like Tigers, Crows), territoriality,
powerful flight (Nawabs, Rajahs) or weak flight (Rings, Bushbrowns).

Eggs vary in shape and in their arrangement on the plant. Caterpillars vary
considerably in their appearance, but are often hairy or spiny. Pupae have a
cremaster from which they are suspended upside down, but have no silk girdle
and form no cocoon.

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Common Beak Libythea lepita (Moore, 1858)

UN by Dhaval Momaya

Wing Span: 45–50 mm.

Larval Host Plants:

Gossypium herbaceum (Family Malvaceae), Grewia sp. (Family Tiliaceae),
Celtis australis (Family Ulmaceae).

Distribution: Subspecies:
L. l. lepitoides Moore, 1901: Gujarat to Kerala.

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Club Beak Libythea myrrha (Godart, 1819)

UN by Sagar Sarang UP by Dhaval Momaya

Wing Span: 45–55 mm.

Larval Host Plants:

Celtis australis, C. tetrandra (Family Ulmaceae).

Distribution: Subspecies:
L. m. rama Moore, 1872: Maharashtra to Kerala; Andhra Pradesh.

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Glassy Tiger Parantica aglea (Stoll, 1782)

UN and UP by Raju Kasambe

Wing Span: 70–85 mm.

Larval Host Plants:

Calotropis sp., Ceropegia sp., Cryptolepis buchanani, Tylophora indica, T.
tenuis (Family Asclepiadaceae).

Distribution: Subspecies:
P. a. aglea (Stoll, [1782]): Gujarat to Kerala; Chhattisgarh; Odisha; W. Bengal.

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Nilgiri Tiger Parantica nilgiriensis (Moore, 1877)

UP by Kishen Das

Wing Span: 80–90 mm.

Larval Host Plants:

Tylophora tenuis and T. indica.

Distribution:
Karnataka; Kerala; Tamil Nadu.

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Dark Blue Tiger Tirumala septentrionis (Butler, 1874)

UN by Raju Kasambe UP by Anila Manalil

Wing Span: 75–95 mm.

Larval Host Plants:

Vallaris dichotoma, V. heynei (Family Apocynaceae), Cosmostigma racemosa,
and Wattakaka volubilis (Family Asclepiadaceae).

Distribution: Subspecies:
T. s. dravidarum (Fruhstorfer, 1899): Gujarat east to Odisha and south to
Kerala.

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Blue Tiger Tirumala limniace (Cramer, 1775)

UP and Male UN by Raju Kasambe

Wing Span: 90–100 mm.

Larval Host Plants:

Asclepias currassavica, Calotropis procera, Heterostemma sp., Hoya
viridiflora, Tylophora indica, Wattakaka volubilis (Family Asclepiadaceae)

Distribution:
T. l. exoticus (Gmelin, 1790): Throughout India including Lakshadweep;
Andaman & Nicobar Is.

217
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Plain Tiger Danaus chrysippus (Linnaeus, 1758)

UP and UN by Raju Kasambe

Wing Span: 70–80 mm.

Larval Host Plants:

Asclepias curassavica (milkweeds), Calotropis gigantea, C. procera,
Caralluma sp., Ceropegia sp., Cynanchum sp., Frerea indica, Tylophora sp.
(Family Asclepiadaceae). Ficus racemosa (Family Moraceae), Cryptolepis
buchananii (Family Apocynaceae) etc.

Distribution:
D. c. chrysippus (Linnaeus, 1758): Throughout India.

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Common Tiger Danaus genutia (Cramer, 1779)

(Syn. Striped Tiger)

UP and UN by Raju Kasambe

Wing Span: 72–100 mm.

Larval Host Plants:

Asclepias currassavica, Ceropegia sp., Cynanchum sp., Marsdenia roylei,
Stepahnotis sp., Tylophora tenuis (Family Asclepiadaceae).

Distribution:
D. g. genutia (Cramer, [1779]): Throughout India.

219
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Common Crow Euploea core (Cramer, 1780)

(Syn. Common Indian Crow)

UP and UN by Raju Kasambe

Wing Span: 85–95 mm.

Larval Host Plants:

Holarrhena pubescens, Ichnocarpus frutescens, Nerium indicum, Nerium
oleander, Calotropis gigantea (FamilyApocynaceae), Asclepias curassavica,
Cryptolepis buchanani, Hemidesmus indicus, Tylophora indica (Family
Ascepiadaceae, Milkweeds), Ficus sp., Streblus asper (Family Moraceae, Figs).

Distribution: Subspecies:
E. c. core (Cramer, [1780]): Throughout India.

220
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Double-branded Crow Euploea sylvester (Fabricius, 1793)

UP and UN by Dattaprasad Sawant

Wing Span: 95–105 mm.

Larval Host Plants:

Hoya sp., Cynanchum sp. (Family Asclepiadaceae, Milkweeds), Ichnocarpus
frutescens (Family Apocynaceae), Ficus microcarpa, Ficus racemosa (F.
glomerata), Ficus sp. (Family Moraceae, Figs).

Distribution: Subspecies:
E. s. coreta (Godart, 1819): Peninsular India.

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King Crow Euploea klugii Moore, [1858]

(Syn. Brown King Crow)

UP and UN by Raju Kasambe

Wing Span: 85–100 mm.

Larval Host Plants:

Streblus asper, Ficus hispida, and Ficus sp. (Family Moraceae).

Distribution: Subspecies:
E. k. kollari C. & R. Felder, [1865]: Gujarat eastwards to W. Bengal and
Odisha.

222
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Malabar Tree Nymph Idea malabarica (Moore, 1877)

UP by Raju Kasambe UN by Ashok Sengupta

Wing Span: 110–160 mm.

Larval Host Plants:

Aganosoma cymosa, Parsonsia spiralis (Family Apocynaceae).

Distribution: Subspecies:
I. m. kanarensis (Moore, 1890): Maharashtra to north Karnataka.
Subspecies:
I. m. malabarica (Moore, 1877): Southern Karnataka to Kerala.

223
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Plain Tawny Rajah Charaxes psaphon Westwood, 1847

UN Female and UN Male by Raju Kasambe

Wing Span: 85–110 mm.

Larval Host Plants:

Tamarindus indica (Family Caesalpiniaceae), Dalbergia sp., (Family
Fabaceae), Aglaia roxburghiana (Family Meliaceae), Adenanthera pavonina,
Albizia sp. (Family Mimosaceae).

Distribution: Subspecies:
Ch. p. imna Butler, 1870: Peninsular India as far north as Gujarat; Madhya
Pradesh; Odisha to N. E. India.

Note: The similar looking Tawny Rajah Charaxes bernardus (Fabricius, 1793)
is found in Sikkim to N.E. India; Uttarakhand.and Andaman Is.

224
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Black Rajah Charaxes solon (Fabricius, 1793)

UN and UP by Raju Kasambe

Wing Span: 70–80 mm.

Larval Host Plants:

Bauhinia racemosa, Moullava spicata, Tamarindus indica (Family
Caesalpiniaceae).

Distribution: Subspecies:
Ch. s. solon (Fabricius, 1793): Rajasthan to Kerala; Delhi; Himachal Pradesh to
Sikkim and W. Bengal.

225
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Common Nawab Polyura athamas (Drury, 1773)

UN by Raju Kasambe

Wing Span: 60–75 mm.

Larval Host Plants:

Caesalpinia bonduc, C. major, Delonix regia (Gulmohar) (Family
Caesalpiniaceae), Acacia chundra, A. pennata, A. catechu, Adenanthera
pavonia, Albizia julibrissin, A. lebbek (Siris), Peltophorum pterocarpum
(Copperpod) and Pithecellobium dulce (Monkeypod), Grewia spp., Leucaena
leucocephala (Subabul) (Family Mimosaceae).

Distribution: Subspecies:
P. a. athamas (Drury, [1773]): Himachal Pradesh to N.E. India; peninsular India
south of Gujarat and Jharkhand.

226
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Blue Nawab Polyura schreiberi (Godart, 1824)

UN by Aditya Joshi

Wing Span: 90–100 mm.

Larval Host Plants:

Moullava spicata (Family Caesalpiniaceae), Rourea santaloides (Family
Connaraceae), Adenanthera pavonia (Family Mimosaceae).

Distribution: Subspecies:
P. s. wardii (Moore, 1896): Maharashtra to Kerala.

227
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Anomalous Nawab Polyura agraria (Swinhoe, 1887)

UN by Raju Kasambe

Wing Span: 95–100 mm.

Larval Host Plants:

Data deficient.

Distribution:
P. a. agraria (Swinhoe, 1887): Gujarat to Madhya Pradesh and Kerala;
Himachal Pradesh to N.E. India.

228
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Southern Duffer Discophora lepida Moore, 1857

UN by Raghu

Wing Span: 85–100 mm.

Larval Host Plants:

Bamboos (Family Poaceae).

Endemicity: Endemic to Western Ghats and Sri Lanka.

Distribution:
D. l. lepida Moore, 1857: Goa to Kerala.

229
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Common Palmking Amathusia phidippus (Linnaeus, 1763)

UN by Richard Parker

Wing Span: 100–125 mm.

Larval Host Plants:

Borassus flabellifer, Cocos nucifera (Family Arecaceae).

Distribution:
A. p. friderici Fruhstorfer, 1904: Kerala.

230
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Whitebar Bushbrown Mycalesis anaxias Hewitson, 1862

W

WSF and DSF by Raju Kasambe

Wing Span: 48–55 mm.

Larval Host Plants:

Data deficient.

Distribution: Subspecies:
M. a. anaxias Hewitson, 1862: Karnataka to Kerala.

231
 Butterflies of Western Ghats: Dr. Raju Kasambe Family: Nymphalidae 2016

Long-brand Bushbrown Mycalesis visala Moore, 1858

Clockwise from left: WSF UN by Raju Kasambe, UP by Ms. Marvelyn Dias, DSF UN by
Shyam Ghate

Wing Span: 45–55 mm.

Larval Host Plants:

Data deficient.

Distribution: Subspecies:
M. v. subdita (Moore, [1890]): Kerala to Odisha.

Subspecies:
M. v. visala Moore, [1858]: Uttarakhand to N.E. India; Gujarat to ?Goa and
Madhya Pradesh to W. Bengal.

Note on tentative placement: subdita Moore, 1890 is sometimes treated as a

good species) (Varshney & Smetacek, 2015).

232
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Blind-eye Bushbrown Heteropsis mamerta (Moore, [1891])

(Syn. Palni Bushbrown Heteropsis davisonii (Moore, [1891])

UN by Anila Manalil

Wing Span: 45–50 mm.

Larval Host Plants:

Data deficient.

Distribution:
Subspecies: H. m. davisonii (Moore, [1891]): Kerala and Tamil Nadu.

Note: Treated as a full species Palni Bushbrown Heteropsis davisonii (Moore,

[1891]) by Kehimkar (2016).

233
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Red-disc Bushbrown Mycalesis oculus Marshall, 1881

UN by Anila Manalil UP by David Raju

Wing Span: 45–60 mm.

Larval Host Plants:

Data deficient.

Distribution:
Kerala and Tamil Nadu.

234
 Butterflies of Western Ghats: Dr. Raju Kasambe Family: Nymphalidae 2016

Glad-eye Bushbrown Mycalesis patnia Moore, 1857

UN by Raju Kasambe UP by Anila Manalil

Wing Span: 40–45 mm.

Larval Host Plants:

Data deficient.

Endemicity:
Endemic to Western Ghats and Sri Lanka.

Distribution:
M. p. junonia Butler, 1868: Goa to Kerala.

235
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Common Bushbrown Mycalesis perseus (Fabricius, 1775)

UN WSF and UN DSF by Raju Kasambe

Wing Span: 38–55 mm.

Larval Host Plants:

Oryza spp. and grass spp. (Family Poaceae).

Distribution: Subspecies:
M. p. tabitha (Fabricius, 1793): Peninsular India south of the Himalaya to
Kerala.

236
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Dark-brand Bushbrown Mycalesis mineus (Linnaeus, 1758)

UN WSF and UP by Raju Kasambe

Wing Span: 40–50 mm.

Larval Host Plants:

Oryza spp. and grass spp. (Family Poaceae).

Distribution: Subspecies:
M. m. polydecta (Cramer, [1777]): Peninsular India from Gujarat to W. Bengal
to Kerala; Lakshdweep.

237
 Butterflies of Western Ghats: Dr. Raju Kasambe Family: Nymphalidae 2016

Common Treebrown Lethe rohria (Fabricius, 1787)

UN by Raju Kasambe

Wing Span: 58–70 mm.

Larval Host Plants:

Apluda spp., Capillipedium spp., Imperata cylindrica, Microstegium ciliatum
(Family Poaceae).

Distribution: Subspecies:
L. r. neelgheriensis (Guerin-Meneville, 1843): Rajasthan east to West Bengal
and south to Kerala.

238
 Butterflies of Western Ghats: Dr. Raju Kasambe Family: Nymphalidae 2016

Tamil Treebrown Lethe drypetis (Hewitson, 1863)

UN by Vinayaraj

Wing Span: 65–70 mm.

Larval Host Plants:

Bambusa arundinacea (Family Poaceae).

Distribution:
L. d. todara Moore, 1881: Goa to Kerala; Chhattisgarh and Odisha..

239
 Butterflies of Western Ghats: Dr. Raju Kasambe Family: Nymphalidae 2016

Bamboo Treebrown Lethe europa (Fabricius, 1775)

UN by Raju Kasambe

Wing Span: 65–75 mm.

Larval Host Plants:

Bambusa spp., Microstegium ciliatum (Family Poaceae).

Distribution: Subspecies:
L. e. ragalva Fruhstorfer, 1911: Gujarat eastwards to Odisha and southwards to
Kerala.

240
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Common Threering Ypthima asterope (Klug, 1832)

UN by Raju Kasambe

Wing Span: 30–37 mm.

Larval Host Plants:

Cynodon spp. (Family Poaceae).

Distribution:
Y. a. mahratta Moore, 1884: Throughout India.

(Note on tentative placement: Y. mahratta may be a good species) (Varshney &

Smetacek, 2015).

241
 Butterflies of Western Ghats: Dr. Raju Kasambe Family: Nymphalidae 2016

Common Fivering Ypthima baldus (Fabricius, 1775)

Clockwise from top left: UN WSF and UN

DSF and UP by Raju Kasambe

Wing Span: 32–48 mm.

Larval Host Plants:

Data deficient.

Distribution: Subspecies:
Y. b. madrasa Evans, 1924: Gujarat to Kerala.

242
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White Fourring Ypthima ceylonica Hewitson, 1865

UN by Raju Kasambe UP by K. Mohan Raj

Wing Span: 30–35 mm.

Larval Host Plants:

Data deficient.

Distribution:
Y. c. ceylonica Hewitson, 1865: Goa eastwards to Odisha and southwards to
Kerala.

243
 Butterflies of Western Ghats: Dr. Raju Kasambe Family: Nymphalidae 2016

Nilgiri Fourring Ypthima chenui (Guérin-Méneville, 1843)

UN by Aditya Joshi

Wing Span: 36–46 mm.

Larval Host Plants:

Data deficient.

Endemicity:
Endemic to Western Ghats (Karnataka southwards).

Distribution:
Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.

244
 Butterflies of Western Ghats: Dr. Raju Kasambe Family: Nymphalidae 2016

Common Fourring Ypthima huebneri Kirby, 1871

UN and UP by Dr. M.S. Mayilavahanan

Wing Span: 30–40 mm.

Larval Host Plants:

Axonopus compressus, Grass spp. (Family Poaceae).

Distribution:
Y. h. huebneri Kirby, 1871: Throughout India.

245
 Butterflies of Western Ghats: Dr. Raju Kasambe Family: Nymphalidae 2016

Tamil Catseye Zipaetis saitis Hewitson, 1863

UN and UP by Anila Manalil

Wing Span: 60–65 mm.

Larval Host Plants:

Data deficient.

Distribution:
Karnataka to Kerala.

246
 Butterflies of Western Ghats: Dr. Raju Kasambe Family: Nymphalidae 2016

Nigger Orsotriaena medus (Fabricius, 1775)

UN by Raju Kasambe UP by Anila Manalil

Wing Span: 45–55 mm.

Larval Host Plants:

Imperata spp., Oryza sativa, Grass spp. (Family Poaceae),

Distribution: Subspecies:
O. m. mandata (Moore, 1857): Maharashtra; Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh
south to Kerala.

247
 Butterflies of Western Ghats: Dr. Raju Kasambe Family: Nymphalidae 2016

Common Evening Brown Melanitis leda (Linnaeus, 1758)

Clockwise from top left: UN WSF and UN

DSF by Raju Kasambe; UP by Tarun
Karmakar

Wing Span: 60–80 mm.

Larval Host Plants:

Apluda spp., grass spp. including rice
(Oryza sativa), bamboos,
Cyrtococcum spp., Cynodon, Imperata, Eleusine spp., and millets such as
Oplismenus compositus, Panicum spp. and Eleusine indica, Zea mays (Family
Poaceae).

Distribution: Subspecies:
M. l. leda (Linnaeus, 1758): Throughout India including Lakshadweep and
Andaman & Nicobar Is.

248
 Butterflies of Western Ghats: Dr. Raju Kasambe Family: Nymphalidae 2016

Dark Evening Brown Melanitis phedima (Cramer, 1780)

UN by Raju Kasambe UN by Vinayaraj

Wing Span: 60–85 mm.

Larval Host Plants:

Microstegium ciliatum, Setaria palmifolia (Family Poaceae).

Distribution: Subspecies:
M. ph. varaha Moore, 1857: Maharashtra to Kerala.

249
 Butterflies of Western Ghats: Dr. Raju Kasambe Family: Nymphalidae 2016

Great Evening Brown Melanitis zitenius (Herbst, 1796)

UN by Raju Kasambe

Wing Span: 80–95 mm.

Larval Host Plants:

Data deficient.

Distribution: Subspecies:
M. z. gokala Moore, 1857: Maharashtra to Kerala.

250
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Travancore Evening Brown Parantirrhoea marshalli Wood-Mason, 1881

UN by Subhiksha S.

Wing Span: 55–65 mm.

Larval Host Plants:

Indian Reed Bamboo Ochlandra travancorica (Family Poaceae).

Endemicity:
Endemic to Western Ghats.

Distribution:
Karnataka to Kerala.

251
 Butterflies of Western Ghats: Dr. Raju Kasambe Family: Nymphalidae 2016

Common Palmfly Elymnias hypermnestra (Linnaeus, 1763)

UN by Raju Kasambe Male UP by J.M. Garg

Wing Span: 60–80 mm.

Larval Host Plants:

Areca nut Areca catechu, Arena wightii, Canes Calamus spp. (Calamus pseudo-
tenuis, Calamus rotang, Calamus thwaitesii), Coconut Cocos nucifera, Palm
Phoenix spp. (Phoenix loureiroi), and Licuala spp. (Family Arecaceae).

Distribution: Subspecies:
E. h. caudata Butler, 1871: Maharashtra to Kerala.

252
 Butterflies of Western Ghats: Dr. Raju Kasambe Family: Nymphalidae 2016

Cruiser Vindula erota (Fabricius, 1793)

UP Male by Uajith UP Female by Sandip

Wing Span: 72–110 mm.

Larval Host Plants:

Adenia hondala (Family Passifloraceae)

Distribution: Subspecies:
V. e. saloma de Niceville, 1886: Maharashtra to
Kerala.

UN Male by Anila Manalil

253
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Tamil Yeoman Cirrochroa thais (Fabricius, 1787)

UP by Vivek Puliyeri UN by Jeevan Jose

Wing Span: 60–75 mm.

Larval Host Plants:

Hydnocarpus wightiana (Flacourtiaceae).

Endemicity:
Endemic to Western Ghats and Sri Lanka.

Distribution:
C. t. thais (Fabricius, 1787): Gujarat to Kerala.

254
 Butterflies of Western Ghats: Dr. Raju Kasambe Family: Nymphalidae 2016

Rustic Cupha erymanthis (Drury, 1773)

UP and UN by Jeevan Jose

Wing Span: 50–60 mm.

Larval Host Plants:

Flacourtia indica, F. montana (Family Flacourtiaceae).

Distribution: Subspecies:
C. e. maja Fruhstorfer, 1898: Maharashtra to Kerala.

255
 Butterflies of Western Ghats: Dr. Raju Kasambe Family: Nymphalidae 2016

Small Leopard Phalanta alcippe (Stoll, 1782)

UP and UN by Jeevan Jose

Wing Span: 35–50 mm.

Larval Host Plants:

Alsodeia zeylanica, Rinorea bengalensis (Family Violaceae).

Distribution: Subspecies:
P. a. mercea (Evans, 1924): Maharashtra to Kerala.

256
 Butterflies of Western Ghats: Dr. Raju Kasambe Family: Nymphalidae 2016

Common Leopard Phalanta phalantha (Drury, 1773)

UP and UN by Raju Kasambe

Wing Span: 50–60 mm.

Larval Host Plants:

Flacourtia montana, F. ramontchi, F. sepiaria, Xylosma longifolium (Family
Flacourtiaceae).

Distribution:
P. p. phalantha (Drury, [1773]): Throughout India.

257
 Butterflies of Western Ghats: Dr. Raju Kasambe Family: Nymphalidae 2016

Indian Fritillary Argyreus (Argynnis) hyperbius Linnaeus, 1763

UP and UN by Dhaval Momaya

Wing Span: 65–85 mm.

Larval Host Plants:

Viola betonicifolia (Family Violaceae).

Distribution: Subspecies:
A. h. castetsi Oberthur, 1891: Kerala; Tamil Nadu.
Subspecies:
A. h. hybrida Evans, 1912: Tamil Nadu.

Subspecies:
A. h. hyperbius (Linnaeus, 1763): Rajasthan to Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Uttar
Pradesh; Jammu & Kashmir to N.E. India.

258
 Butterflies of Western Ghats: Dr. Raju Kasambe Family: Nymphalidae 2016

Tamil Lacewing Cethosia nietneri C. & R. Felder, [1867]

UP by Mukul Hinge UN by Chinmayi S.K.

Wing Span: 80–95 mm.

Larval Host Plants:

Modecca palmate, Passiflora edulis, P. subpeltata (Family Passifloraceae).

Endemicity:
Endemic to Western Ghats and Sri Lanka.

Distribution:
C. n. mahratta Moore, 1872: Maharashtra to Kerala.

259
 Butterflies of Western Ghats: Dr. Raju Kasambe Family: Nymphalidae 2016

Tawny Coster Acraea violae (Fabricius, 1793)

UP and UN by Raju Kasambe

Wing Span: 50–65 mm.

Larval Host Plants:

Aporosa lindleyana (Family Euphorbiaceae), Adenia hondala, Modecca
palmata, Passiflora edulis, P. foetida, P. subpeltata (Family Passifloraceae),
Hybanthus enneaspermus (Family Violaceae), Turnera ulmifolia (Family
Turneraceae).

Distribution:
Throughout India; Lakshadweep Is.

260
 Butterflies of Western Ghats: Dr. Raju Kasambe Family: Nymphalidae 2016

Commander Moduza procris (Cramer, 1777)

UP and UN by Raju Kasambe

Wing Span: 60–75 mm.

Larval Host Plants:

Hedyotis orixense, Mitragyna parvifolia, Mussaenda frondosa, Neolamarckia
cadamba, Ochreinauclea missionis, Wendlandia thyrsoidea, Wendlandia
exserta, Cinchona spp. (Quinine trees), Cadaba fruitcosa (Family Rubiaceae).

Distribution: Subspecies:
M. p. undifragus Fruhstorfer, 1906: Gujarat eastwards to Odisha and
southwards to Kerala.

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Common Sergeant Athyma perius (Linnaeus, 1758)

UP by Raju Kasambe UN by Vinayraj

Wing Span: 60–70 mm.

Larval Host Plants:

Glochidion lanceolarum, G. velutinum (Family Euphorbiaceae).

Distribution:
A. p. perius (Linnaeus, 1758): Kerala north to Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh
and Jharkhand; Himachal Pradesh to N.E. India.

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Blackvein Sergeant Athyma ranga Moore, 1857

UP by Raju Kasambe UN by Chinmayi S.K.

Wing Span: 60–70 mm.

Larval Host Plants:

Ligustrum spp., Linociera malabarica, Olea dioica (Family Oleaceae).

Distribution: Subspecies:
A. r. karwara Fruhstorfer, 1906: Karnataka to Kerala.

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Staff Sergeant Athyma selenophora (Kollar, 1844)

UP Female by Kishen Das UP Male by L. Shyamal

Wing Span: 55–75 mm.

Larval Host Plants:

Haldina (Adina) cordifolia (Family Rubiaceae).

Distribution: Subspecies:
A. s. kanara (Evans, 1924): Goa east to Jharkhand and southwards to Kerala.

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Colour Sergeant Athyma nefte (Cramer, 1780)

UP Female and UP Male by Raju Kasambe

Wing Span: 55–70 mm.

Larval Host Plants:

Glochidion sp. (Family Euphorbiaceae).

Distribution:
A. n. inara (Westwood, 1850): Uttarakhand to N.E. India; Karnataka to Kerala
and northwards to Odisha.

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Common Lascar Pantoporia hordonia (Stoll, 1790)

UP and UN by Raju Kasambe

Wing Span: 45–50 mm.

Larval Host Plants:

Acacia concinna, A, megadalene, A. pennata, Albizia corniculata, A.
odoratissima, Pithecellobium sp. (Family Mimosaceae).

Distribution: Subspecies:
P. h. hordonia (Stoll, [1784]): Maharashtra eastwards to W. Bengal and
southwards to Kerala; Uttarakhand to N.E. India.

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Extra Lascar Pantoporia sandaca (Butler, 1892)

UP by Rajkamal Goswami

Wing Span: 45–50 mm.

Larval Host Plants:

Data deficient.

Distribution: Subspecies:
P. s. davidsoni Eliot, 1969: Uttarakhand to N.E. India, peninsular India south of
Maharashtra.

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Common Sailer Neptis hylas (Linnaeus, 1758)

UP and UN by Raju Kasambe

Wing Span: 50–60 mm.

Larval Host Plants:

Moulluva spicata (Family Caesalpiniaceae), Dalbergia sp., Pongamia glabra,
Xylia dolabriformis (Family Fabaceae), Bombax malabaricum, Thespesia
populnea (Family Malvaceae), Zizyphus sp. (Family Rhamnaceae), Elaeocarpus
sp., Grewia sp. (Family Tiliaceae).

Distribution: Subspecies:
N. h. varmona Moore, 1872: Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Jharkhand
southwards to Kerala.

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Short-banded Sailer Phaedyma columella (Cramer, [1780])

(Syn. Neptis columella (Cramer, 1780)

UP and UN by Raju Kasambe

Wing Span: 60–70 mm.

Larval Host Plants:

Dalbergia spp., Pterocarpus sp. (Family Fabaceae).

Distribution: Subspecies:
Ph. c. nilgirica (Moore, 1889): Gujarat eastwards to W. Bengal and southwards
to Kerala.

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Chestnut-streaked Sailer Neptis jumbah (Moore, 1858)

UP and UN by Raju Kasambe

Wing Span: 60–70 mm.

Larval Host Plants:

Bombax ceiba, Thespesia populnea (Family Malvaceae), Moullava spicata
(Family Caesalpiniaceae), Dalbergia sp., Pongammia pinnata, Caesalpinia
bonduc (Family Fabaceae), Ziziphus mauritiana (Family Rhamnaceae),
Byttneria herbacea (Family Sterculiaceae), Grewia sp. (Family Tiliaceae).

Distribution: Subspecies:
N. j. jumbah Moore, [1858]: Gujarat eastwards to W. Bengal and southwards to
Kerala; Sikkim to .N.E. India.

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Yellow Jack Sailer Lasippa viraja (Moore, 1872)

(Syn. Yellowjack Sailer)

UP by Gaurab Nandi Das

Wing Span: 55–75 mm.

Larval Host Plants:

Blackwood tree Dalbergia latifolia and Dalbergia racemosa (Family
Fabaceae).

Distribution: Subspecies:
L. v. kanara (Evans, 1924): Goa to Kerala.

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Sullied Sailer Neptis nata Moore, [1858]

(Syn. N. soma)

UP by Raju Kasambe

Wing Span: 45–60 mm.

Larval Host Plants:

Celtis spp. (Family Ulmaceae).

Distribution: Subspecies:
N. n. hampsoni Moore, 1899: Goa to Kerala.

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Clear Sailer Neptis clinia Moore, 1872

UP by Raju Kasambe

Wing Span: 45–60 mm.

Larval Host Plants:

Data deficient.

Distribution: Subspecies:
N. c. kallaura Moore, 1881: Maharashtra to Kerala.

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Clipper Parthenos sylla (Donovan, 1842)

(Syn. Parthenos sylvia (Cramer, 1775)

UP by Jeevan Jose

Wing Span: 95–130 mm.

Larval Host Plants:

Tinospora cordifolia (Family Menispermaceae), Adenia hondala, Modecca spp.
(Family Passifloraceae).

Distribution: Subspecies:
P. s. virens Moore, [1877]: Maharashtra to Kerala.

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Common Baron Euthalia aconthea (Cramer, 1777)

UP Female and UP Male by Raju Kasambe

Wing Span: 55–88 mm.

Larval Host Plants:

Cashew tree Anacardium occidentale, Mango Mangifera indica (Family
Anacardiaceae), Bryonia spp. (Family Cucurbitaceae), Streblus asper (Family
Urticaceae).

Distribution: Subspecies:
E. a. anagama Fruhstorfer, 1913: Maharashtra to Odisha; Himachal Pradesh to
Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh.

Subspecies:
E. a. meridionalis Fruhstorfer, 1913: Maharashtra to Kerala and Andhra
Pradesh.

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Gaudy Baron Euthalia lubentina (Cramer, 1777)

Clockwise from top left: UP Male by Raju

Kasambe, UP Female by David Raju and
UN Male by Raju Kasambe

Wing Span: 60–80 mm.

Larval Host Plants:

Scurrula parasitica (Family
Loranthaceae).

Distribution: Subspecies:
E. l. arasada Fruhstorfer, 1913:
Maharashtra to Kerala.

Subspecies:
E. l. lubentina (Cramer, [1777]): Maharashtra and Gujarat eastwards to
Haryana, Odisha andWest Bengal; Himachal Pradesh to N.E. India.

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Baronet Symphaedra nais (Forster, 1771)

(Euthalia nais (Forster, 1771)

UP and UN by Raju Kasambe

Wing Span: 60–70 mm.

Larval Host Plants:

Sal Shorea robusta (Family Dipterocarpaceae), East Indian Ebony Diospyros
melanoxylon (Family Ebenaceae).

Distribution:
Tamil Nadu to Gujarat and Rajasthan, eastwards to W. Bengal and along the
Himalaya from Uttarakhand to W. Bengal.

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Blue Baron Cynitia telchinia (Ménétriés, 1857)

(Syn. Euthalia telchinia)

UP and UN by Hemant Ogale

Wing Span: 70–85 mm.

Larval Host Plants:

Data deficient.

Distribution:
C. t. telchinia (Menetries, 1857): Karnataka; Sikkim to N.E. India.

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Grey Count Cynitia lepidea (Butler, 1868)

(Syn. Tanaecia lepidea (Butler, 1868)

UP by Raju Kasambe

Wing Span: 65–85 mm.

Larval Host Plants:

Melastoma malabaricum (Family Melastomataceae), Careya arborea (Family
Myrtaceae/Lecythidaceae).

Distribution: Subspecies:
C. l. miyana (Fruhstorfer, 1913): Maharashtra eastwards to Odisha and
southwards to Kerala.

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Red-spot Duke Dophla evelina (Stoll, 1790)

Clockwise from left: Female UN, Male UP and Female UP all photos by Hemant Ogale

Wing Span: 81–113 mm.

Larval Host Plants:

Cashew tree Anacardium occidentale (Family Anacardiaceae), East Indian
Ebony Diospyros melanoxylon, D. candolleana (Family Ebenaceae)

Distribution: Subspecies:
E. e. laudabilis Swinhoe, 1890: Gujarat to Kerala.

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Common Map Cyrestis thyodamas Boisduval, 1846

UP by Nandish Songire

Wing Span: 50–60 mm.

Larval Host Plants:

Indian Banyan Ficus benghalensis, Cluster Fig Tree F. glomerata, Sacred Fig or
Peepal F. religiosa and other Ficus spp. (Family Moraceae).

Distribution: Subspecies:
C. t. indica Evans, 1924: Gujarat to Kerala.

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Angled Castor Ariadne ariadne (Linnaeus, 1763)

UP by Raju Kasambe

Wing Span: 45–60 mm.

Larval Host Plants:

Ricinus communis, Indian Stinging Nettle Tragia involvucrata, T. plukenetii
(Family Euphorbiaceae).

Distribution: Subspecies:
A. a. indica (Moore, 1884): Peninsular India from Gujarat and W. Bengal to
Kerala.

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Common Castor Ariadne merione (Cramer, 1777)

UP and mating by Raju Kasambe

Wing Span: 45–60 mm.

Larval Host Plants:

Ricinus communis, Indian Stinging Nettle Tragia involvucrata, T. plukenetii
(Family Euphorbiaceae).

Distribution: Subspecies:
A. m. merione (Cramer, [1777]): Gujarat to Kerala and Andhra Pradesh.

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Joker Byblia ilithyia (Drury, 1773)

UP and UN by Raju Kasambe

Wing Span: 45–55 mm.

Larval Host Plants:

Indian Stinging Nettle Tragia involvucrata, T. plukenetii (Family
Euphorbiaceae).

Distribution:
Gujarat eastwards to Chhattisgarh and southwards to Tamil Nadu.

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Black Prince Rohana parisatis (Westwood, 1850)

Female UP by Mandar Sawant and Male UP by Divakar Thombre

Wing Span: 45–50 mm.

Larval Host Plants:

Celtis cinnamomea, C. lycodoxylon (Family Ulmaceae).

Distribution: Subspecies:
R. p. atacinus Fruhstorfer, 1913: Kerala to Maharashtra.

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Painted Courtesan Euripus consimilis (Westwood, 1850)

UN by PKG Mohan

Wing Span: 60–85 mm.

Larval Host Plants:

Charcoal-tree Trema orientalis (Family Cannabaceae/Urticaceae).

Distribution: Subspecies:
E. c. meridionalis Wood -Mason, 1881: Maharashtra to Kerala.

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Indian Red Admiral Vanessa indica (Herbst, 1794)

UP and UN by Jeevan Jose

Wing Span: 55–65 mm.

Larval Host Plants:

Bohemeria spp., Girardinia diversifolia, Urtica dioica (Family Urticaceae).

Distribution: Subspecies:
V. i. pholoe Fruhstorfer, 1912: Karnataka to Kerala.

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Painted Lady Vanessa cardui (Linnaeus, 1758)

UP and UN by Raju Kasambe

Wing Span: 55–70 mm.

Larval Host Plants:

Himalayan Nettle Girardinia diversifolia (Family Urticaceae), species of
Artemisia, Blumea, Gnaphalium, Tricholepis (Family Asteraceae), Zornia
gibbosa (Syn. Zornia angustifolia) (Family Fabaceae), Debregeasia bicolor.

Distribution:
Throughout India; straggler on Andamans and Lakshadweep Is.

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Blue Admiral Kaniska canace (Linnaeus, 1763)

UP and UN by L. Shyamal

Wing Span: 60–75 mm.

Larval Host Plants:

Smilax spp. (Family Smilacaceae), Nepal Yam Dioscorea deltoidea (Family
Dioscoreaceae).

Distribution: Subspecies:
K. c. viridis Evans, 1924: Karnataka to Kerala.

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Gray Pansy Junonia atlites (Linnaeus, 1763)

UP and mating UN of DSF and WSF) by Raju Kasambe

Wing Span: 55–65 mm.

Larval Host Plants:

Barleria spp. (B. cristata), Hygrophila auriculata (Family Acanthaceae).

Distribution:
J. a. atlites (Linnaeus, 1763): Throughout India except arid regions; Andamans
and Nicobars.

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Peacock Pansy Junonia almana (Linnaeus, 1758)

Clockwise from left: UP, UN WSF and UN DSF by Raju Kasambe

Wing Span: 60–65 mm.

Larval Host Plants:

Barleria spp. (B. cristata), Hygrophila auriculata (Family Acanthaceae), Frog
Fruit Osbeckia sp. (Family Melastomataceae), Phyla nodiflora (Family
Verbenaceae).

Distribution: Subspecies:
J. a. almana (Linnaeus, 1758): Throughout India including Andaman Is.

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Yellow Pansy Junonia hierta (Fabricius, 1798)

UP and UN by Raju Kasambe

Wing Span: 45–60 mm.

Larval Host Plants:

Barleria spp. (B. cristata), Hygrophila auriculata, Bell Weed Ruellia prostrata
(Family Acanthaceae).

Distribution: Subspecies:
J. h. hierta (Fabricius, 1798): Throughout India except N.E. India and the
Andaman Is.

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Chocolate Pansy Junonia iphita (Cramer, 1779)

UP and UN by Raju Kasambe

Wing Span: 55–80 mm.

Larval Host Plants:

Carvia callosa (Syn. Strobilanthes callosa), Hygrophila auriculata, Justicia
neesii, Lepidagathis prostrata (Family Acanthaceae).

Distribution: Subspecies:
J. i. pluviatalis Fruhstorfer, 1900: Peninsular India to Madhya Pradesh.

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Lemon Pansy Junonia lemonias (Linnaeus, 1758)

Clockwise from left: UP, UN WSF and UN DSF by Raju Kasambe

Wing Span: 40–60 mm.

Larval Host Plants:

Barleria spp. (B. prionitis), Hygrophila auriculata, Justicia neesii, J.
procumbens (Family Acanthaceae), Arrowleaf Sida Sida rhombifolia (Family
Malvaceae), White Jute Corchorus capsularis (Family Tiliaceae).

Distribution: Subspecies:
J. l. vaisya (Fruhstorfer, 1912): Rajasthan to Kerala and eastwards to Jharkhand.

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Blue Pansy Junonia orithya (Linnaeus, 1758)

Clockwise from left: Male UP by J.M. Garg, Female UP and UN by Raju Kasambe

Wing Span: 45–60 mm.

Larval Host Plants:

Hygrophila auriculata, Justicia procumbens, J. migrantha, Lepidagathis
prostrata, Nelsonia campestris (Family Acanthaceae), Arrowleaf Sida Sida
rhombifolia (Family Malvaceae), Shame plant Mimosa pudica (Family
Mimosaceae).

Distribution: Subspecies:
J. o. swinhoei Butler, 1885: Jammu & Kashmir to Kerala and W. Bengal.

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Great Eggfly Hypolimnas bolina (Linnaeus, 1758)

Clockwise from top left: Female UP, Female UN, Male UP and Male UN by Raju Kasambe

Wing Span: 70–110 mm.

Larval Host Plants:

Abutilon sp., Hibiscus sp., Arrowleaf Sida Sida rhombifolia (Family
Malvaceae), Common Purslane Portulaca oleracea (Family Portulacaceae),
Elatostemma cuneatum, Hen’s Nettle Laportae interrupta (Family Urticaceae).

Distribution:
H. b. jacintha (Drury, 1773): Throughout India except very arid regions;
Andaman & Nicobar Is.

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Danaid Eggfly Hypolimnas misippus (Linnaeus, 1764)

Male UP by Harishchandra Mhatre Male UN by Raju Kasambe

Female UP and UN by Raju Kasambe

Wing Span: 70–85 mm.

Larval Host Plants:

Common Purslane Portulaca oleracea
(Family Portulacaceae), Asystasia
lawiana, Barleria cristata (Family
Acanthaceae), Abelmoschus sp.,
Female inaria form by Raju Kasambe
Abutilon sp., Hibiscus sp. (Family
Malvaceae).
Distribution:
Throughout India, including Andaman & Nicobar Is.

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Orange Oakleaf Kallima inachus (Boisduval, 1846)

UP by Shyam Ghate UN by Dhaval Momaya

Wing Span: 85–110 mm.

Larval Host Plants:

Strobilanthes capitatus (Family Acanthaceae).

Distribution: Subspecies:
K. i. huegeli (Kollar, [1844]): Jammu & Kashmir to Uttarakhand; Jharkhand,
Eastern Ghats, Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat.

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Southern Blue Oakleaf Kallima horsfieldi (Kollar, 1844)

Clockwise from top left: UP and

UN and UN against sunlight
showing confusing shades by Raju
Kasambe

Wing Span: 85–110 mm.

Larval Host Plants:

Carvia callosa, Eranthemum malabaricum (Family Acanthaceae).

Distribution:
Maharashtra to Kerala.

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Autumn Leaf Doleschallia bisaltide (Cramer, 1777)

UP and UN by Anila Manalil

Wing Span: 75–85 mm.

Larval Host Plants:

Eranthemum malabaricum, Gratophyllum hortense (Family Acanthaceae),
Urtica spp. (Family Urticaceae).

Distribution: Subspecies:
D. b. malabarica Fruhstorfer, 1899: Goa to Kerala.

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Butterfly Gardening in India: An Introduction

In last few years there has been a tremendous increase in the interest in
developing butterfly gardens (parks) in India. Many private as well as
government butterfly gardens are coming up at various places across India. It is
a good sign, in the sense we have started appreciating the importance of
butterflies as objects of aesthetic value, for conservation as well as to create
sustainable livelihood options for many. A short visit to a butterfly garden gives
us enormous pleasure. I have visited butterfly gardens in Singapore and London
and in India. I was fascinated to see so many colourful butterflies in these
gardens and also to see thousands of visitors enjoying the company of
butterflies! Unfortunately, we do not have a butterfly park as beautiful as the
one in Singapore (on Jenting Island) or in Kuala Lumpur.

Butterfly garden is a garden where you can see lot of butterflies belonging to
different species at one place and in good numbers. An ideal butterfly garden is
nothing but a miniature representation of the forest in the adjoining area where
various plants and flowers are grown. The environment is made as conducive as
possible for butterflies found in the area.

This article is an attempt to summarise the basics of butterfly gardening in

India. These will hopefully answer most of the questions people ask us about
butterfly gardening in India.

To set up a new butterfly garden what we need is a suitable piece of land at the
right location, man power, working knowledge of landscaping, good knowledge
about butterflies and their requirements, knowledge about plants and finances to
run the garden. If you want to make it a public place, you need some
advertisement or selling skills to attract people to visit the butterfly garden.

Understanding the laws of the land

Butterfly garden can be a closed one or an open one. A closed butterfly garden
can is an entire garden covered with green nets. The butterflies are released into
this enclosed area either as adult butterflies or are reared in the garden itself. In
Singapore and London butterfly parks, they procure pupa (chrysalis) and keep
them in small boxes till the butterflies emerge. As soon as the butterflies emerge
they are released into the garden. In absence of any predators, the butterflies
survive till they die naturally.

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But the Indian Wildlife Protection Act (1972) considers butterflies as wild
animals and it is illegal to keep any wild animal in an enclosure (or captivity, in
the legal language). As soon as there is an enclosure, it becomes a zoo. And to
run a zoo, permission is required from Central Zoo Authority of India and also
it is mandatory to follow their guidelines for establishing and managing a zoo.
Getting permission from this authority (though creating a butterfly park may be
a good objective) is ‘mission impossible’ for a general citizen.

But permission can be sought by government zoos, if they want to set up

“butterfly enclosures” in their zoos. Zoos in India have huge swathes of land at
prime locations; they could actually prove that they can create butterfly parks in
India.

Butterfly Garden enclosure at Changi Airport in Singapore by Raju Kasambe

Hence, for private butterfly parks or gardens (owned by an individual or a

corporate), the only and best option is to set up an ‘open butterfly garden’ on
your own or leased land. Here the butterflies are free ranging and no butterfly is
captured or captive. Fortunately, we don’t need any permission to create an
open butterfly park in India. An excellent example is the ‘Ovalekar Wadi
Butterfly Garden’ at Ovala Village near Thane city in Maharashtra. This was set
up by Mr. Rajendra Ovalekar, an enthusiastic teacher and BNHS member. This
garden is located on the fringe area of Sanjay Gandhi National Park in his
private farm. It now attracts more than 125 species of butterflies and hundreds
of visitors on Sundays.

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Butterflies of Western Ghats: Dr. Raju Kasambe Butterfly Gardening 2016

Understanding the life cycle of butterflies

Before starting work on setting up a butterfly garden

one must understand the life cycle of butterflies.
Butterfly life cycle completes in four stages, egg,
caterpillar (larva), pupa (chrysalis) and adult butterfly.
Butterfly Egg by Raju Kasambe Every butterfly lays its eggs on one few selected
species of plants, which are called larval host plants.
The caterpillars emerge from these eggs and feed
voraciously on the leaves or these larval host plants.
The caterpillar moults few times and stops eating after
certain growth and gets metamorphosed into a pupa.
After few days, an adult butterfly emerges from this
Caterpillar by Raju Kasambe
pupa.

That means butterflies need the larval host plants on

which their caterpillars will grow and food for the
adult butterflies on which they will survive.

Pupa by Raju Kasambe

Landscaping for butterfly garden

It is important to have a good location for the butterfly garden, especially the
open butterfly garden. The best location will be near a patch of forest, as the
butterflies can be attracted to the garden by fulfilling the necessary
requirements. However, it is not necessary to have big plot to attract butterflies
to the garden. Even a small plot can be converted into a decent butterfly garden.
It is better to avoid setting up a new butterfly garden in very dry areas or very
cold areas, deserts, and in highly urbanized areas with not many butterfly
species around.Once the land is acquired, it is important to do landscaping of
the plot as per the requirements of a butterfly garden. If it already has lot of tree,
there is no need to cut the tree, but to ensure plantation of new plants at the right
locations. Landscaping should be in such way that there are places which
provide shade, lot of sunshine, and wet patches too.

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Butterflies of Western Ghats: Dr. Raju Kasambe Butterfly Gardening 2016

How to attract butterflies

Once the location of the butterfly garden is decided, we need to know what are
the requirements of butterflies or what are the things which attract them? As in
India, we cannot have a closed butterfly garden, the best option we have is to
attract the butterflies and make them stay around in the butterfly garden.
Butterflies will surely stay around in the garden, if we fulfil all their
requirements in the garden itself.

Larval Host Plants (LHP)

As mentioned above the life cycle of a butterfly completes in four stages, and
each butterfly species lays its eggs on a specific plant (or a choice of few
species of plants). The larva (or caterpillars) feed on these plants and hence
these plants are termed as larval host plants (LHP). For example the Common
Rose butterfly lays its eggs on Aristolochia indica, Spot Swordtail, Common
Jay and Tailed Jay lays their eggs on Polyalthia longifolia, Commom Mormon
lays its eggs on Murraya koenigii (Curry Leaf) and Citrus aurantifolia (Lime
tree).

The caterpillar which feeds on the LHP metamorphoses into a pupa in due
course of time. The pupa is generally well camouflaged and stays immobile till
an adult butterfly emerges out of it (there is nothing like a ‘baby butterfly’).

The more is the diversity of the larval host plants in the butterfly garden the
more number of butterfly species will start breeding in the garden. And there are
more chances of the butterflies staying back in the area if they can fulfil all their
requirements in the area. Hence, as a part of developing the butterfly garden, it
is a continuous process to find out more and more larval host plants and plant or
grow them in the garden. It is important to have better understanding among the
staff (at least the gardener) of the butterfly garden to prevent uprooting of the
larval host plants, mistaking them to be useless weeds. This is important in view
of the fact that some butterfly species lay their eggs on grasses.

Attracting ‘nectar-loving’ butterflies

Butterflies do not have teeth they cannot eat solid food. Butterflies can only sip
liquid food with the help of a very thin tongue, called proboscis. And they do
not grow once they are borne, they do not need a diversity of food for physical
growth. What they need is liquid food which is rich in energy and acts like fuel

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for maintenance of their

life activities, including
flight and reproduction.
The best energy-rich food
available around us is the
nectar in flowers. The
other sources of liquid
food are rotten fruits and
dead animals.

Many species of butterflies

Blue Mormon Papilio polymnestor on Stachytarpheta indica by
Raju Kasambe

love the nectar of flowers. These butterflies are attracted to the flowers due
to their bright colours. Hence it is necessary to plant plots of flowering plants in
the garden. The flowering plants should be selected carefully in such a way that
throughout the year the garden has some plants flowering. Some of the common
plants which attract lot of butterfly species for nectaring are Lantana spp.,
Jamaican Blue Stachytarphaeta spp., Cockscomb Celosia spp., wild Xenia spp.
and Ixora species. A small herb Tridax indica attracts lot of blue (Lycaenid)
butterflies for nectaring.

Every butterfly has its own choice of flowers it visits, due to the fact that the
length of their proboscis varies
in different species. Butterflies
with short proboscis may not be
able to sip nectar from flowers
with a long tubular corolla.
Some skippers have extremely
long proboscis and hence can
sip nectar from flowers with
long tubular corolla. Many
large sized swallowtail
butterflies are not able to sip
nectar from very small flowers Silver Coxcomb Celosia argentea bushes attract many butterflies like
Pansies by Raju Kasambe

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as the flowers cannot bear their weight. Hence some of the swallowtails do not
land on the flowers and keep fluttering while nectaring. Thus we need to a have
a diversity of flowering plants in the garden to cater to the needs of the various
species of butterflies. Also while planting the flowering plants, they should be
planted keeping in mind their expected height to which they will grow. This will
provide a vertical dimension to the garden. Small plots of flowering plants of a
particular species should be planted, thus adding to the aesthetic value of the
butterfly garden, besides attracting hordes of butterflies.

Attracting the ‘non-nectar-loving’ butterflies

It is a wrong notion that all butterflies love nectar in flowers. There are many
species of butterflies (many belong to the brush-footed and brown butterflies)
which never visit a flower. These butterflies like to get their stock of food from
rotten fruits, decaying fish, crabs, or prawns, the scat or dung or urine of wild
animals and so on. These butterflies locate the food because of the strong smell.
Some of the butterflies which are attracted to these include the Common Nawab
Polyura athamas, Anamolous Nawab Charaxes agrarius, Black Rajah
Charaxes solon, Tawny Rajah Charaxes bernardus, Blue Oakleaf Kallima
horsfieldii, Orange Oakleaf Kallima inachus, Common Baron Euthalia
aconthea, Gaudy Baron Euthalia lubentina, Common Evening Brown Melanitis
leda, Angled Castor Ariadne ariadne, Common Palmfly Elymnias hypermnestra
and many bushbrowns Mycalesis spp.

Overripe and rotten fruits are kept in butterfly garden to fulfil the requirement of butterflies which don’t like
flowers. This is from Butterfly Garden at Singapore Airport by Raju Kasambe

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Rotten fruits can be kept in feeding trays in the butterfly garden to attract these
butterflies. These feeding trays with rotting fruits may attract ants, which in turn
will disturb the butterflies. To manage this problem, each feeding tray should be
kept in another slightly larger tray filled with water. This will prevent ants to
reach the bowl with fruits, creating a moat-like situation like a. The feeding tray
can also be kept hanging in trees at various locations in the garden. Rotten or
overripe fruits of Pineapple Ananas comosus, Custard apple Annona reticulata,
banana, guava and Sapota (Sapodilla or chikoo) Manilkara zapota are useful in
attracting butterflies.

Attracting ‘alkaloid-loving’ males

Males of some butterfly species need specific alkaloids for reproduction. These
alkaloids are provided by plants like Rattlepod Crotalaria, Turnsole
Heliotropium, and Eupatorium species. The male butterflies flock these plants
in huge numbers to suck these alkaloids and is a pleasant sight to see the
butterflies engrossed in the activity. They need these chemicals to synthesize
sex pheromones to attract females. Developing small plots of these plants
ensure flocks of butterflies especially the tiger butterflies namely, Blue Tiger
Tirumala limniace, Glassy Tiger Parantica aglea, Dark Blue Tiger Tirumala

Milkweed butterflies like Tigers and Crows are attracted towards Crotalaria to get alkaloids by Raju Kasambe

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septentrionis, Plain Tiger Danaus chrysippus, Striped or Common Tiger

Danaus genutia, Nilgiri Tiger Parantica nilgiriensis and the crow butterflies
namely, Common Indian Crow Euploea core, Brown King Crow Euploea
klugii. These are also called brush-footed butterflies.

Attracting ‘mud-loving’ butterflies

In the landscape of the butterfly garden, if there is natural depression it should

be watered more often to create a muddy spot and a wet patch. Plastic sheets
can be buried under this muddy spot to manage to moisture level. Fine sand
should be spread along the fringe of his muddy place and rotten leaf litter be
mixed in the soil from time to time. Many butterflies (especially males of many
species) visit such damp and muddy places to get their daily dose of water,
minerals and various chemicals needed for their physiological needs. This is
known as ‘mud-puddling’. Yellows of many species gather on mud for mud-
puddling in huge numbers.

Also, before planting the plots of plants, a permanent arrangement for watering
the plants should be done. This could be the sprinklers or other methods, which
will save lot of manpower in future needed to water the entire garden nearly
every day.

Many species of butterflies gather at wet muddy patches for mud-puddling by Raju Kasambe

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Insecticides and weedicides should not be sprayed in butterfly garden in any case

What should not be done

One of the most important rules to be followed in butterfly gardening is to

strictly avoid the use of any insecticide, pesticide, weedicide or any similar
chemicals to kill or control some pests. These will eventually kill the butterfly
caterpillars (which are nothing but butterflies to be borne) and drive the
butterflies away from your butterfly garden.

Another thing is avoiding plantation of rose plants. These are useless for
butterflies and need spaying of insecticides to protect it from various moth
caterpillars.

Avoid using chemical fertilizers. Instead, the garden can have a small place
where natural fertilizers can be produced using the leaf litter, cattle dung and
other garbage from the garden. This natural fertilizer should be used for the
larval host plants for their healthy growth.

Insecticides and weedicides should not be sprayed in butterfly garden in any

case.

Landscaping
While setting up an open butterfly garden, it is necessary to have a plan of
landscaping. But if there are trees already in place, the plan should be designed
accordingly without cutting the existing trees. The plan should clearly describe
the plots for flowering trees and take care of the needs of various species of
trees as per their requirement and dependence on sunlight. There should be a
small nursery totally enclosed to protect small saplings of various plants
collected for the garden. Few saplings of each larval host plant (at least the rare
once) should be protected here as genetic pool. Sometimes entire plants are
finished by hordes of caterpillars. This stock will help replenish the plants in the
garden again.

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Butterflies of Western Ghats: Dr. Raju Kasambe Butterfly Gardening 2016

Butterfly garden landscaping should take into consideration many factors like parking space, toilets, etc.
(Photo- Dr. Raju Kasambe)

Landscaping should involve plan of narrow footpaths in the garden which

allows access to most of the areas in the garden. These if planned well can
prevent trampling of the plants by visitors, while trying to photograph some
butterfly. These may not be of concrete, but of mall bricks to allow movement
of caterpillars.

Sunshine is very important in the life of butterflies as they are cold blooded
animals and need to bask in sunlight before they start their activities in the
morning. They because active after basking in sunlight for some time. Hence
the garden should have lot of flower beds with lot of sunshine.

While planting large trees in the garden, lot of planning and futuristic thinking
is needed. When they grow, they should not create shadow in entire butterfly
garden. If he garden is very big, the trees can be planted along the eastern edge
or they should be planted along the western edge or forming a line running
north-south in the middle of the garden. This will keep big areas with lot of
sunlight.

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Butterflies of Western Ghats: Dr. Raju Kasambe Butterfly Gardening 2016

A small shade for visitors with resting facilities, a tea and snacks kiosk and
basic amenities like toilets ensure the comforts of the visitors.

Maintaining a Genetic Stock and nursery of plants

It is important to maintain a genetic stock of all the larval host plants as well as
nectar plants in the form of seeds or grafts. The seeds should be collected
whenever they are found and kept safe till the pre-monsoon period. The seeds
should be grown in a netted nursery and then shifted to the butterfly garden.
This should be done at least to plant species Tagala and Aristolochia as the
caterpillars of Roses are known to finish the entire plants leaving nothing
behind.

Manpower

To manage an open butterfly garden you need to hire at least one gardener, a
plant expert, a butterfly expert and a person to manage the entire set up. Off
course, you can play few roles out of these.

Money matters (Financial Management of the Garden)

You need some seeding money to start with butterfly gardening and there is no
guarantee that it will earn you money. If you have the land needed to set up the
butterfly garden available with you, the initial cost will be less. But there is
recurring cost to maintain a butterfly garden which includes purchase of
saplings, gardener, honorarium to butterfly and plant experts (many roles can be
played by one person), electricity bills, and water bills and so on. Butterfly
garden needs proper management and regular maintenance, otherwise the weeds
overgrow the larval host plants and soon it loses the beauty of being a ‘butterfly
garden’!

You can rear a butterfly in your house

Anybody can rear a butterfly in his house! That’s pretty simple. You can search
for caterpillars on larval host plants of butterflies like a Lime tree Citrus spp. or
a Curry Leaf tree Murraya koenigii may have caterpillars of Common Mormon
Papilio polytes and Lime Butterflies Papilio demoleus. Pick that caterpillar and
bring with it a stock of tender leaves to feed it on. Keep it in a transparent box.
Keep some sticks in the box for the caterpillar to pupate. Clean the box

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Butterflies of Western Ghats: Dr. Raju Kasambe Butterfly Gardening 2016

Readymade butterfly pupae are brought and kept in specially designed ‘emergence cages’ in closed butterfly
gardens. The butterflies are released when they emerge from these pupae by Raju Kasambe

everyday for the excreta. The caterpillar will get converted to a pupa one day.
One fine morning you will notice that a beautiful butterfly has emerged from
the pupa. Free it as soon as it is ready to fly….It’s your baby after all!

Future opportunities in India

In India, we can have small closed butterfly gardens in major zoos and at major
International Airports for recreation. For maintaining these gardens, we can start
rearing butterflies of belonging to the commoner but beautiful and colourful
species, not necessarily rare or those protected under various Schedules of the
Indian Wildlife Protection Act (1972), with the help of tribal communities and
create thousands of jobs.

Butterfly ‘nurseries’ for selected species (not listed under the various schedules
of the Act) can be set up where butterflies can be bred. The pupae reared from
such ‘nurseries’ can be supplied to butterfly parks around the country. This can
very well be done in villages around Western Ghats and the Himalayas by
setting up of big nurseries of local larval host plants in village lands or in
private lands. What is needed is little flexibility in the Indian Wildlife
Protection Act (1972) and initiative from the NGOs or forest department.

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Do’s and don’ts of butterfly gardening:

Dos’:
1. Know the diversity of butterflies in your area.
2. Plant larval host plants.
3. Plant nectar plants.
4. Provide rotten fruits.
5. Keep a damp patch for mud puddling.
6. Keep some shady places.

Don’ts:
1. Avoid use of insecticides, weedicides (herbicides) or such chemicals.

List of some butterfly gardens in India:

Please note that this is not a comprehensive list. There are many more butterfly
gardens and more are coming up. The list is in alphabetical order arranged
according to the name of the states.

Butterfly Park (enclosure), Ramoji Film City, Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh

Butterfly Conservatory of Goa, Ponda, Goa.

Sammilan Shetty’s Butterfly Park, Santhadi House, Butterfly Park Road, Belvai
Village, Mangalore, Karnataka

NPCIL plant site, Kaiga, Karnataka.

Butterfly Garden, Bhanerghatta, Bannerghatta National Park, Bengaluru,

Karnataka

Butterflysafari, Thenmala, district Kollam, Kerala

Butterfly Park at Nilambur Teak Museum, Malappuram, Kerala

Sálim Ali Bird Sanctuary, Thattekad, Kerala

Thumboormuzhy, Peechi KFRI & Shakthan Thamburan Museum, district

Thrissur, Kerala.

Nilamboor KFRI sub-center, district Malapuram, Kerala

Thattekad Bird Sanctuary, district Ernakulam, Kerala.

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Butterflies of Western Ghats: Dr. Raju Kasambe Butterfly Gardening 2016

BNHS Conservation Education Centre Butterfly Garden, near Film City,

Goregaon (E), Mumbai, Maharashtra.

Maharashtra Nature Park, Dharavi, Mumbai, Maharashtra.

Ovalekar Wadi Butterfly Garden, Ghodbundar Road, Ovala Village, Thane,

Maharashtra.

NPCIL plant site, Boisar, district Palghar, Maharashtra.

Rotary Garden, Gharda Circle, Dombivli, district Thane, Maharashtra.

Butterfly Park, Vandalur Zoo, Chennai, Tamil Nadu.

Butterfly Park, Sri Rangam, Trichy, Tamil Nadu.

Banabitan Butterfly Garden, Salt Lake, Kolkata, West Bengal.

Eden Garden Butterfly Garden, Kolkata, West Bengal.

Ecopark Butterfly Garden, Rajarhat, Kolkata, West Bengal.

Ramsai Butterfly Conservatory, Gorumara National Park, West Bengal.

Reference:
Kasambe, R. (2015) Butterfly Gardening in India: An Introduction. Research
Gate DOI: 10.13140/RG.2.1.4934.6164.=.

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Butterflies of Western Ghats Endemic butterflies 2016

Endemic butterflies of Western Ghats

(As taken from Roy et. al. (2010) Kerala, an Authentic Handbook). The list needs
updation- Author.

Papilionidae

1. Malabar Rose Pachliopta pandiyana (Moore, 1881). Range: Western Ghats

south of Goa.
2. Southern Birdwing Troides minos (Cramer, [1779]). Range: Maharashtra to
Kerala.
3. Malabar Banded Peacock Papilio buddha Westwood, 1872. Range: Western
Ghats as far north as Goa.
4. Malabar Raven Papilio dravidarum Wood-Mason, 1880. Range: Western
Ghats as far north as Goa.
5. Malabar Banded Swallowtail Papilio liomedon Moore, 1875. Western Ghats
as far north as Goa.

Pieridae:
6. Nilgiri Clouded Yellow Colias nilagiriensis C. & R. Felder, 1859. Range:
Kerala and Tamil Nadu.
7. Nilgiri Grass Yellow Eurema nilgiriensis Yata, 1990. Range: Karnataka;
Kerala; Tamil Nadu.
8. Lesser Albatross Appias wardi (Moore, 1884). Range: Maharashtra to
Kerala.

Nymphalidae:
9. Travancore Evening Brown Parantirrhoea marshalli Wood-Mason, 1880.
Range: Karnataka to Kerala.
10. *Small Long-brand Bushbrown Mycalesis igilia Fruhstorfer, 1911. Note:
There are two sub-species, viz., M. i. igilia Fruhstorfer, 1911 ranging from
Karnataka to Kerala and M. i. mercea Evans, 1920 ranging from Madhya
Pradesh to Maharashtra)(Varshney & Smetacek (2015).
11. Pale-brand Bushbrown Mycalesis orcha Evans, 1920. Range: Karnataka to
Kerala.

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12. Red-disc Bushbrown Mycalesis oculus Marshall, 1881. Range: Kerala and
Tamil Nadu.
13. Redeye Bushbrown Heteropsis adolphei (Guerin-Meneville, 1843). Range:
Karnataka; Tamil Nadu.
14. *Lepcha Bushbrown Mycalesis lepcha (Moore, 1880). Note: Not found in
Western Ghats (Varshney & Smetacek (2015).
15. Tamil Catseye Zipaetis saitis Hewitson, 1863. Range: Karnataka to Kerala.
16. Palni Fourring Ypthima yphthimoides (Moore, 1881). Range: Kerala and
Tamil Nadu.
17. Nilgiri Fourring Ypthima chenu (Guérin-Méneville, 1843). Range:
Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.
18. Southern Blue Oakleaf Kallima horsfieldi (Kollar, [1844]). Range:
Maharashtra to Kerala.
19. Nilgiri Tiger Parantica nilgiriensis (Moore, 1877). Range: Karnataka;
Kerala; Tamil Nadu.
20. Malabar Tree Nymph Idea malabarica (Moore, 1890). Range: Maharashtra
to Kerala.

Lycaenidae:
21. *Indian Pointed Pierrot Tarucus indicus Evans, 1932. Range: Dry zones
from Rajasthan south to Tamil Nadu and east to West Bengal; Assam. Note:
Listed as endemic but it is also reported from other areas.
22. Whitedisc Hedge Blue Celatoxia albidisca (Moore, 1884). Range:
Karnataka; Kerala and Tamil Nadu.
23. Kanara Oakblue Arhopala alea (Hewitson, 1862)(Syn. Rosy Oakblue).
Range: Goa to Kerala.
24. Abnormal Silverline Spindasis abnormis (Moore, [1884]): Range:
Maharashtra to Tamil Nadu.
25. Shiva’s Sunbeam Curetis siva Evans. 1954. Range: Goa to Kerala.

Hesperiidae:
26. *Spotted Small Flat Sarangesa purendra Moore, 1882. Treated as a species
in Gaonkar (1996). Listed as a sub-species Sarangesa purendra hopkinsi

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Evans, 1921 by Varshney & Smetacek (2015). Range: Karnataka; Tamil

Nadu.
27. *Pygmy Scrub Hopper Aeromachus pygmaeus (Fabricius, 1775). Range:
Maharashtra to Kerala; Listed as endemic but it is also found in N.E. India.
28. White-branded Ace Sovia hyrtacus (de Niceville, 1897) (Syn. Bicolor Ace).
Range: Goa to Kerala.
29. Madras Ace Thoressa honorei (de Niceville, 1887). Range: Goa to Kerala.
30. Tamil Ace Thoressa sitala (de Niceville, 1885) (Syn. Sitala Ace). Range:
Karnataka; Kerala; Tamil Nadu.
31. Southern Spotted Ace Thoressa astigmata (Swinhoe, 1890)(Syn. Unbranded
Ace). Range: Goa to Kerala.
32. Evershed’s Ace Thoressa evershedi (Evans, 1910). Range: Karnataka;
Kerala; Tamil Nadu.
33. Coorg Forest Bob Arnetta mercara Evans, 1932 (Syn. Coorg Forest
Hopper). Range: Karnataka to Kerala.
34. *Vindhyan Bob Arnetta vindhiana (Moore, 1883). Note: The sub-species
Arnetta vindhiana nilgiriana (Moore, 1883) is endemic to Western Ghats.
Range: Tamil Nadu to Kerala. Mentioned as endemic in Peninsular India by
Gaonkar 1996.
35. Golden Flitter Quedara basiflava (de Niceville, [1888]) (Syn. Golden Tree
Flitter). Range: Karnataka to Kerala.
36. Tamil Dartlet Oriens concinna (Elwes & Edwards, 1897) (Syn. Kanara
Swift). Range: Karnataka to Kerala.
37. Canara Swift Caltoris canaraica (Moore, [1884]). Range: Peninsular India
south of Goa.

Reference:
Roy, P K., Harikumaar, B., and Hassan, S. (2010): Kerala, an Authentic
Handbook. Information-Public Relations Dept., Thiruvananthapuram, Govt. of
Kerala.

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Index of Common Names

Ace, Indian 36 Awlet, Orange 21 Blue, Pea 160

Ace, Madras 52 Awlet, Orange-tailed 23 Blue, Pointed Ciliate 157

Ace, Moore's 37 Awlet, Pale Green 22 Blue, Purple Leaf 173

Admiral, Blue 289 Awlking, Indian 24 Blue, Silver Streaked

Acacia 180
Admiral, Indian Red 287 Babul Blue, African 140
Blue, Silverstreak 172
Albatross, Chocolate 106 Babul Blue, Bright 138
Blue, Tiny Grass 152
Albatross, Common 105 Babul Blue, Dull 139
Blue, Zebra 137
Albatross, Striped 104 Baron, Blue 278
Bluebottle, Southern 74
Angle, Black 72 Baron, Common 275
Bob, Chestnut 38
Angle, Chestnut 65 Baron, Gaudy 276
Bob, Indian Palm 46
Angle, Evans’ 58 Baronet 277
Bob, Vindhyan 31
Angle, Golden 56 Beak, Club 213
Bushblue, Aberrant 176
Angle, Spotted 57 Beak, Common 212
Bushbrown, Blind-eye 233
Angle, Yellow Spotted 58 Birdwing, Southern 91
Bushbrown, Common 236
Apefly, Common 128 Black Prince 285
Bushbrown, Dark-brand 237
Arab, Large Salmon 111 Blue, Common Acacia 179
Bushbrown, Glad-eye 235
Arab, Small Salmon 109 Blue, Common Ciliate 156
Bushbrown, Long-brand 232
Arab, White 110 Blue, Common Guava 204
Bushbrown, Palni 233
Autumn Leaf 300 Blue, Dark Grass 149
Bushbrown, Red-disc 234
Awl, Brown 20 Blue, Gram 154
Bushbrown, Whitebar 231
Awl, Common 25 Blue, Large Guava 205
Castor, Angled 282
Awl, Common Banded 26 Blue, Lesser Grass 150
Castor, Common 283
Awl, Plain Banded 28 Blue, Lime 146
Catseye, Tamil 246
Awl, White Banded 27 Blue, Pale Grass 151

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Cerulean, Common 162 Dartlet, Indian 55 Flat, Malabar 59

Cerulean, Dark 161 Demon, Common Banded 42 Flat, Malabar Spotted 59

Clipper 274 Demon, Grass 53 Flat, Spotted Small 67

Commander 261 Demon, Restricted 41 Flat, Suffused Snow 69, 70

Coon 45 Duffer, Southern 229 Flat, Tricoloured Pied 62

Cornelian 203 Duke, Red-spot 280 Flat, Water Snow 71

Coster, Tawny 260 Eggfly, Danaid 297 Flitter, Tree 54

Count, Grey 279 Eggfly, Great 296 Forget-me-not 158

Courtesan, Painted 286 Emigrant, Common 117 Fourring, Common 245

Crow, Brown King 222 Emigrant, Mottled 118 Fourring, Nilgiri 244

Crow, Common 220 Evening Brown, Common248 Fourring, White 243

Crow, Common Indian 220 Evening Brown, Dark 249 Fritillary, Indian 258

Crow, Double-branded 221 Evening Brown, Great 250 Gull, Common 96

Crow, King 222 Evening Brown, Travancore 251 Gull, Lesser 97

Cruiser 253 Fivering, Common 242 Hedge Blue, Common 143

Cupid, Indian 147 Flash, Common Red 208 Hedge Blue, Plain 145

Cupid, Plains 155 Flash, Indigo 206 Hedge Blue, White 144

Cupid, Small 148 Flash, Malabar 209 Helen, Red 82

Dart, Common Grass 47 Flash, Slate 207 Hopper, Bush 30

Dart, Common Palm 50 Flat, Common Small 66 Hopper, Pygmy Scrub 29

Dart, Dark Palm 49 Flat, Common Snow 70 Hesperiidae 19

Dart, Pale Palm 50 Flat, Common Spotted 60 Imperial, Common 195

Dart, Plain Palm 51 Flat, Common Yellow- Jay, Common 75

breasted 63
Dart, Tamil Grass 48 Jay, Tailed 76
Flat, Fulvous Pied 61
Dart, Wax 35 Jewel, Grass 153
Flat, Large Snow 69
Dartlet, Ceylon 55 Jezebel, Common 100

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Joker 284 Nigger 247 Pierrot, Angled 132

Judy, Plum 126 Nymph, Malabar Tree 223 Pierrot, Balkan 136

Judy, Two-spot Plum 126 Nymphalidae 211 Pierrot, Banded Blue 133

Lacewing, Tamil 259 Oakblue, Aberrant 176 Pierrot, Black-spotted 136

Lascar, Common 266 Oakblue, Centaur 177 Pierrot, Common 130

Lascar, Extra 267 Oakblue, Large 175 Pierrot, Dark 131

Leopard, Common 257 Oakblue, Many-tailed 174 Pierrot, Red 129

Leopard, Small 256 Oakblue, Tamil 178 Pierrot, Spotted 134

Lime Butterfly 85 Oakleaf, Orange 298 Pierrot, Striped 135

Lineblue, Common 165 Oakleaf, Southern Blue 299 Pioneer 95

Lineblue, Dingy 168 Onyx, Brown 198 Plane 210

Lineblue, Large Four- 163 Onyx, Common 197 Psyche 107

Lineblue, Tailless 166 Painted Lady 288 Puffin, Plain 103

Lineblue, Transparent Six-164 Palmfly, Common 252 Puffin, Spot 102

Lineblue, White-tipped 167 Palmking, Common 230 Quaker 141

Lycaenidae 125 Pansy, Blue 295 Rajah, Black 225

Malayan 142 Pansy, Chocolate 293 Rajah, Plain Tawny 224

Map, Common 281 Pansy, Gray 290 Raven, Malabar 81

Mime, Common 79 Pansy, Lemon 294 Redeye, Common 39

Monkey Puzzle 196 Pansy, Peacock 291 Redeye, Giant 40

Mormon, Blue 83 Pansy, Yellow 292 Redspot 188

Mormon, Common 80 Papilionidae 73 Rose, Common 89

Mottle, Dark 127 Peacock, Common Banded 87 Rose, Crimson 91

Nawab, Anomalous 228 Peacock, Malabar Banded 88 Rose, Malabar 90

Nawab, Blue 227 Peacock, Paris 86 Royal, Banded 194

Nawab, Common 226 Pieridae 93 Royal, Branded 193

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Royal, Peacock 191 Skipper, African Marbled 64 Tip, Great Orange 108

Royal, Silver 190 Skipper, Indian 68 Tip, Little (Small) Orange 112

Royal, Spotted 192 Sunbeam, Angled 171 Tip, Plain Orange 113

Royal, White 189 Sunbeam, Indian 169 Tip, White Orange 98

Rustic 255 Sunbeam, Siva (Shiva’s) 170 Tip, Yellow Orange 99

Sailer, Chestnut-streaked 270 Swallowtail, Malabar Tit, Fluffy 202

Banded 84
Sailer, Clear 273 Tit, Nilgiri 201
Swift, Bevan's 33
Sailer, Common 268 Tit, Orchid 200
Swift, Conjoined 43
Sailer, Short-banded 269 Treebrown, Bamboo 240
Swift, Paintbrush 32
Sailer, Sullied 272 Treebrown, Common 238
Swift, Rice 34
Sailer, Yellow Jack 271 Treebrown, Tamil 239
Swift, Small Branded 44
Sailer, Yellowjack 271 Wanderer, Common 116
Swift, Variable 44
Sawtooth, Painted 101 Wanderer, Dark 115
Swordtail, Fivebar 77
Sergeant, Blackvein 263 White, Indian Cabbage 94
Swordtail, Spot 78
Sergeant, Colour 265 Yamfly 181
Threering, Common 241
Sergeant, Common 262 Yellow, Common Grass 122
Tiger, Blue 217
Sergeant, Staff 264 Yellow, Nilgiri Clouded 124
Tiger, Common 219
Silver Forget-me-not 159 Yellow, One-spot Grass 121
Tiger, Dark Blue 216
Silverline, Abnormal 185 Yellow, Small Grass 119
Tiger, Glassy 214
Silverline, Common 182 Yellow, Spotless Grass120
Tiger, Nilgiri 215
Silverline, Common Shot 186 Yellow, Three-spot Grass 123
Tiger, Plain 218
Silverline, Long-banded 183 Yeoman, Tamil 254
Tiger, Striped 219
Silverline, Plumbeous 184
Tinsel, Common 199
Silverline, Scarce Shot 187
Tip, Crimson 114

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Index of Scientific Names

Abisara bifasciata 126 Arnetta vindhiana 31 Catopsilia pomona 117

Abisara echerius 126 Athyma nefte 265 Catopsilia pyranthe 118

Acraea violae 260 Athyma perius 262 Celaenorrhinus ambareesa 59

Acytolepis puspa 143 Athyma ranga 263 Celaenorrhinus leucocera 60

Aeromachus pygmaeus 29 Athyma selenophora 264 Celastrina lavendularis 145

Amathusia phidippus 230 Azanus jesous 140 Cephrenes acalle 51

Amblypodia anita 173 Azanus ubaldus 138 Cepora nadina 97

Ampittia dioscorides 30 Azanus uranus 139 Cepora nerissa 96

Anaphaeis aurota 95 Badamia exclamationis 20 Cethosia nietneri 259

Ancema blanka 190 Baoris farri 32 Charaxes psaphon 224

Anthene emolus 156 Bibasis gomata 22 Charaxes solon 225

Anthene lycaenina 157 Bibasis jaina 21 Cheritra freja 195

Appias albina 105 Bibasis sena 23 Chilades lajus 146

Appias indra 103 Bindahara phocides 210 Chilades pandava 155

Appias lalage 102 Borbo cinnara 34 Chilades parrhasius 148

Appias libythea 104 Burara gomata 22 Chilasa clytia 79

Appias lyncida 106 Byblia ilithyia 284 Chliaria othona 200

Argynnis hyperbius 258 Caleta decidia 132 Choaspes benjaminii 24

Argyreus hyperbius 258 Caprona agama 57 Cirrochroa thais 254

Arhopala abseus 176 Caprona alida 58 Coladenia indrani 62

Arhopala amantes 175 Caprona ransonnetti 56 Colias nilagiriensis 124

Arhopala bazaloides 178 Castalius rosimon 130 Colotis amata 109

Arhopala centaurus 177 Catachrysops panormus 159 Colotis aurora 113

Ariadne ariadne 282 Catapaecilma elegans 199 Colotis danae 114

Ariadne merione 283 Catochrysops strabo 158 Colotis etrida 112

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Butterflies of Western Ghats Index of Scientific Names 2016

Colotis eucharis 113 Eurema blanda 123 Heteropsis mamerta 233

Colotis fausta 111 Eurema brigitta 119 Horaga onyx 197

Colotis phisadia 110 Eurema hecabe 122 Horaga viola 198

Cupha erymanthis 255 Eurema laeta 120 Hyarotis adrastus 54

Cupitha purreea 35 Euripus consimilis 286 Hypolimnas bolina 296

Curetis acuta 171 Euthalia aconthea 275 Hypolimnas misippus 297

Curetis siva 170 Euthalia lubentina 276 Hypolycaena nilgirica 201

Curetis thetis 169 Euthalia nais 277 Iambrix salsala 38

Cynitia lepidea 279 Euthalia telchinia 278 Idea malabarica 223

Cynitia telchinia 278 Everes lacturnus 147 Iraota timoleon 172

Cyrestis thyodamas 281 Freyeria trochylus 153 Ixias marianne 98

Danaus chrysippus 218 Gangara thyrsis 40 Ixias pyrene 99

Danaus genutia 219 Gerosis bhagava 63 Jamides bochus 161

Delias eucharis 100 Gomalia elma 64 Jamides celeno 162

Deudorix epijarbas 203 Graphium agamemnon 76 Junonia almana 291

Discolampa ethion 133 Graphium doson 75 Junonia atlites 290

Discophora lepida 229 Graphium nomius 78 Junonia hierta 292

Doleschallia bisaltide 300 Graphium teredon 74 Junonia iphita 293

Dophla evelina 280 Halpe hindu 36 Junonia lemonias 294

Eliotiana jalindra 194 Halpe porus 37 Junonia orithya 295

Elymnias hypermnestra 252 Hasora badra 25 Kallima horsfieldi 299

Euchrysops cnejus 154 Hasora chromus 26 Kallima inachus 298

Euploea core 220 Hasora taminatus 27 Kaniska canace 289

Euploea klugii 222 Hasora vitta 28 Lampides boeticus 160

Euploea sylvester 221 Hebomoia glaucippe 108 Lasippa viraja 271

Eurema andersoni 121 Heteropsis davisonii 233 Leptosia nina 107

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Butterflies of Western Ghats Index of Scientific Names 2016

Leptotes plinius 137 Neptis hylas 268 Parantirrhoea marshalli 251

Lethe drypetis 239 Neptis jumbah 270 Pareronia ceylanica 115

Lethe europa 240 Neptis nata 272 Pareronia valeria 116

Lethe rohria 238 Neptis soma 272 Parthenos sylla 274

Libythea lepita 212 Notocrypta curvifascia 41 Parthenos sylvia 274

Libythea myrrha 213 Notocrypta paralysos 42 Pathysa antiphates 77

Logania distanti 127 Odontoptilum angulatum 65 Pelopidas conjuncta 43

Loxura atymnus 181 Oriens goloides 55 Pelopidas mathias 44

Luthrodes pandava 155 Orsotriaena medus 247 Petrelaea dana 168

Matapa aria 39 Pachliopta aristolochiae 89 Phaedyma columella 269

Megisba malaya 142 Pachliopta hector 91 Phalanta alcippe 256

Melanitis leda 248 Pachliopta pandiyana 90 Phalanta phalantha 257

Melanitis phedima 249 Pantoporia hordonia 266 Pieris canidia 94

Melanitis zitenius 250 Pantoporia sandaca 267 Polyura agraria 228

Moduza procris 261 Papilio buddha 88 Polyura athamas 226

Mycalesis anaxias 231 Papilio clytia 79 Polyura schreiberi 227

Mycalesis mineus 237 Papilio crino 87 Pratapa deva 189

Mycalesis oculus 234 Papilio demoleus 85 Prioneris sita 101

Mycalesis patnia 235 Papilio dravidarum 81 Prosotas dubiosa 166

Mycalesis perseus 236 Papilio helenus 82 Prosotas nora 165

Mycalesis visala 232 Papilio liomedon 84 Prosotas noreia 167

Nacaduba kurava 164 Papilio paris 86 Pseudoborbo bevani 33

Nacaduba pactolus 163 Papilio polymnestor 83 Pseudocoladenia dan 61

Neopithecops zalmora 141 Papilio polytes 80 Pseudozizeeria maha 151

Neptis clinia 273 Parantica aglea 214 Psolos fuligo 45

Neptis columella 269 Parantica nilgiriensis 215 Rapala iarbus 208

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Butterflies of Western Ghats Index of Scientific Names 2016

Rapala lankana 209 Tagiades litigiosa 71 Troides minos 92

Rapala manea 207 Tajuria cippus 191 Udara akasa 144

Rapala varuna 206 Tajuria maculata 192 Udaspes folus 53

Rathinda amor 196 Tajuria melastigma 193 Vanessa cardui 288

Rohana parisatis 285 Talicada nyseus 129 Vanessa indica 287

Sarangesa dasahara 66 Tanaecia lepidea 279 Vindula erota 253

Sarangesa purendra 67 Tapena thwaitesi 72 Virachola isocrates 204

Spalgis epius 128 Taractrocera ceramas 48 Virachola perse 205

Spialia galba 68 Taractrocera maevius 47 Ypthima asterope 241

Spindasis abnormis 185 Tarucus ananda 131 Ypthima baldus 242

Spindasis elima 187 Tarucus balkanicus 136 Ypthima ceylonica 243

Spindasis ictis 186 Tarucus callinara 134 Ypthima chenui 244

Spindasis lohita 183 Tarucus nara 135 Ypthima huebneri 245

Spindasis schistacea 184 Telicota aneilla bambusae 49 Zeltus amasa 202

Spindasis vulcanus 182 Telicota bambusae 49 Zesius chrysomallus 188

Suastus gremius 46 Telicota colon 50 Zinaspa todara 180

Surendra quercetorum 179 Thaduka multicaudata 174 Zipaetis saitis 246

Symphaedra nais 277 Thoressa honorei 52 Zizeeria karsandra 149

Tagiades gana 69 Tirumala limniace 217 Zizina otis 150

Tagiades jepetus 70 Tirumala septentrionis 216 Zizula hylax 152

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Butterflies of Western Ghats Important References 2016

Important References

Evans, W.H. (1932) The Identification of Indian Butterflies. (2nd Ed), Bombay Natural History Society,
Mumbai, India

Gaonkar, H. (1996) Butterflies of the Western Ghats, India, including Sri Lanka - A Biodiversity
Assessment of a Threatened Mountain System. Centre for Ecological Sciences, Bangalore, Zoological
Museum, Copenhagen, the Natural History Museum, London. Pp.82.

Kalesh, S & S K Prakash (2007) Additions of the larval host plants of butterflies of the Western Ghats,
Kerala, Southern India (Rhopalocera, Lepidoptera): Part 1. J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. 104 (2): 235–238.

Kehimkar, I. (2008) The Book of Indian Butterflies. Bombay Natural History Society, Mumbai. Pp.497.

Kehimkar, I. (2016) BNHS Filed Guides - Butterflies of India. Bombay Natural History Society, Mumbai.
Pp.509.

Kunte, K. (2006) Additions to the known larval host plants of Indian butterflies. J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc.
103(1): 119–121.

Kunte, K. (2005) Butterflies of Peninsular India. Indian Academy of Sciences. Universities Press.
Pp.254+colour plates-31.

Roy, P K., Harikumaar, B., and Hassan, S. (2010) Kerala, an Authentic Handbook. Information-Public
Relations Dept., Thiruvananthapuram, Govt. of Kerala.

Wynter-Blyth, M.A. (1957) Butterflies of the Indian Region. Bombay Natural History Society, Mumbai,
India.

Varshney, R.K. & Smetacek, P. (eds.) (2015) A Synoptic Catalogue of the Butterflies of India. Butterfly
Research Centre, Bhimtal and Indinov Publishing, New Delhi, ii + 261 pp., 8 pl.

Important Websites:
http://www.ifoundbutterflies.org/
http://flutters.org/

Butterfly Gardening Article:

Revised an updated version of original article uploaded on Research Gate:

Research gate DOI: 10.13140/RG.2.1.4934.6164.=

Marathi version of the article was published in “Aapla Paryavaran” magazine published by Paryavaran
Dakshata Manch, Thane, Maharashtra).

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Butterflies of Western Ghats: Dr. Raju Kasambe About the Book 2016

About the e-Book

Butterflies of Western Ghats

This is an e-Book which can be downloaded free of cost and used
on any smart phone or computer. It is made as a simple PDF so
that any species can be searched using the search option.

This e-Book provides information about 277 species of butterflies

found in Western Ghats part of India. For every species colour
illustrations showing the upperside, underside, male and female,
wherever dimorphic, are given. Even, information about the
subspecies found in Western Ghats or South India is added. Along
with common names and complete scientific names, wing span,
larval host plants, and distribution of each species is given.

This e-Book has an entire chapter highlighting the importance of

the Western Ghats as a ‘Biodiversity Hotspot’ besides a chapter
on ‘Butterfly Gardening’.

The common names, scientific names and distribution mostly

follow the latest publication by Varshney & Smetacek (2015),
other information (wing span, larval host plants) mostly follows
Wynter-Blyth (1957), Kehimkar (2008 and 2016) and Kunte
(2005). More information from major research papers and
internet sources is also added.

Abbreviations used:
DSF: Dry Season Form
WFS: Wet Season Form
UP: Upperside
UN: Underside

327
 About author

Dr. Raju Kasambe

Academic Qualification:
B.Sc., B.A., M.A. (Eng), D.B.M., M.Sc., M.Phil. (Env.),
B.Ed., Ph.D.

Job:
Working at Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS),
Mumbai since 2010 as Important Bird Areas (IBA)
Programme Manager and In-charge of Conservation
Education Centre (CEC), Goregaon East, Mumbai

Research publications
More than 100 research papers in international and national journals about birds and
butterflies.

Books Published
Indian Grey Hornbill (Lambert, Germany) (2011)
Maharashtratil Phulpakhre (Butterflies of Maharashtra) (Marathi) (2012, 2016)

eBook
Maharashtratil 100 Samanya Pakshi (Marathi) (2015)

Books published as Co-author

Important Bird Areas of Maharashtra (2013) (English and Marathi)(BNHS)
Threatened Birds of Maharashtra (2014) (English and Marathi)(BNHS)
Popular Birds of Mizoram (2015)

Important Responsibilities
Vice Chairperson: BirdLife International, Asia Division.
Coordinator: Indian Bird Conservation Network (IBCN-BNHS).
National Co-coordinator: Asian Waterbird Census
Executive President: Maharashtra Pakshimitra Sanghatana
Ph.D. Supervisor, Zoology, Mumbai University, Mumbai
Editor, “Mistnet” Quarterly Newsletter of IBCN-BNHS.
Member, Editorial Board: Newsletter for Birdwatchers, Bangalore