From October, a large congregation of butterflies — North Dark Blue Tiger, Common Crow and Double-banded Crow — will begin to move swiftly through the Western Ghats. “The butterfly migration involves mass movements. It will begin any time now, we are waiting,” says A. Pavendhan of Tamil Nadu Butterfly Society (TNBS). “In Tamil Nadu, these butterflies migrate to the Western Ghats just before the onset of the Northeast monsoon. We want naturalists and the public to look out for a streak of colourful butterflies as they migrate in their neighbourhood and update the information on our Facebook page.”
One of TNBS’s prime objectives is to build excitement about butterflies, and encourage people to document it. “Unlike birds and mammals, we have no data on butterflies. We want to involve the public in the data-building exercise,” says Pavendhan.
As a part of awareness-building initiative, TNBS along with the District Forest Department organised a butterfly walk at Siruvani Hills. It brought together over 30 members from across the State including Chennai, Rajapalayam, Madurai, Sivagangai, Erode, Mettupalayam, and Tiruppur. There was representation from Bangalore too. “We recorded 138 species, which is a good number. During the exercise, we could also verify the status of butterflies that have been included in the Tamil Nadu checklist,” says Pavendhan. The TNBS has so far recorded 271 species of butterflies in Tamil Nadu after meticulous data collection over three years in several habitats.
It was a sunny day and, grouped into seven teams named after butterflies, the members covered different habitats — river streams, forest fringes, dense upper elevations, tribal hamlets, and open spaces. Some of them also went to the adjacent Velliangiri Hill, an unexplored terrain for butterflies.
Shahithya Selvaraj, a post-graduate student in Botany, photographed species like Tamil Cat’s Eye, Chestnut Bob, and Hampson’s Hedgehopper on the Tamil Nadu-Kerala border at Siruvani. “It was fascinating. I saw many species for the first time. Whenever I share my experience with my friends at college, they also learn more. It helps me learn about plants, as the presence of butterflies also indicates an abundance of host plants that they feed on,” she says. K. Sravan Kumar, who was a part of Malabar Tree Nymph team, was delighted as he spotted the butterfly his team was named after. “When there are more butterflies, there are more native plants, which indicate a healthy environment. These outings help me learn more from a conservationist point of view,” he says. Mohanprasath P. adds that most host plants have medicinal values. For example, he says, the Perumoozhi that can cure snake bites hosts the Southern Bird Wing, the largest butterfly of South India, and other species like common rose and crimson rose. Erukkan, the host plant of tiger species, also has curative properties.
Another member S. Vishwanathan says it was an opportunity to meet butterfly enthusiasts from other districts whom they have met only through social media. He is associated with conservation work of Nanjarayan Tank in Tirupur and was introduced to TNBS through Facebook. “I managed to see Grass Demon near a stream for the first time though it is very common. We also added nine new species to the Siruvani Hills checklist as a result of which the number jumped to 198. Many youngsters joined us this time, which is a good sign. We explored dense areas of the forest too.”
Pavendhan also draws attention to three rare butterflies that were sighted recently in Coimbatore. “We saw the Large Four-lineblue, a Lycaenidae butterfly and probably the biggest of the Nacaduba genus. They are seen at high altitudes and prefer thick moist forests. This is the new addition to our checklist.”
The other rare butterflies are Orchid Tit and Southern Duffer. Orchid Tit, recorded at Kallar Fruit Garden, is a small butterfly seen around its host plant, the epiphytic orchids. This is the second sighting in the state. A few months earlier it was recorded from Tirunelveli District, he says.
It was H. Theivaprakasham, an engineering student at Amrita University, who spotted the Southern Duffer at his college campus in Ettimadai. The duffers prefer the bamboo forests and clearings around them and are seen only during dawn and dusk. “After showing up at Kalakkad-Mundanthurai at Tirunelveli, this is a second sighting in recent times,” says Theivaprakasham. “As butterfly migration is set to begin, the awareness will help in gathering data on the seasonal migratory pattern of butterflies. The Vellingiri Hills, which is explored for the first time, yielded 61 species.”
Mohanprasath P. says that the objective is to document butterflies for the sake of future generations. “In Tamil Nadu, we have no records. We are passionate about butterflies and want to document our findings. In Kerala, surveys are done regularly to update the checklist. They also have a butterfly app featuring 340 species of butterflies and their common names in Malayalam. We want to do something like that in Tamil. We are also gathering information on common Tamil names. ”
Paavendhan says the presence of more species at Siruvani “indicates that the hills are still intact.”
Notable sightings
Butterflies to note were Large Four-lineblue (a new addition to TN checklist), Paris Peacock, Malabar Rose, Spotless Grass Yellow, Plain Puffin, Treebrowns (Common and Tamil), Sergeants (Common, Colour and Blackvein), White-tipped Lineblue, Silver-streaked Acacia Blue, Coon, and Demons (Grass, Restricted and Common Banded).
More on migration
The Tamil Nadu Butterfly Society requests naturalists and common people to look out for mass movements of butterflies in their neighbourhood in the coming days. You can add your observation in a prescribed format by visiting the TNBS Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/groups/373700319460990/ .You can email them at : tamilnadubutterflies@gmail.com
Photos by: A. Pavendhan, Nishanth CV, Sharan Venkatesh and H. Theivaprakasham
