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Butterflies (all kinds !) fascinate man, both by their brilliant colours and their graceful movements. The young and fresh butterflies are brilliantly coloured, but as they grow older these colours tend to fade. The colours of certain butterflies change with the seasons. There are some butterflies, right here In Tambaram, which migrate probably to Ceylon and to the cooler parts of India like the Nilgiris to avoid the hot weather. Certain kinds on the campus mimic other species so well that it is difficult to distinguish them at first sight. For instance, when a black-bodied butterfly successfully mimics a red-bodied one, a closer look will be necessary to identify them.
Butterflies are of very little economic importance as very few of them can be classified as pests injurious to useful plants. However, they are of great value in the fertilisation of plants. Moths are sometimes mistaken for butterflies. The enormous pale green insect with long tails, sometimes seen on the campus is the Moon Moth. Another large moth found here is the Tussore Silk Moth. Most moths move about in the night unlike most butterflies. The antennae of butterflies are plain and thickened towards the ends, but those of moths are branched, fringed or just plain without being knobbed. The normal life span of a butterfly is a few weeks to over a year, depending on the species.
The Swallowtails (Papilionidae)
The largest and commonest of our butterflies in Tambaram are those belonging to the Swallowtail Family. Of these four species have tails. The Crimson Rose, Tros hector (Fig. 1) and the Common Rose, Tros aristolochiae (Fig. 2) are the best known of our red-bodied butterflies, found throughout the year. Both of them have some red in their black wings but the Common Rose has also some white patches in the hind wing. The black-bodied Common Mormon (male), Papilio polytes (Fig. 3) has black wings with a series of white spots on the hind wing. There are two varieties of the Common Mormon (romulus and stichius) in the campus and the females look quite different from the males. The female of the romulus form, mimics the Crimson Rose and the female of the stichius form mimics the Common Rose and the main difference to be noted, is in the colour of their bodies.
The Common Rose and the Crimson Rose butterflies lay their mustard-sized, orange-coloured eggs on the Aristolochia indica twiner which is a fairly common plant found here. The caterpillars that emerge are black with red markings and feed voraciously on the plant during day-time. It is interesting to record here that some of these caterpillars are heavily parasitised by braconid wasps. This results in the death of the caterpillars. Further research may help us to use these wasps in the biological control of caterpillar pests. Out of some of the caterpillars which the author kept for rearing, a large number of braconid larvae emerged from within the caterpillars and pupated in white silken cocoons on the caterpillars. In four to five days, the cocoons turn greyish, and mosquito-sized braconid wasps emerge. When tiny caterpillars are offered, the braconoid readily deposit their eggs inside the caterpillars. After 21 days, the larvae of the braconid wasps emerge from the caterpillar and pupate again. These braconid wasps act as a powerful check on the increasing population of these butterflies.
There are three more Swallowtails recorded in Tambaram and the commonest of them is the Lime Butterfly, Papilio demoleus (Fig. 4). It is tailless and its predominant colours are yellow and black. It is known to be a migratory species and it is commonly found here during the wet season. The Tailed Jay, Zetides agamemnon and the Common Jay, Zetides doson are fast fliers and are less frequently encountered.
The Danaids (Danaidae)
The Danaids are well-known for their spectacular transcontinental migrations. We have in our campus, the Common Tiger, Danais plexippus (Fig. 6) which known as the Monarch Butterfly in the United States, is noted for its fall and spring migrations between Canada and southern United States. Some times during the migrations, thousands of them settle on a single tree and these Monarchs are protected by U.S. law. This butterfly is commonly met with in our gardens and it is orangish brown in colour with dark veins in the wings. The Blue Tiger, Danais limniace (Fig. 9) is another of our migratory Danaids. It is slightly smaller than our Swallowtails and its predominant colours are blue and black. These butterflies congregate in large numbers on the Duranta and the Crotalaria plants. They suck the sap out of the Crotalaria leaves after scratching the surface of the leaves, this some times damages the plants. The Blue Tiger is known to migrate and is very often found in the company of another butterfly, the Common Indian Crow, Euploea core (Fig. 7). The Common Indian Crow is a slow-flier and it is dark brown in colour with a series of white spots. The Plain Tiger, Danais chrysippus (Fig. 8) is orangish brown in colour like the Common Tiger, but without the dark veins.
The Whites and Yellows (Pieridae)
These arc butterflies of medium or small size and are white or yellowish in colour with black markings. The commonest of them are the Emigrants and they are migratory. The Lemon Emigrant, Catopsilia pomona (Fig.11) and the Common Emigrant, Catopsilia crocale, are yellowish in colour and very common during the wet season, but it is difficult to distinguish between them in the field. The Mottled Emigrant, Catopsilia pryanthe and the African Emigrant, Catopsilia florella are greenish white. The Common Grass Yellow, Terias hecabe (Fig. 13), which is yellow in colour with black borders can be found almost throughout the year. They can be usually found flying over grass lawns. Another species which is not so common is the Small Grass Yellow, Terias libythea, which, probably, is migratory. One also comes across, in the campus, the Crimson Tip, Colotis danae (Fig. 12), the Plain Orange Tip, Colotis eucharis, the Yellow Orange Tip, Ixias pyrene, the Common Jezebel, Delias eucharis and the Common Gull, Cepora nerissa.
The Acraeids (Acraeidae)
The only species represented here, is the Tawny Coster, Telchinia violae (Fig. 5). It is brick-red in colour with a black border and is a very slow flier, found even in the hotter months.
The Nymphalids (Nymphalidae)
The commonest and the prettiest of the Nymphalids represented in Tambaram, are the Pansies. They are of medium size and different colours, with characteristic 'eyes' (circular markings) on their wings. The Lemon Pansy, Precis lemonias (Fig. 10) is dark brown with lemon yellow spots and it is common in gardens. The Blue Pansy, Precis orithyia, is smaller and is of a shining blue colour. The others frequently met with are the Yellow Pansy, Precis hierta, the Peacock Pansy, Precis almana, and the Chocolate Pansy, Precis iphita. The Danaid Eggfly, Hypolimnas missipus is a well-known example of mimicry. The male is black with large white oval patches on the wings and the female mimics the Plain Tiger, which is believed to be repellant in taste to predators. The Common Leopard, Atella phalantha, is a noted migrant and common in the campus, where the Angled Castor, Ergolis ariadne and the Common Sailor, Neptis hylas are not as common. The Black Rajah, Charaxes fabius, can be seen flying over Flame Trees, Poinciana regia. They settle on them, to drink the sap which occasionally oozes out of the trees. This dark brown butterfly has two tails in each hind wing and it occasionally rests on wet patches in jungle roads.
The Blues (Lycaenidae)
These are our smallest butterflies and it is difficult to identify them without catching them. The Pea Blue, Lampides boeticus, called the Long-tailed Blue in Britain, is a noted migrant.
The other Blues are the Common Pierrot, Castalius rosimon, the Common Cerulean, Jamides celeno, the Lime Blue, Chilades laius, the Plains Cupid, Euchrysops pandava, Zebra Blue, Syntarucus plinius, the Monkey Puzzle, Rathinda amor and the Lesser Grass Blue, Zizeeria otis. The Indian Red Flash, Rapala melampus and the Indian Sunbeam, Curetis thetis are brightly orange-coloured on the upper side and are rare.
The Skippers (Hesperiidae)
The skippers are small dark brown insects which are difficult to identify with certainty, even after they are captured. The Small Branded Swift, Baoris mathias can be seen settling on the Stachytarpheta plant and the Common Grass Dart, Taractrocera maevius on grass patches.
India is a paradise for butterfly collectors and Tambaram is well-suited for the study of the life of butterflies (all kinds !). Butterfly-watching, many here will agree with me, is a fascinating and rewarding hobby and I hope that more people will pursue it seriously, even to the extent of catching and rearing them at home.
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| ADDENDA
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| DANAIDAE | Double-branded Crow (Euploea coreta)
Dark Blue Tiger (Danais melissa) |
| SATYRIDAE | Common Evening Brown (Melanitis leda)
Tamil Bushbrown (Mycalesis subdita) |
| NYMPHALIDAE | Joker (Byblia ilithyia)
Common Nawab (Eriboea athamas) Great Eggfly (Hypolimnas bolina) Grey Pansy (Precis atlites) |
| LYCAENIDAE | Gram Blue (Euchrysops onejus)
Common Silverline (Spindasis vulcanus) |
| PAPILIONIDAE | Common Birdwing (Troides helena)
Blue Mormon (Papilio polymenstor) Spot Swordtail (Pathysa nomius) Common Bluebottle (Zetides sarpedon) |
| PIERIDAE | Great Orange Tip (Hebomoia glaucippe)
Common Albatross (Appias albino) Psyche (Leptosia nina) Large Salmon Arab (Colotis fausta) |
| HESPERIIDAE | The Common Banded Awl (Hasora alexis)
Tricolor Pied flat (Coladenia indrani) Pale Palm Dart (Astychus pythias) |
| NOVEMBER 1977 |
GIFT SIROMONEY |
