Dingy scrubhopper

This is skipper similar to the Pygmy scrubhopper Aeromachus pygmaeus.But u can tell them apart easily.Dingy is larger,has an apiculus and its underside is more ochreous compared to pygmy scrubhopper.This species is more of a high altitude one generally found at heights of more than 1200 mts.Its an endemic species to Western Ghats

GOLDEN ANGLE

The Golden angle

The Golden Treeflitter

The Golden Treeflitter Quedara basiflava,is a very interesting skipper,found in Evergreen and semi evergreen habitats of this region.The adults are seldom seen in field...true to their name Treeflitter!The caterpillars are commonly seen on Calamus. Its cousin the Common Treeflitter Hyarotis adrastus is somewhat more common.The Golden treeflitter is endemic to Western Ghats.The detailed natural history of this species and the larvae was described by Krushnamegh Kunte in JBNHS recently.

THE SMALL BRANDED SWIFT

The Small Branded Swift Pelopidas mathias,is the commonest of the Branded swift group.The males have a linear stigma /brand on uppersides of their forewings ,which gives it the name.

Underside has a cell spot which diffenciates thsi species from Rice swift Borbo cinnara ,a very close insect for confusion in field.

CONTIGUOUS SWIFT

Unlike the Paintbrush swift the Contiguous Swift Polytremis lubricans is more of a sunlover.The males are very territorial ,patrolling their coveted territories chasing away all intruders.This species is very common in monsoon months especially in some specific pockets of this region,the Aakulam lake in the suburbs of Trivandrum is a good place where they can be observed commonly,commoner then even than the ubiqutous Rice Swift Borbo cinnara !

PAINTBRUSH SWIFT

The Paintbrush Swift Baoris farri, is a common species in lowland-midland riparian regions of the southern ghats.This species also has a mangroove/marsh association its because its foodplant Ochlandra is found in such areas.It also feeds on a number of other bamboos and Tiger bamboo seems to be a local favourite.
Caterpillars are green with black and white head with a single oval black spot on each lobe face.
The Males have a tuft of paintbrush like hair on hindwing cell on upperside hence the name.
A similar species Baoris penicilliata is found in Srilanka.

COMMON REDEYE

The common redeye Matapa aria,as the name suggests is a common skipper here,especially where its larval hostplants, which are anykind of Bamboobs, are plenty.Femles are seen more active in dawn and dusk mostly around hostplants. The eggs are small and when laid are covered with abdominal hairs.The spiral cell of the yellow-headed larva is characteristic.

INDIAN SKIPPER

The Indian Skipper is a diminutive little butterfly which usually keeps to low ground. Scientifically its called Spialia galba.The larvae is usually found in Sida sps,


a herb found in open places,roadsides and disturned habitats.A new food plant was added by us to this list which was Melochia(Kalesh& Satya 2004 in press).

THE TRAVANCORE EVENING BROWN

The Travancore Evening Brown Parantirrhoea marshalli Wood-Mason, was first described in 1880-81 in The Journal of Asiatic Society, Bengal. by Marshall and de Niceville.In the Butterflies of India, Burmah and Ceylon, it is stated that ‘P.marshalli has yet only been found in Travancore, where it was discovered by Mr. H.S.Fergusson on the Ashamboo hills in May’.

More than a has 100 years passed with only a handful of sightings of this rare butterfly. J.Wood- Mason wrote “No Asiatic genus of Satyrinae presents with any remarkable arrangement of the two hindermost veins of the anterior wings described above; but, in the South American genus Antirrhoea, we meet with identically the same arrangement...”Hence he proposed the name Parantirrhoea for the new genus. Larsen described this species as an endemic species in a monobasic genus and one of South India’s most interesting endemics and he never came across the species in Nilgiris.

This rare Nyphalidae is extremely endemic butterfly of Peninsular India and as far as we know only found in a narrow stretch of the land from Coorg to the Ashambu hills. The species was once thought to be extinct since its last sighting by Fraser in 1930. This insect is rather an entomologic curiosity because it’s nearest related genus Antirrhoea is only found flying in the South American Jungles. Both these genus is remarkable due to the peculiar arrangement of hindermost veins of the anterior wings.

In 2005- 2006 we discovered the lifecycle of the Travancore Evening Brown ,one of the worlds rarest butterfly species and reported for the first time history the larval host plant for the species.This paper had been accepted for publication and is in press (Kalesh& Satya in press) in the esteemed Journal of Bombay Natural History Society.

The Travancore Evening Brown, like all the other endemic fauna of Western Ghats, need our special attention since the attribute of being endemic might predispose these species to extinction. In this century of ever increasing forest depletion it is very important that we atleast conserve what little we have left with us. With this rate of destruction we may not even know that a particular species existed, it would be wiped out even before it is discovered. After all it’s only what we know that we can protect.

TAMIL GRASS DART

The Tamil Grass Dart is a little skipper very fond of open places and meadows.One sure place to see them is our Ponmudi hill top,they are seasonally very common about the monsoons.The larvae are moth like in habit,they drop down from their cells at the slightest disturbance.

THE TRICOLOR PIED FLAT

The Tricolor Pied Flat Pseudocoladenia indrani, is a very beautiful skipper at home even in Trivandrum suburbs.This species is polyphagous ie.its larvae may be found on many different species of plants.Grewia microcos is a preferred larval host plant in middle Travancore,while few other species of Grewia are used in Ashambu hills.Thae larvae makes a circular hole on the leaf and turns the cut part to make a cell and lies in it.The caterpillar of this species grows very slowly, often lying for months!

THE TAMIL SPOTTEDFLAT

The Tamil spotted flat resembles the Common spotted flat but is altogether less common species and restricted to the higher elevations of the Western ghats than the later. The white band on the forewing of the Common spotted flat is replaced by a discontinous series of spots in this species.

THE PYGMY SCRUBHOPPER

The Pygmy scrubhopper Aeromachus pygmaeus ,is our smallest skipper; grasslands are its favourite haunt.This tiny little butterfly is easily overlooked in field; so very rightly said 'our eyes see what the mind knows'!

A similar species called Dingy Scrubhopper Aeromachus dubius, is found in oour highlands.

THE BUSHHOPPER

The Bushhopper Ampittia discoroides, is an interestiing little orange and brown skipper that we may encounter in open spaces and grasslands especially at lower elevations of the Kerala state .Males may be seen sitting on vantage points low on ground chasing away intruders.This species may be commonly seen in ricefields,for Oryza is one of its numerous foodplants.

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 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.

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.