The butterfly garden at Kanakakkunnu has been attracting adult butterflies, including a species that is not much seen in the city, besides becoming a breeding ground for them.
The butterfly garden was set up as part of Vasantotsavam last year. The Kerala Forest Research Institute (KFRI) that set up the garden was against the idea of a temporary arrangement for the duration of the festival. Hence, plants were grown in soil with the idea that the garden would evolve into a good one over time.
Blue Tigers
Today, the garden draws large numbers of Blue Tiger (Tirumala limniace), a butterfly that is not widely seen in the city, says T.V. Sajeev, Principal Scientist, KFRI.
Other butterflies such as common crow (Euploea core) and glassy blue tiger (Parantica aglea) also aggregate on Crotalaria retusa (kilukki) plant there.
The garden has also become a breeding site for butterflies.
In all stages
The winged beauties in all four stages — egg, larva, pupa, and adult — can be found here. The number of butterflies has increased in the garden and the the larger landscape as well, he says.
But for two or three species, all larval host plants essential for butterfly larvae to feed on have survived in the past year. These plants include karalakam, narakam (citrus), vazhana (cinnamon), ilamulachi, arali, kanikonna, kilukki, and vallipala. New host plants such as alpam, vallipala, karalakam, and vattakakka, besides nectar plants such as ixora, zinnia, marigold, and clerodendron are also being planted.
Now, the KFRI has received an enquiry about setting up a butterfly garden at the Secretariat. The garden location on the premises has been identified and a list of host plants to be procured has been handed over.
More on the cards
Mr. Sajeev says that following the State government’s push for biodioversity gardens in schools, the KFRI has set up 62 butterfly gardens in Thrissur and Palakkad. The Samagra Shiksha, Kerala, has now identified 2,500 schools across the State that have green spaces that can be upgraded into butterfly gardens. In the long run, these will form a network of gardens where observations on butterflies can be made simultaneously so that scientific information on their migration route in the State can be obtained.
He says this might encourage setting up of green spaces, where pesticides are not used, to attract butterflies. The public too might be enthused to turn their home gardens into butterfly gardens.
The butterfly garden at Kanakakkunnu has been spruced up for this edition of the Vasantotsavam too.
