Oriental Blue Tiger

Tirumala limniace exoticus (Gmelin, 1790) 


Malayalam Name 

:

നീല കടുവ

Family 

:

Nyphalidae

Sub-family             

:

Danainae

Tribe                     

: 

Leptociaini

Order

:

Lepidoptera


DISTRIBUTION
                South Asia, and Southeast Asia
STATUS:   No
HABITAT
The
HABITS
Tts
IDENTIFICATION  FEATURES
Tirumala limniace is a small butterfly with wide wings. It has a wingspan of 90 to 100 millimeters, with the males being smaller than the females. The upper side of the wing is dark brown to black and patterned with bluish-white, semi-transparent spots and lines.[3] The blue of the bluish-white spots consists of the pigment pterobilin. In general, all butterflies can directly absorb heat from the sun via their wings to facilitate autonomous flight. Studies on blue tiger butterflies show that high-intensity light significantly increased flight activity. Blue tiger butterflies have a wing surface color that is composed of both light and dark colors. The dark areas on the wing surfaces are the heat absorption areas that allow for the facilitation of autonomous flight. 
SIMILAR SPECIES 
Glassy Blue Tiger, Nilgiri Blue Tiger, Commander,
LARVAL HOST PLANTS
Heterostemma spp., Holarrhena pubescens, Asclepias curassavica, Calotropis spp., C. gigantea, C. procera, Dregea volubilis, Cosmostigma cordatum, Hoya spp., Cosmostigma cordatum, Marsdenia tenacissima, Tylophora indica, Vallaris solanacea (Apocynaceae), Saccharum spp., Saccharum officinarum (Poaceae).

LIFE CYCLE


MORE IMAGES

Female

Male




Courtesy 
Write up:Wikipaedia
Images: TNHS

കേരള വനം വന്യജീവി വകുപ്പ്  
മാങ്കുളം ഡിവിഷൻ

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