96 butterfly species sighted in survey

KALPETTA: A butterfly survey in the Thirunelly section of the North Wayanad Forest Division has reported the sighting of 96 species.

The three-day survey, conducted by the Wildlife Department and the Ferns Naturalists Society, concluded here on Tuesday.

It is a precursor to the setting up of a butterfly park in the area. The survey was intended to be a feasibility study to assess the species of butterflies, including endemic and migrating ones, Divisional Forest Officer, North Wayanad Forest Division, Sasikumar said.

The survey had proved that the habitat was suitable for butterflies and a butterfly park would be viable near the forest dormitory at Thirunelly, he said.

A 37-member team including 30 BSc and MSc (Zoology) students of the Mary Matha College, Mananthavadi; and Kannur University campus, Mananthavadi, and seven butterfly experts from different parts of Malabar took part.

The team reported sightings of 18 species of Skippers, 9 species of Blues, 14 species of Swallowtails, 12 Pierids and 43 species of Nymphalids, P.A. Vinayan, survey organiser, told The Hindu. Endemic species such as Southern Bird Wing (Troides Minos), Malabar Banded Swallowtail (Papplio Liomedon), Tamil Catseye (Zipoetis Saitis), South India Blue Oak Leaf (Kallima Horsfieldi) and Malabar Raven (Papilio Dravidarum) were sighted in many places.
Some rare butterflies such as Paris Peacock (Papilio Paris), Painted Sawtooth (Prioneris Sita), Tamil Treebrown (Lethe Drypetis Lethe), Cruiser (Vindula Erota) were also sighted during the survey, Mr. Vinayan said.

Migration

We sighted the migration of the Dark Blue Tiger and the Common Crow species, A. Askar, a BSc second-year student of the Mary Matha College said. The survey was led by Pavithran Vadkara, Sudheesh Karingari, N.S. Sujin and Anoop V.K.

Source: The Hindu Daily, 7/10/2010

Rare butterfly sighted in Ponmudi forests

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: A team of nature lovers from Thiruvananthapuram have spotted the life cycle of the ‘Blue Nawab' butterfly in the forests of Ponmudi-Kallar region.

The team from nature group ‘Warblers and Waders', comprising C. Susanth, K.A. Kishore, Baiju and P.B. Biju saw the larvae of this rare butterfly amidst rock formations on either side of a stream deep in the forests. “Sighting this butterfly itself is a very rare thing. Still rarer it is to see its life cycle. We could not find the eggs. After we spotted the larvae, we returned to the location and kept watch as the butterfly finally emerged,” Mr. Susanth told The Hindu.

The study team, in July 2010, also observed the larave feeding on Scarlet Bauhinia( ‘Kaattu Mandaaram'). “The Nawab is a medium-sized butterfly with black wings. It can be easily identified from its white band laced with blue. The males can be found basking on chosen trees among rocky peaks during the hottest part of the day,” Mr. Susanth said.

The earlier studies of the life cycle of this butterfly were conducted by British lepidopterists J. Davidson, T.R. Bell and E.H. Aitken in 1896 at Coorg. “This is the first life cycle record of this butterfly in Kerala, The Kaattu Mandaram has not been previously recorded as a host plant for this butterfly,” Mr. Susanth said.

The team plans to report the sighting to the Journal of Bombay Natural History Society and to other International Journals.

Californian Lepidopterist Keith V. Wolfe, who conducted studies on host plant utilisation of butterflies and Kishen Das, US-based lepidopterist, provided the literature to Warblers and Waders on the life cycle of Blue Nawab, Mr. Susanth added.

Source:The HIndu,20-9-2010

Rare Butterfly

Source :Malayala Manorama 21 August 2010