Butterflies of Sri Lanka

Ceylon rose is a globally threatened butterfly endemic to Sri Lanka.

Sri Lanka is home to 245 species of butterflies with 23 of these being endemic to the island.[1] Of the 245 species, 76, are listed as threatened nationally, while the Ceylon rose is designated as critically endangered.[2]

Main article: List of butterflies of Sri Lanka

General description

The majority of species are found in the foothills (up to 3,000 feet (910 m) elevation). A much smaller number of species are found above 4,000 feet (1,200 m), while 20 species of butterfly are restricted to the low lying dry zone (below 500 feet (150 m) elevation). The number of butterflies peaks in two seasons during the year. The first of these is during the southwestern monsoon in the months of March to April. The second is during the northeastern monsoon which continues from September to October.

Feature	Butterflies	Moths
Shape and structure of antennae	thin slender filamentous antennae which are club-shaped at the end	comb-like or feathery antennae, or filamentous and unclubbed
Wing-coupling mechanisms	lack a frenulum	have a frenulum which is a filament arising from the hindwing and coupling (matching up) with barbs on the forewing. The frenulum can be observed only when a specimen is in hand. Some moths have a lobe on the forewing called a jugum that helps in coupling with the hindwing.
Pupae	form an exposed pupa, also termed a chrysalis	moth caterpillars spin a cocoon made of silk within which they metamorphose into the pupal stage.
Colouration of the wings	bright colours on their wings	usually plain brown, grey, white or black and often with obscuring patterns of zigzags or swirls
Activity	diurnal	nocturnal and crepuscular
Structure of the body	have slender and smoother abdomens	have stout and hairy or furry-looking bodies
Scales	possess fine scales	larger scales on their wings which makes them look more dense and fluffy
Appearance of eyes	apposition eyes	superposition eyes
Resting posture	fold their wings above their backs when they are perched	rest with their wings spread out to their sides

Within Sri Lanka, the latest revision of lepidopterans described 1903 species with 58 families of butterflies and moths. Out of these 1903 species, 208 species are butterflies and 1695 species are moths.

The family-wise number of butterfly species are:[2]: 53 

Family	Species
Papilionidae	15
Pieridae	27
Nymphalidae	69
Lycaenidae	86
Hesperiidae	46
Riodinidae	1

History of studies on butterflies

The first studies of Ceylon butterflies were published by James Emerson Tennent in Ceylon, Physical, Historical and Topographical based on work by Robert Templeton and Edgar Leopold Layard active in the 1840s. In these early years William de Alwis made watercolour illustrations of life histories. Later in the century this was followed by The Lepidoptera of Ceylon by Frederic Moore which was published in 1880. Pioneering studies based on field observations were published by Walter Ormiston, a tea planter from Kalupahani, Haldumille, in 1924, Lionel Gilbert Ollyet Woodhouse and George Morrison Reid Henry in 1942 and by Woodhouse again in 1950. Bernard d'Abrera published The Butterflies of Ceylon in 1998 based on examination of specimens in the Natural History Museum in London. Recently, papers have been published on status of particular butterfly families, check-lists of various localities, life-cycles and natural history as well as butterfly migration.[2]

New species

In 2008, Dr. Michael van der Poorten discovered a new species of Sri Lankan butterfly, the first such discovery in 60 years.[3] The species has been identified as Catopsilia scylla.

Conservation

Habitat destruction and degradation, air pollution, over-usage of pesticides, and over-exploitation for ornamental trade are the main threats to butterflies in Sri Lanka.[2] Prolonged droughts and over-predation also pose a threat to them. Opportunistic predators such as ants and birds prey on butterfly eggs, caterpillars, pupae and adults. The Ceylon rose and Ceylon birdwing are presently included in the appendices of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). This United Nations initiative aims to protect these species against over-exploitation by restricting trade across borders.

Endemic species

The Ceylon birdwing is the largest butterfly endemic to Sri Lanka.

A majority of endemic species are restricted to the wet zone forests.[2] The Ceylon birdwing is one of the largest endemics of the country and is found in large numbers in the Sinharaja Forest Reserve.[4]

Common name	Binomial name
Ceylon tree-nymph	Idea iasonia
Ceylon tiger	Parantica taprobana
Ceylon palmfly	Elymnias singhala
Ceylon treebrown	Lethe daretis
Ceylon forester	Lethe dynsate
Cingalese bushbrown	Mycalesis rama
Sinhalese five-ring	Ypthima singala
Blue oak leaf	Kallima philarchus
Ormiston's oakblue	Arhopala ormistoni
Ceylon cerulean	Jamides coruscans
Milky cerulean	Jamides lacteata
Woodhouse's four lineblue	Nacaduba ollyetti
Pale Ceylon six lineblue	Nacaduba sinhala
Green's silverline	Cigaritis greeni
Clouded silverline	Cigaritis nubilus
Ceylon indigo royal	Tajuria arida
Ceylon hedge blue	Udara lanka
Lesser albatross	Appias galene
One spot grass yellow	Eurema andersonii
Ceylon rose	Pachliopta jophon
Common birdwing	Troides darsius
Black flat	Celaenorrhinus spilothyrus
Decorated ace	Halpe decorata

source: srilankaninsects.net[1]

See also

Harish Gaonkar

References

1. "Butterflies of Sri Lanka". srilankaninsects.net. Archived from the original on 2009-11-26. Retrieved 2009-11-07.
2. Perera, W.P.N. & Bambaradeniya, C.N.B. (2006). "Species richness, Distribution and Conservation Status of Butterflies in Sri Lanka". In Bambaradeniya, Channa N. B. (ed.). The fauna of Sri Lanka: status of taxonomy, research, and conservation (illustrated ed.). Colombo, Sri Lanka: IUCN. p. 55. ISBN 955-8177-51-2. Retrieved 2009-11-07.
3. Hopman, Tahnee (February 24, 2008). "Lanka gets new butterfly". The Sunday Times. Retrieved 2009-11-07.
4. "Nature's jewels at Sinharaja". Sunday Observer. November 27, 2005. Archived from the original on 2011-06-06. Retrieved 2009-11-07.

• Channa N. B. & Bambaradeniya E. (2006). The Fauna of Sri Lanka: Status of Taxonomy, Research, and Conservation. Colombo, The World Conservation Union (IUCN).
• D'Abrera, B. L. (1998). The Butterflies of Ceylon. Hill House: Melbourne; London. ISBN 0-947352-35-X
• Henry, G. M. R. & Woodhouse, L. G. O. (1942). The Butterfly Fauna of Ceylon. Colombo; Ceylon.
• Moore, F. C. (1880–1887). The Lepidoptera of Ceylon. L. Reeve & Co.: London. 3 v.
• Ormiston, W. (1924). The Butterflies of Ceylon. Colombo, H. W. Cave.
• Pethiyagoda, R. (1998). "The family de Alwis Seneviratne of Sri Lanka: pioneers in biological illustration". Journal of South Asian Natural History. 4: 99–110.