Sri Lanka is now facing the third wave of Covid 19, which makes most of the people stay indoors while travel restrictions are active throughout the country.
During this time it gave me the opportunity to spend time with my family hence I came to my wife's house in Urubokka - A small village in Sri Lanka which is situated close to Deniyaya in the southern province. The drive to the village from Colombo takes approximately 5-6 hours. The area is truly amazing with the views of homegrown tea plantations and small forest patches which are excellent for birdlife. During my stay here I have observed several endemic bird species including Crimson backed flameback and Sri Lanka jungle fowl. Jungle fowls are quite common in the area and can see every day searching for foods in home gardens. Apart from them, I was able to come across the spotted dove, purple sunbird, Shikra, lesser hill myna, oriental magpie robin, white-throated kingfisher & scarlet minivet.
During the past few days, I managed to spot many butterfly species also in the area so thought to observe them more closely on 11th June 2021. As per the butterfly observation records in Sri Lanka, it is believed that the months of May and June are excellent times for butterflies. On 11th June 2021, I was sitting in front of the house and spotted a big colorful butterfly flying around a small tree. The time around 11.47 am and I did manage to identify the butterfly and it was a Common Rose- Pachliopta aristolochiae.
The common rose is a swallowtail butterfly belonging to the genus Pachliopta, the roses, or red-bodied swallowtails. It is a common butterfly that is extensively distributed across the south and southeast Asia. However unfortunately my camera was not with me, so with the help of my mobile phone I was able to photograph these beautiful creatures which makes me worry about the sharpness of the images.
Around 1 pm on the same day in the same tree, I spotted the Blue Mormon- Papilio polymnestor butterfly which is one of the largest species that can be seen in Sri Lanka. It is a large swallowtail butterfly found in south India and Sri Lanka. With the assistance of Google, I found that It is the "state butterfly" of the Indian state of Maharashtra.
The two sightings increased my desire to observe them more. Following day 12th June 2021 around 12.18 pm, my wife spotted another colorful butterfly sitting on a dry leaf on the ground. I managed to capture a close image of the butterfly and identified it as the Red Pierrot - Talicada nyseus .
Compared to the size of the above two butterflies, this is a small butterfly but a striking butterfly found in the Indian subcontinent and South-East Asia belonging to the lycaenids, or blues family. Again I started to observe this butterfly closely and it was on a mission searching for something. This is a normal behavior of the butterflies known as Mud puddling. In this case, they seek out nutrients in certain moist substances such as rotting plant matter, mud, and carrion and they suck up the fluid. It is believed that butterflies congregate on mud and other things mainly for salts. The salts and amino acids absorbed during mud puddling.
At 12.48 pm on the same day, I saw another brownish color small butterfly named Indian palm bob- Suastus gremius.
It can be commonly seen in Sri Lanka except for the central highlands.
Around 1. 26pm on the same day I saw a pair of white butterflies flying around a small plant. I managed to identify the butterfly as the Psyche- Leptosia nina. This is a small butterfly of the family Pieridae and is found in the Indian subcontinent, Southeast Asia and Australia.
At 4.15 pm I saw another beautiful butterfly with black stripes on the wings called Common Sailor- Neptis hylas . Common Sailor is a species of nymphalid butterfly found in the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia. It has a characteristic stiff gliding flight achieved by short and shallow wingbeats just above the horizontal.
It was a very successful day as I started to spot them in my home garden. I am truly grateful and thankful to Mr. Suchithra Hettiarachchi for assisting me to identify and confirm these species.
On 13th June 2021- today I was writing this article sitting in front of the small tree where I managed to spot most of these butterflies. 10.25 am I was fortunate to spot another butterfly species which was not mentioned above. This time it was a Common Mormon- Papilio polytes. The Common Mormon is another species of swallowtail butterfly widely distributed across Asia.
14th June 2021 was not a sunny day. We had heavy rain from last night till morning but around 12 pm the rain slowly ceased. I was outside the house close to a small tea plant and suddenly saw another butterfly flying over the tea plantation but completely different from the species I have spotted so far. With my luck, I managed to get a clear shot of the butterfly and it was a Chocolate solider -Junonia iphita.
The chocolate soldier is a butterfly found in Asia. The wingspan is about 5–6 cm and the female can be told apart from the male by white markings on the oblique line on the underside of the hindwing.
15th June 2021- I was in the house and having my morning tea. Suddenly a butterfly came into the house and it was flying around me. The time was 8.54 am. I quickly took my phone and tried to take a snap of my visitor. How lucky I am. The Butterfly came into my finger so easily identified with a clear shot. This is Common evening brown -Melanitis leda
It is a common species of butterfly found flying at dusk. The flight of this species is erratic. They are found in Africa, South Asia and South-east Asia extending to parts of Australia.
At 12.32 pm I managed to spot another new butterfly very close to my home. It was a Common palmfly-Elymnias hypermnestra. The common palmfly, is a species of satyrine butterfly found in South and Southeast Asia.
I was looking for some more in the area and spotted small insect this time on a big leaf and with the assistance of Miss. Narmada Dangampola, who was a president of Butterfly conservation society of Sri Lanka I have identified it as the Bush hopper-Ampittia dioscorides.
16th June 2021-Today was another successful day for my research. At 11.29 am I saw a beautiful butterfly flying around some of the bushes so quickly. It was a challenging task for me to photograph the object with my mobile phone while he was moving so fast. But finally managed to snap it and identifies as the Tailed Jay- Graphium Agamemnon.
The tailed jay, is a predominantly green and black tropical butterfly that belongs to the swallowtail family. The butterfly is also called Green-spotted Triangle, Tailed Green Jay, or the Green Triangle. It is a common, nonthreatened species native to India, Sri Lanka through Southeast Asia and Australia. Several geographic races are recognized.
In the evening 4.15 pm, I saw another new butterfly species for my list and this time it was a Glassy Tiger- Parantica aglea. The glassy tiger, is a butterfly found in Indomalayan realm that belongs to the crows and tigers, that is, the danaid group of the brush-footed butterflies family.
Depending on the all records, I managed to make a checklist of butterflies which I was able to spot so far. I’m pretty much sure the list will increase in the next couple of days.
Common Rose- Pachliopta aristolochiae
Blue Mormon- Papilio polymnestor
Red Pierrot - Talicada nyseus
Indian palm bob- Suastus gremius
Psyche- Leptosia nina
Common Sailor- Neptis hylas
Common Mormon- Papilio polytes
Common Tiger-Danaus genutia
Tailed Jay-Graphium Agamemnon
Chocolate solider -Junonia iphita
Common evening brown -Melanitis leda
Common palmfly-Elymnias hypermnestra
Bush hopper-Ampittia dioscorides
Glassy Tiger- Parantica aglea
I will leave this hear, with the promise to update you with the days ahead and the sightings I am blessed to witness. I hope you and your loved once are safe and well during these uncertain times. Until then stay safe and take good care.
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