Sahyadri Red Helen

Papilio helenus daksha (Hampson, 1889) ചുട്ടിക്കറുപ്പൻ

Red Helen

Malayalam Name 

:

ചുട്ടിക്കറുപ്പൻ

Family 

:

Papilionidae

Sub-family             

:

Papilioninae

Tribe                     

: 

 Leptocircini

Order

:

Lepidoptera


DISTRIBUTION
                 India,  Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan, Myanmar, Bangladesh, Pakistan
STATUS:    Not very Common
HABITAT
Prefers in evergreen forests of heavy rainfall areas, but visits nearby gardens .
HABITS
Rapid weaving flight ,seen up to 2100 m and is one of the most common Swallowtail of the forest hills. Visits flowers and also settle on wet patches. Restlessly hover from flower to flower. It rest on  the upper surface of a leaf with its wings open and the forewing drawn down over hindwing hiding the white patches.
IDENTIFICATION  FEATURES
Large black Jet black butterfly with row of white spots along the middle part of hindwing. 90–100 mm wing span;
LARVAL HOST PLANTS
Atalantia racemosa, Aegle marmelos, Citrus aurantifolia , C. grandis, C.loimin, C. medica, C. sinensis, Glycosmis arborea, M.koenigii, Murraya paniculata, Tripahsia sp. and Zanthoxylum rhetsa.

LIFE CYCLE

MORE IMAGES


Red Helen
Red Helen - Mud puddling - Anterior view - Photographer: Pradeep Krishnan






 Courtesy 
Write up:Wikipaedia
Images: TNHS

കേരള വനം വന്യജീവി വകുപ്പ്  
മാങ്കുളം ഡിവിഷൻ

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Sahyadri Paris Peacock

Image
Papilio paris tamilana Moore, 1881- ചുട്ടി മയൂരി Malayalam Name  :   ചുട്ടി  മയൂരി Family  : Papilionidae Sub-family              : Papilioninae Tribe                      :   Leptocircini Order : Lepidoptera DISTRIBUTION: The species found throughout S outh East Asia and India. the subspecies found in South India   STATUS: Common HABITAT:  Territorial, male patrolling the territory frequently, Mud puddling IDENTIFICATION FEATURES:  Black butterfly with  with  100–140 mm  wings span. Upperwings are black and sprinkled with irridiscent dark green scales, which on the outer portion of the forewing coalesce and form an incomplete postdiscal narrow band which is straighter than the similar subterminal band on the forewing of Common Banded Peacock. On the hindwing,; a conspicuous upper discal shining blue patch occupies the base of interspace 4 and outer portions of interspaces 5 and 6; this patch is variable in size, a prominent claret-red largely black-centred eyespots at the tornal ang
Read more

Malabar banded peacock,

Image
Papilio buddha  ( Westwood 1872)  Malayalam Name:  ബുദ്ധ മയൂരി Common Name: Malabar Banded Peacock Order : Lepidoptera Super family: Papilionoidae (Butterflies) Family: Papilionidae Sub family: Papilioninae DISTRIBUTION The species is endemic to the Western Ghats. STATUS State Butterfly of Kerala. Not common,  but locally abundant in some areas having host plants. HABITAT Restricted mainly to the lowland evergreen and semi-evergreen forests. HABITS The Malabar Banded Peacock is the most beautiful butterfly in peninsular India. Mostly flies among the tree-tops. active during the noon and afternoon, flies fast and straight and the female are rarely seen as they probably spent most of their time in denser forests. IDENTIFICATION FEATURES Wingspan 90-100mm.  Black butterfly with a broad metalic blue band on the upper side of the wings which forms a V shape . The underside of the wings is black without a trace white spots, a lateral white band from segments 5-6 to the anal end and a faint
Read more

75.Sahyadri Rustic

Image
Cupha erymanthis maja Fruhstorfer, 1898 — Sahyadri Rustic                                                                            Malayalam Name          :      വയ്യങ്കതൻ Family                            :    Nymphalidae Sub-family                     :     Heliconiinae Order                            :     Lepidoptera DISTRIBUTION              South and South East Asia. The sub species found in South India STATUS         :      Not Rare HABITAT               Common in evergreen and  deciduous forests where the host plants of Flacortiacea family are seen.  HABIT              Found nearby the host plants of Flacourtiacea family. Male and Female alike.  LARVAL HOST PLANTS               Larvae feed on plants of  family Flacourtiaceae like Flacourtia montana ( വയ്യങ്കത ) , Flacourtia indica , Flacourtia jangomas  ( ലോലോലിക്ക ) , Glochidion nilgiricum etc.   LIFE CYCLE Life Cycle- Sahyadri Rustic                 Courtesy: TK Sreenivasan MORE IMAGES Photo Courtesy: Pradeep Krishna
Read more