THE SOUTHERN SPOTTED ACE

THE SOUTHERN SPOTTED ACE THORESSA ASTIGMATA, IS ONE OF THE COMMON SPECIES OF ACE OF OUR MIDLAND FORESTS.THE ADULTS AND THE LARVAE CLOSELY RESEMBLE THE SITALA ACE THORESSA SITALA, A VERY RARE AND ENDEMIC SPECIES OF THE PENINSULA.RECENTLY BOTH THE SPECIES WERE REARED BY US,THIS WAS THE FIRST REPORT OF THE EARLY STAGES OF SITALA ACE WHOSE LIFE CYCLE WAS UNKNOWN TILL THEN.

THE HAMPSON'S HEDGE HOPPER

HAMPSONS HEDGEHOPEPR OR BARACUS HAMPSONI,IS ONE OF THE SEASONALLY COMMON SKIPPERS OF OUR HIGLANDS. MANY A TIME ITS LARVAE HAS BEEN REARED BY US.THE BREIFNESS OF ITS ADULTS PRESENCE MAY WELL BE A SUGGESTION TO STRONG MIGRATORY INSTINCTS.

THE GIANT REDEYE

TRUE TO ITS NAME ITS THE GIANT AMONG HESPERIIDAE OF OUR COUNTRY! SCIENTIFICALLY GANGARA THYRSIS ITS LARVAE IS VERY COMMON ON ALL KINDS OF PALMS AND CALAMUS.THE CATERPILLARS ARE LARGE,WHITE AND THE BODY IS COVERED IN WHITE CEREOUS POWDER THAT GROW OUT A LONG STRANDS.THE CELL IS SHAPED IN A SPIRAL FASHION AT THE END OF THE LEAF.

THE MACULATE LANCER

KOOL NAME FOR A KOOL SKIPPER!

THE MACULATE LANCER SALANOEMIA SALA ADULTS ARE RARELY SEEN,MAY BE ENCOUNTERED IN DEEP SHADY AND MOIST RIPARIAN JUNGLE.LARVAE ARE VERY COMMON ON CALAMUS SPECIES.THEIR SLOW-GROWING LARVAE MAKES A VERY INTERESTING CELL ON THE DORSUM OF THE LEAF WITH SCALLOPED SIDE WALLS.

KALLAR

LOCATED ABOUT 50 KM FROM TRIVANDRUM,KALLAR IS A GREAT PLACE FOR WATCHING HESPERIIDAE.

THE FOREST TYPES ENCOUNTERD HERE INCLUDES THE EVERGREEN,MIXED FORESTS AND IN SOME AREAS DECIDIOUS FORESTS.NUMEROUS STREAMS TRAVERSE THIS REGION PROVIDING IDEAL SKIPPER TRAILS.THIS IMAGE TAKEN FROM KALLAR SHOWS THE IBEX HILL,ROUGHLY 1000M HIGH ABOVE MSL,KNOWN FOR THE PRESENCE OF THE NILGIRI THAR.

THE RIPARIAN TREKS

THE TREK PATH TOTHE MEENMUTTI WATERFALLS IN THE INTERIORS OF KALLAR PROVIDES GOOD OPORTUNITY TO WATCH RARE HESPERIIDS LIKE QUEDARA BASIFLAVA THE GOLDEN TREEFLITTER- A NARROWLY ENDEMIC SPECIES,THORESSA HONOREI THE MADRAS ACE,THORESSA ASIGMATA AND THE ORANGE TAILED AWL BIBASIS SENA.

THE PLAIN PALM DART

THUS FAR THE BUTTERFLY COUNT FROM THE WESTERN GHATS HAS BEEN 333. WITH OUR FINDING OF THE PLAIN PALM DART CEPHRENES PALMARUM THE COUNT WILL SOON OFFICIALLY GO UP BY ONE. THE DISTRIBUTIONAL RANGE OF THE PLAIN PALM DART HAD EARLIER BEEN IDENTIFIED AS THE WEST BENGAL, TO MYANMAR, JAVA, PHILIPPINES AND THE ANDAMAN AND NICOBAR ISLANDS.THE BUTTERFLY WAS RECENTLY DISCOVERED BY US AT THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, KERALA . THE MALE OF THIS BUTTERFLY IS EASILY CONFUSED WITH TELICOTA GENUS THE PALMDARTS- TELICOTA COLON PALE PALM DART AND TELICOTA ANCILLA THE DARK PALM DART,BOTH OF WHICH ARE QUITE COMMON IN THESE PARTS. FEMALES ARE UNMISTAKABLE.BUT THE SIMILARITIES ARE ONLY SUPERFICIAL. A CLOSER STUDIY REVEALS THE DIFFERENCES.

THE HIGHLANDS

THE MIDELEVATION EVERGREEN FORESTS CAN BE ENCOUNTERD IN THE HIGH LANDS OF THE REGION (>1000 M ABOVE MSL).LOCALLY CALLED 'SHOLAS' , YOU CAN SEE THEM HAVING A DISTANT CONNECTION TO THE SHOLAS OF THE HIGHRANGES.THESE FORESTS ARE CHARACTERISED BY STUNTED VEGETATION.CONFINED TO THE VALLEYS OF HILLTOPS THESE ARE SEPARATED FROM NEARBY 'SHOLAS' BY MONTANE GRASSLANDS.THE SKIPPERS COMMONLY SEEN IN THIS REGION ARE THE HEDGEHOPPERS BARACHUS Sps GRASSDARTS TARACTROCERA Sps AND BRANDED SWIFTS PELOPIDAS Sps. WE HAVE ALSO REPORTED SIGHTINGS OF ARNETTA MERCARA THE COORG FOREST HOPPER AND HALPE SITALA THE SITALA ACE ,THE FIRST RECORDS OF THESE FROM ASHAMBU RANGES.

MIDLANDS OF THE REGION

THE STREAMS AND RIVULETS ARE FLANKED BY OCHLANDRA REEDS THAT ARE LARVAL HOSTPLANTS OF A MYRIAD OF SKIPPERS CHIEFLY ACES OF HALPE, SOVIA &THORESSA.IN ADDITION ALSO SUPPORT THE LARVAL STAGES OF THE NARROWLY ENDEMIC TRAVANCORE EVENING BROWN BUTTERFLY
PARANTIRRHOEA MARSHALLI WOOD-MASON, 1880 ,ONE OF THE WORLDS RAREST NYMPHALIDS WHOSE EARLIER STAGES WERE DISCOVERD BY US IN 2005(KALESH & SATYA 2005 IN PRESS)

SKIPPERS OF EVERGREEN FORESTS

INTERIORS OF THE REGION BOASTS OF LUSH EVERGREEN FORESTS.SKIPPERS OFTEN ENCOUNTERD HERE ARE THE AWLS BIBASIS ;ACES HALPE,THORESSA; AND ALSO THE FLATS CELAENORRHINUS;FLITTERS HYAROTIS,QUEDARA;AND LANCERS SALANOEMIA.

AN INTRODUCTION

This Blog is about the butterflies of Southern Western Ghats of Peninsular India, and is primarily dedicated to the butterflies of family Hesperiidae-The Skippers.

We- Kalesh and Satya, are from Kerala in south western India.A doctor and Engineer by profession, studying butterflies of Family Hesperiidae is our second passion since the last 6 years.The posts in this Blogseries is based on our field observations on butterflies in and around the Ashambu Hills in South Western Ghats in Southern Kerala.