Monkey Puzzle

Monkey Puzzle - Rathinda amor Fabricius

Monkey Puzzle Butterfly

Monkey Puzzle Butterfly

Monkey Puzzle Butterfles Mating

Caterpillar of Monkey Puzzle Butterfly

Caterpillars of Monkey Puzzle Butterfly

Nigger

Nigger Orsotriaena medus Fabricius

Nigger Butterfly

Common Palm Fly

Common Palm Fly - Elymnias hypermnestra

Common Palm Fly

Common Palm Fly Butterfly

Egg of Common Palm Fly Butterfly

Caterpillar of Common Palm Fly Butterfly

Angled Castor

 Angled Castor - Ariadne ariadne Linnaeus

Angled Castor Butterfly

Caterpillar of Angled Castor Butterfly

Great Orange Tip

Great Orange Tip - Hebomoea glaucippe Linnaeus

Wingspan: 80-100mm.

It is the largest of the orange tips and is a strong and fast flier.

Great Orange Tip Butterfly

Caterpillar of Great Orange Tip Butterfly

Larva Host Plants

Capparaceae - Capparis decidua, Capparis divaricata, Capparis grandis and Capparis sepiaria.

Grey Count

Grey Count - Tanaecia lepidea Butler

Wingspan: 65-80mm.

Dark brown butterfly with a bronze color shade.

Grey Count Butterfly

Caterpillar has branched spines.

Caterpillar of Grey Count Butterfly

Pupa of Grey Count Butterfly

Pupa has golden spots.

Pupa of Grey Count Butterfly

Gery Count Butterfly Emerging From Pupa

Larva Host Plants

Careya arborea and Melastoma malabathricum

Melastoma malabathricum Host Plant of Grey Count Butterfly

Grey Pansy

Grey Pansy - Junonia atlites Linnaeus

Grey Pansy Butterfly

Creamish grey butterfly with brown lines and a row of black spots near the wing margin.

Wingspan:45-60mm

Grey Pansy Butterfly

Caterpillar of Grey Pansy Butterfly

Pupa of Grey Pansy Butterfly

Larva Host Plants

Acanthaceae, Malvaceae and Tiliaceae

Barleria spp., Cannabis sativa, Corchorus capsularis, Hygrophila auriculata, Nelsonia canescens and Sida rhombifolia.

Commander

Commander - Moduza procris Cramer


Wingspan: 60-75mm

A very colorful butterfly. It is also a common species.

Commander Butterfly

Caterpillar is dark brown in color.

Caterpillar of Commander Butterfly

Caterpillar of Commander Butterfly

Commander Butterfly Pupa

Pupa of commander butterfly

Pupa looks similar to a dry leaf and is difficult to spot.

Larva Host Plants

Neolamarckia cadamba and cinchona, Cadaba fruticosa, hedyotis orixense, Mitragyna parvifolia, Mussaenda frondosa, Ochreinauclea missionis, Wendlandia exserta and Wendlandia thyrsoidea (Capparaceae and Rubiaceae)

Southern Rustic

Rustic - Cupha erymanthis Drury


Wingspan: 50-60mm

Rustic Butterfly

A yellowish brown butterfly with white and dark brown markings.
Is found in all types of forests and is active throughout the year.

Southern Rustic Butterfly

Caterpillar of Southern Rustic Butterfly

Caterpillar of Southern Rustic Butterfly

Caterpillar of Southern Rustic Butterfly

Larva Host Plants

Flacourtia montana and Flacourtia indica (Flacourtiaceae).

Striped Tiger

Striped or Common Tiger - Danaus genutia Cramer


Wingspan: 72-100mm.

Striped Tiger Butterfly

Egss are laid on the underside of the leaf of plants belonging to the family Asclepiadaceae.

Caterpillar is velvet black and has bluish white and yellow lines.

Pupa is green with golden spots.

Striped Tiger Butterfly

Larva Host Plants

Asclepias curassavica, Ceropegia intermedia, Stephanotis sp. and Tylophora tenuis (Asclepiadaceae).

Blue Tiger Tirumala limniace Cramer

Blue Tiger Butterflies

Wingspan: 90-100mm.

Blue Tiger Butterfly

Blue tiger is a large butterfly with broad wings. dark brown or black stripes filled with pale blue.

Blue Tiger Butterfly

Is a very common butterfly found in all habitats. Is very fond of nectar and is a frequent visitor to gardens. Fond of mudpuddling.

Blue Tiger Butterfly

Blue Tiger Butterfly

Caterpillar of Blue Tiger Butterfly

Caterpillar lives on the underside of the leaves.

Pupa is green and shiny.

Larval Host Plants

 Wattakaka volubilis, Asclepias curassavica, Calotropis gigantea, Hoya sp. and Tylophora indiaca.

Common Indian Crow

Common Indian Crow Euploea core Cramer

Common Indian Crow Butterfly

Wingspan: 85-95mm.

Common Indian Crow Butterfly

Dark brown butterfly found in all types of habitats. Very common species and is active throughout the year.

Common Indian Crow Butterfly

It is very fond of mud puddling.

Eggs are laid on the underside of the leaves

Caterpillar is very colorful.

Caterpillar of Common Indian Crow Butterfly

Larval Host Plants

Ficus racemosa, Nerium odorum, Nerium oleander and Cryptolepis buchanani. Ficus benghalensis, Ficus religiosa, hemidesmus indicus, Holarrhena pubescens, Ichnocarpus frutescence and Tylophora indica.

Common Jezebel

Common Jezebel - Delias eucharis Drury

Wingspan: 66-83mm.

Common Jezebel Butterfly

A white and yellow butterfly which is active throughout the year. Can be found in various habitats. Mostly flies high in the canopy and can travel long distances. Is fond of nectar.

Common Jezebel Butterfly

Lays eggs in batches and all eggs in a batch, hatch together.

Caterpillars are yellow-brown with black head.

Caterpillar of Common Jezebel Butterfly

Larval Host Plants

Dendrophthoe falcata, Helicanthus elastica and Scurrula parasitica

Butterfly Pupae

Butterfly Pupa

When the larva exceeds a minimum weight at a particular time of day it will stop feeding and begin "wandering" in search of a suitable pupation site, usually the underside of a leaf. The larva transforms into a pupa (chrysalis), which then transforms into a butterfly by metamorphosis. To transform from the miniature wings visible on the outside of the pupa into large structures usable for flight, the pupal wings undergo rapid mitosis and absorb a great deal of nutrients. If one wing is surgically removed early on, the other three will grow to a larger size. In the pupa the wing forms a structure that becomes compressed from top to bottom and pleated from proximal to distal ends as it grows, so that it can rapidly be unfolded to its full adult size. Several boundaries seen in the adult color pattern are marked by changes in the expression of particular transcription factors in the early pupa.

Butterfly Pupa

The pupa of a butterfly is known as chrysalis a term derived from the Greek word khrusos for gold, since a number of butterfly pupae, especially the Nymphalidae have metallic golden markings. The pupal stage is considered as the resting stage. But all transformations for the adult stage are taking place inside the pupa. Hence all the adult organs can be identified in it . but all these structures are firmly glued down to the surface. The abdomen is discernible with 10 segments and at the posterior end, there are generally a number of hooks forming a structure called the cremaster. This is used for the attachment of the pupa to the substrate. Pupa being immobile, is particularly vulnerable to attack by predators. Hence pupation frequently proceeds within a silken cocoon, of hollow of earth or leaf roll as in hesperiidae and some satyridae. The naked pupae are protectively coloured. Such naked puape may hang head – downwards by the cremaster ( tail hooks ) without any other support as in the Danaidae, most of the Satyridae and the Nymphalidae. They may also be attached by the cremaster but supported head- upwards by a silken girdle as in the Lycaenidae, Papilionidae and Pieridae. In both cases, the larva spins a little silken pad into which the hooks of cremaster are firmly embedded. They amy also gain protection by merging into the background and some are able to change their colour to match the surface on which they are resting. Others resemble dead leaves or pieces of twig and the poisonous pupae are usually conspicuous and brightly coloured. Normally the pupae are green or brown.

Adult butterfly emerges from the pupa in about 7 – 15 days. Adults emerge mostly during early morning hours. Adult crawls out by splitting open the pupal case on the back and perch on a suitable place. Immediately after emergence, wings are wrinkled and shriveled and they attain the normal shape soon. The wings get hardened after exposure to the sun. all these actions will be over within an hour. Then the fully opened butterfly will flutter out to find food and mate. At this point, the uric acid accumulated during the pupal period is eliminated in the form of a liquid, meconium, frequently yellow or pink or red. In some parts of the world, numerous drops of meconium sometimes produced following the mass emergence of certain species has given rise to such popular belief as the rain of blood.