Welcoming the winged wonders

The large green tracts of Madurai’s countryside is now a kaleidoscope of bright colours. Thanks to the migrating season of butterflies

July 14, 2017 01:27 pm | Updated 01:28 pm IST - MADURAI:

A rabble of Butterflies mud-puddling in the Alagar Hills

A rabble of Butterflies mud-puddling in the Alagar Hills

The leeward side of Sirumalai hills is a unique ecosystem that receives optimum rain and shine. Apart from being home to a number of birds and small mammals, the area also supports a wide variety of butterflies. On a recent walk to Mulaiyur, a quaint village atop the hills, environmentalists have recorded over 30 species of butterflies.

“There's a check dam next to the village where we saw a huge rabble of butterflies. It was a sunny morning and a lot of them were either sun-basking on rocks and leaves or mud-puddling in the moist soil around the dam,” recalls Anand Sundaram, who has been documenting butterflies in Madurai for last two years. He adds that June to July is the right season to follow butterflies as they migrate from the monsoon-fed Western Ghats to the salubrious Eastern Ghats. “The next generation will again fly back to the Western Ghats during November and December. On both these routes, they criss-cross the plains and that's when we get to see a large number of them in the outskirts of the city.”

Green pockets

Butterfly enthusiasts have been taking regular walks and have identified several hotspots. Periyaruvi Valley in Alagar hills, Manjamalai in Sirumalai hills, Karanthamalai in Natham, Madakulam, Tiruparankundram hill, millet fields of Sivarakottai and Rayapalayam and Arittpatti hillock are places in the city peripheries that nurture a healthy population of butterflies.

“Inside the town, there are green pockets like P&T Nagar and Park Town where we have recorded a few species,” says Kumaresan Chandrabose, a Z oology student at The American College, who has also studied butterflies in the college campus. “Though the campus is in the heart of the city, it has thick tree cover and along with the surrounding Rajaji Park, Collector's Office and Medical College forms a continuous green landscape that helps butterflies.”

Host plants

One of the main factors that support butterflies is the presence of host plants that are invariably native species of trees and shrubs. Erukkampoo (Calatropis), Thumbaipoo, Karuvepillai, Lemon tree, Idli poo and Murungai tree are some of the host plants that can attract butterflies even in a home garden.

“I have recorded life cycles of two Common Mormon butterflies in the lemon tree in my backyard,” says Chandrabose, who lives in Palanganatham. Sundaram has also captured the metamorphosis of Plain Tiger species in terrace garden at his Park Town house. “I saw the butterfly feeding on ladies finger flowers.” However, in the wild, it's the Lantana Camara, an invasive plant that hosts butterflies.

From high altitude species such as the Southern Birdwing to common ones like emigrants, swordtails, skippers, blues, tigers, pansies and roses, enthusiasts have identified over 90 varieties in Madurai district. Orient grass jewel and Tiny grass blue are among the smallest species found in Madurai. Swallow Tails are extremely rare and have been sighted only a couple of times in Periyaruvi Valley.

Skippers are the most elusive of butterflies, says Sundaram. “They are active during the dusk and are found mostly in damp areas. They don’t flap their wings much but hop instead of flying.” “Last year, we also invited experts from Tamil Nadu Butterfly Society to take part in survey and we were all happy to see a healthy population in Madurai,” adds Chandrabose.

Butterfly enthusiasts plan to organise regular walks to spread awareness and in due course also set up a butterfly park in Madurai like in Tiruchi. “Road kills of butterflies are seldom talked about, whereas a large number of them die getting hit by speeding vehicles on roads cutting through their migratory paths. Butterfly road kills are common in areas like Pollachi and Viralimalai,” says Sundaram.

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