Dark Blue Tiger

Dark Blue Tiger - Tirumala septentrionis Butler

Dark Blue Tiger Butterfly

Dark Blue Tiger Butterfly

Common Grass Yellow

Common Grass Yellow - Eurema hecabe Linnaeus

Common Grass Yellow Butterflies Mating

Wingspan: 40-50mm.

A right yellow butterfly with black borders on the upperside of its wings. It is found all over India.

It has a weak fluttering flight and feeds mostly on small, low growing flowers.

Eggs are laid on closed tender leaves of leguminous plants.

Eggs of Common Grass Yellow Butterfly

Caterpillar is yellowish, does not venture far from and pupation occurs on or near the host plant, near to the ground.

Caterpillar of Common Grass Yellow Butterfly

Pupa of Common Grass Yellow Butterfly

Larval Host Plants

Host plants are Legunimous and of families Mimosaceae (acacias, touch me not), Caesalpiniaceae (Cassia) and Fabaceae.

Plain Tiger - Danaus Chrysippus

Plain Tiger - Danaus Chrysippus

Plain Tiger Butterfly

Scientific name - Danaus chrysippus Linnaeus
Old name - Danais chrysippus Linnaeus

Plain Tiger Butterfly

Plain Tiger or African Monarch is a butterfly with a wingspan of 70- 80 mm. this is a tawny, medium sized butterfly. The body is black, spotted with white. The apical half of the fore wing is black and marked with a pure white band. The hind wing has three small, black spots approximately at the centre. The male has an additional larger and slightly bulging white centered spot. This spot is a cluster of scent scales that attract females. The hind wing has a thin, black border that encloses a series of semicircular white spots. The butterfly is somewhat oily and smooth to touch. The male is smaller than the female.

Plain Tiger Butterflies Mating

Larval Host Plants

The caterpillars feed on "milkweed" plants. These in our region, include a large bush - Calotropis gigantea, a herb growing in the vicinity of water - Asclepias curassavica and a straggling bush - Cryptolepis buchnani (Asclepiadaceae). The first two are commonly used.

Butterfly Caterpillar

Butterfly Caterpillar

Butterfly Larvae, or caterpillars, are multi-legged eating machines. They consume plant leaves and spend practically all of their time in search of food. Caterpillars mature through a series of stages, called instars. Near the end of each instar the larva undergoes a process called apolysis, in which the cuticle, a mixture of chitin and specialized proteins, is released from the epidermis and the epidermis begins to form a new cuticle beneath. At the end of each instar the larva molts the old cuticle, and the new cuticle rapidly hardens and pigments. Development of butterfly wing patterns begins by the last larval instar. Butterflies belong to the specialized and prolific lineage of holometabolous insects, which means that wings or wing pads are not visible on the outside of the larva, but when larvae are dissected tiny developing "wing disks" can be found on the second and third thoracic segments, in place of the spiracles that are apparent on abdominal segments. Wing disks develop in association with a trachea that runs along the base of the wing, and are surrounded by a thin "peripodial membrane", which is linked to the outer epidermis of the larva by a tiny duct.

Wing disks are very small until the last larval instar, when they increase dramatically in size, are invaded by branching tracheae from the wing base that precede the formation of the wing veins, and begin to express molecular markers in patterns associated with several landmarks of the wing. Near pupation the wings are forced outside the epidermis under pressure from the hemolymph, and although they are initially quite flexible and fragile, by the time the pupa breaks free of the larval cuticle they have adhered tightly to the outer cuticle of the pupa (in obtect pupae). Within hours the wings form a cuticle so hard and well-joined to the body that pupae can be picked up and handled without damage to the wings.

Butterfly Caterpillar

Butterfly larvae ( caterpillars) are quite variable in color and shape. Basically, they have a well – developed head, 3 thoracic and 10 abdominal segments. The head has simple eyes ( ocelli ), a pair of 5 segmented legs or true legs each, which endin a curved claw. The abdomen normally hears 5 pairs of prolegs of false legs on segments 3 to 6 and on 10. the first 4 pairs are called abdominal legs and the last pair the claspers. These prolegs are fleshy, more or less conical, retractile and flattened and have a series of hooks or crochets which help the larva in locomotion. Nine pairs of spiracles or respiratory pores are borne respectively on the prothoracic and irst 8 abdominal segments. The last segment carries a sclerotised plate called surnal plate or button of silk for pupal attachment. The larval skin or cuticle is soft and flexible and may be clothed with spines or setae (bristles) ina few cases.

The larvae mainly feed on leaves of flowering plants. They are very specific in their feeding habits and will usually only feed on a few closely related plant species. Larvae recognize their host plants by certain aromatic vegetable oils, which they contain. It is generally believed that selection may depend upon the detection of chemical attractants in the food species and of repellents in others.

Butterfly Egg

Butterfly eggs consist of a hard-ridged outer layer of shell, called the chorion. This is lined with a thin coating of wax which prevents the egg from drying out before the larva has had time to fully develop. Each egg contains a number of tiny funnel-shaped openings at one end, called micropyles; the purpose of these holes is to allow sperm to enter and fertilize the egg. Butterfly and moth eggs vary greatly in size between species, but they are all either spherical or ovate.

Butterfly Eggs

The egg is the fertilized ovum of the female. Butterfly eggs are commonly yellow or green in color and may darken just before hatching. The shape of the egg may be spherical or oval and flattened. The chorion ( egg – shell ) is often beautifully reticulated / sculptured with ribs or pits. The egg is slightly depressed at the top and a small opening or micro Pyle is situated in it. Through the micro Pyle, the sperm enters the egg for fertilization and after the eggs are laid, air and moisture for the developing embryo pass through the micro Pyle only . egg yolk provides the food for the developing embryo.

Butterfly Eggs are always laid on or in the immediate vicinity of plants or any other food resource suitable for larval feeding. They are laid singly or in clusters, mostly on the upper surface of leaves or any part of the plant and a few species of butterflies scatter their eggs at random as they fly over vegetation. Frequently, eggs are laid on the undersurface of the leaf to protect them from rain, direct sunlight and to some extend predators. The female usually glues the eggs to the surface of the leaf or any substrate with a viscous secretion from her body. Female butterflies select the food plants for egg laying both by chemical and visual cues. Species of danaidae scratch the leaf to confirm the identity before laying eggs. Females avoid plants that already have eggs laid on them. Thus ensures that food is there for her eggs only.

The fully formed embryo of the developing larva can be seen through the transparent chorion, just before hatching. The young larva gnaws its way through the shell and after hatching, it eats the shell as it contains nutrients essential for the larva. After eating the shell, the larvae will start devouring the food plant. Generally the egg period lasts for 3 – 4 days.

Butterfly Life Cycle

Butterfly Life Cycle - Facinating creatures these........

Butterfly Life Cycle

The life cycle of a butterfly has four stages, From Egg - Larva or Caterpillar - Pupa or Chrysalis - Adult Butterfly and is said to have a complete life cycle or metamorphosis.

Characteristically, butterflies undergo major developmental changes during their growth. For example, the butterfly lays eggs which hatch into creeping forms with chewing mouth parts. These are called caterpillars or larvae. Incidentally, the word caterpillar is derived from two latin words, catta pilosa, meaning ‘hairy car’ which is quite descriptive of some kinds. But butterfly larvae are not hairy. During this stage, the butterfly feeds and grows. As a matter of fact, it is only during the larval stage, that actual growth occurs, and a caterpillar’s only aim in life is to feed and store up food. As it increases in size, however, the number of cells in the body does not increase; they merely become larger. When full grown, the caterpillar sheds its skin and transforms into a pupa. This is called chrysalis in the case of butterfly. When this transformation occurs, the larval cells begin to die and clusters of adult cells, which have so far been quiescent, are stimulated into growth by hormones or chemical regulators secreted by glands in the head and thorax.

During the pupal stage, the larval tissues are torn down and slowly rebuilt into organs more fitted for aerial life. When the chrysalis is mature, the wings and legs of the future butterfly can be seen through its transparent skin. The developed butterfly crawls out by splitting open the chrysalis. At first, its wings are mere fluid filled sacs, but these rapidly expand and harden, and the adult winged butterfly is then ready for flight. It no longer has mouth parts fitted fro chewing leaves; they are now tube like and are used only for siphoning nectar from flowers. There is no growth during the adult stage.

My Butterly Garden

Sinu S Kumar

Being habitual of getting up early in the morning to go for a jog, and being the nature lover that I am, I usually take a few minutes to admire nature in all it’s glory with the majestic towering trees, the lovely and bright flowers, the chirpy birds and pretty butterflies on them.

Butterflies are fascinating creatures, and I do love them. Wildlife photography being my hobby I’ve seen a lot of butterflies in their natural habitat and with much difficulty managed to photograph some.

Well u can’t blame the butterflies for not co-operating; its just that they are not accustomed to people!!!

I have often tried to capture this beauty with my camera and been successful many a times; And they always took me back to the time when as a kid I wanted to capture this beauty in a very different way…in a glass bottle ! All grown up and hopefully matured too…now these delicate and graceful little souls hold more fascination than the ladies of Bollywood in all their myriad colors and hues and blink-n-u-miss appearances…!

And yes, my friends do snub me bout running after them often…so one day I shot back at them saying I don’t run after butterflies all the time…they just come to me naturally!! Well I guess now you know how the idea of a butterfly garden at my house germinated…

So exactly how do u woo butterflies? With lots of flowers….and chocolates? Nah, just flowers for the real butterflies I think…Hmm…I need to do some serious research on this I think…!!

So... lemme first find out more about the butterflies.....