Butterflying - Common sailor (Neptis Hylas)

Common sailor (Neptis Hylas)

The Sailors, or Gliders as they are sometimes called, are all members of the genus Neptis - a large and confusing group of butterflies found across much of the world, excluding the Americas. They are noted for their characteristic sailing flight, and their shared theme of white spots and bars on a black background.

Neptis hylas,the common sailor,is a species of nymphalid butterfly found in the Indian subcontinent and southeast Asia.

Dry-season form has Upperside black, with pure white markings.

Wet-season form differs only in the narrowness of the white markings and in the slightly darker ground colour and broader black margins to the spots and bands on the underside.

The sexes look similar but the female is quite large. 

It is active during most of the day except early morning and late afternoon. It eludes the heat by resting in closed wing position during the hot hours of the day, for otherwise it is found with open wings. It feeds on both flowers and fruits.

The butterfly has a distinct weak gliding / "sailing" flight which is different from the other black-and-white genus Athyma species, which have a more robust and stronger flying pattern.

It prefers sunny habitats such as parks, roadside vegetation, wastelands and scrublands. 

Both sexes periodically alight to bask on the foliage of trees and bushes. Males sometimes imbibe moisture from damp ground, but like the females they are more often seen nectaring at flowers.

References : 

https://www.dilmahconservation.org

http://www.butterflycircle.com

https://www.learnaboutbutterflies.com

Wikipedia

pictures:

Kerala  (2019)

Butterflying - Cupha Erymanthis (Rustic Butterfly)

Cupha erymanthis (Rustic Butterfly)

The Cupha erymanthis is commonly known as the Rustic Butterfly and belongs to the Nymphalidae Family. The males and females are identical.

A lighter median band can be distinguished on the upper side of the forewing. The forewing apex and outer margin are dark brown in colour. Both wings are marked in various patterns of dark brown, which are more numerous on the hindwing. The colour and pattern of its underside vary to a great extent. The under surface is always lighter in colour than the upper surface. The numbers of white markings varies, and are sometimes entirely absent on the forewing. These markings form an irregular band. Its eyes have a pale greenish yellow tinge. 

The Rustic is a relatively common species which stays within the vicinity of the nature reserves. It is often spotted close to where its host plant, Flacourtia rukam (Indian Prune) can be found.

The Rustic is an active butterfly and usually appears on sunny days. It is an alert butterfly and is difficult to photograph as it flits from leaf to leaf and rarely stops for long. Even when alighted on a perch, its wings are often moving continuously, ready to take off at the slightest distraction.

The Rustic prefers to bask with its wings partially open in sun beams which filter down through the canopy to the shrubbery of forest. Males suck on minerals from sand beds in streams but are not fond of mud patches. This is a migratory species.

References : 

https://www.dilmahconservation.org

http://www.butterflycircle.com

Wikipedia

pictures:

Kerala (2018, 2019)

Butterflying - Luthrodes pandava (Plains Cupid)

Luthrodes pandava (Plains Cupid)

Luthrodes pandava (Chilades pandava) is a widespread and fairly common species, found in countries such as India and Singapore. They are among the few butterflies that breed on plants of the cycad family.

This is a very small butterfly. The upperside of the male is light blue with narrow black markings, whilst the female has broader borders and is paler. The average wingspan of the butterfly is 13-15mm. There is a short white-tipped tail on each hindwing.

The Cycad Blue, as it's alternative name "Plains Cupid" suggests, is confined to the lowlands, being found mainly in gardens and parks, along roadsides, and other disturbed areas.

The butterflies are usually seen in one's and two's, either sitting on low foliage, or nectaring at the flowers of various wild or cultivated herbaceous plants. Sometimes however they can be quite abundant, with up to a dozen fluttering about at a patch of flowers. 

This active butterfly feeds on the flowers of herbs and shrubs. Males engage in mud sipping. Both sexes congregate around larval food plants when young shoots are available. They bask with partially opened wings. 

It is abundant in places where its larval food plants grow commonly. It is also found in home gardens where its larval food plants are grown as ornamentals. The larval plants are Cycas revoluta, Cycas nathorstii.

References : 

https://www.dilmahconservation.org

http://www.butterflycircle.com

Wikipedia

pictures:

Kerala (2018, 2019

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There is this plant 'Cycas revoluta' in my mother in laws garden. That is why this butterfly is very common in our place. Anytime of the day , you can spot one. But very restless and difficult to capture on camera at the same time.

 

Butterflying - Papilio polytes (Common Mormon)

Butterflying - Papilio polytes (Common Mormon)

Papilio polytes, the common Mormon, is a Jet black butterfly with row of white spots along the middle part of hindwing. it is a common species of swallowtail butterfly widely distributed across Asia.

This butterfly is known for the mimicry displayed by the numerous forms of its females which mimic inedible red-bodied swallowtails, such as the common rose and the crimson rose.

The male has one morph only. It is a dark-coloured swallow-tailed butterfly. The upper forewing has a series of white spots decreasing in size towards the apex. The upper hindwing has a complete discal band of elongated white spots. It may or may not have marginal red crescents. The males are generally smaller in size than the females but not always.

The female of the common Mormon is polymorphic. it has several forms or morphs.

Form cyrus (strongly marked red crescents), 

Form stichius (mimics the common rose very closely) 

Form romulus ( mimics the common rose , but the models are red-bodied and the mimics are black-bodied)

The pictures here are of Form romulus.

The male common Mormon is a very common visitor to gardens where he will be seen hovering over flowers when the sun is shining. It is a restless insect, zigzagging fast and straight close to the ground, settling down only when it halts to feed.

The common Mormon prefers lightly wooded country, but is present everywhere and high up into the hills. It is a regular visitor to gardens, being especially abundant in orchards of its food plants—oranges and limes. It is most common in the monsoon and post-monsoon months.

In India, this butterfly is considered as the classic example of Batesian mimicry in which edible species resemble unpalatable butterflies in order to escape being eaten by predators.

Mimicry is limited to females, which are heavier with eggs, slower in flight and therefore in greater need of adaptive protection.

References : 

The Hindu article on 'How Butterflies mimic'

Wikipedia

pictures:

Kerala (2018, 2019)

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Pictures are taken from my home in Kerala,  This is a the most common butterfly in our garden, all thanks to my mother in law for maintaining such a beautiful garden with a huge varieties of flowers creating the perfect habitat for this wonderful creatures. 

Butterflying - Junonia iphita ( Chocolate Pansy )

Junonia iphita  (Chocolate Pansy)

Junonia iphita, the chocolate pansy or chocolate soldier is a butterfly found in Asia. It is a brown in color.  Both sexes are very similar in appearance, but the female has slightly broader and more rounded wings. On the underside the wings are pale brown with a dark stripe, and look like a dead leaf.

Junonia iphita is found mainly in degraded and disturbed forest habitats including palm plantations, small clearings, and along roadsides and riverbanks. It also occurs in primary rainforest and temperate evergreen and deciduous forests.

Adults can be found nectaring from a variety of flowers with Lantana being one of their favorites.

The Chocolate Pansy exhibits seasonal variation, where they have wet and dry season forms which look slightly different from each other.

These butterflies are low flying, and spend long periods basking on herbage or on the ground. They are relatively easy to approach, and rarely fly far if disturbed. When not basking they tend to sit on the leaves of bushes or saplings, where they often remain motionless for several minutes even in hot sunny weather. Individuals maintain a territory and are usually found close to the ground level and often bask in the sun.

The eggs are often laid on the ground or on dry twigs near the host plants rather than on them. On hatching the larvae find their way to the host plants.

References : 

https://www.learnaboutbutterflies.com

http://reimanbutterfly.com

Wikipedia

pictures:

Kerala (2018, 2019)

Butterflying - Delias eucharis (Common Jezebels)

Delias eucharis (Common Jezebels)

The butterflies are popularly known as Common Jezebels. Most species are gaudily patterned in red, yellow, black and white - the colours serving to advertise their unpalatable nature to would-be predators.It is unpalatable due to toxins accumulated by the larvae from the host plants.

The common Jezebel is one of the most common of the approximately 225 described species in the genus Delias.

Delias eucharis is nomadic in behaviour, and can be found in a wide variety of habitats including temperate hill forest, tropical rainforest, dry open woodland and beach hinterlands. 

It is a common species in flowery gardens, and commonly visits flowering bushes in towns.The butterfly may be found wherever there are trees, even in towns and cities, flying high among the trees and visiting flowers.

The butterflies spend much of their lives high in the tree tops where their larval foodplants grow as parasites on a variety of tree species. They can often be seen flying from tree to tree on sunny mornings. Periodically however both sexes will descend and embark on a "nectaring run", fluttering swiftly from garden to garden, pausing here and there for a moment to sip the nectar. When nectaring, the wings are usually kept fluttering to support the weight of the butterfly.

It rests with its wings closed exhibiting the brilliantly coloured underside.

References : 

https://www.learnaboutbutterflies.com

Wikipedia

pictures:

Puducherry (2019)