Rathinda Explained
Rathinda is a butterfly genus in the family Lycaenidae. It consists of a single species, Rathinda amor, the monkey puzzle, found in Sri Lanka and India.[1] [2]
Habitat
The species is endemic to South Asia, specifically India's Western Ghats, the southern Indian plains, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka. It thrives in jungles of moderate to heavy rainfall and scrub forests below 900m (3,000feet). It prefers the undergrowth but can be seen along forest paths and clearings. It can also be seen in gardens with one or more of its host plants.
Life cycle
Larva
The caterpillars are pale green and possess fleshy, red protrusions along the back.
Pupa
The chrysalis is green and turns brown as it nears maturity. The pupa is attached to foliage by a single stalk at the tail end.
Imago
The monkey puzzle is a weak flier. It keeps low to the ground and generally does not stay airborne for long. When it lands, it tends to turn around, sidestep, and waggle its tail filaments. This may serve to confuse predators as to which end is the butterfly's head.
Food plants
The butterfly feeds on soapberries, myrtles, and mangos as well as plants from the families Rubiaceae (Notably Ixora coccinea), Dipterocarpeae, Euphorbiaceae, and Loranthaceae,.[3]
See also
References
- Book: Evans . W.H. . William Harry Evans . The Identification of Indian Butterflies . 2nd . Mumbai, India . . 1932 .
- Book: Gaonkar, Harish . Harish Gaonkar . Butterflies of the Western Ghats, India (including Sri Lanka) - A Biodiversity Assessment of a Threatened Mountain System . Centre for Ecological Sciences . Bangalore, India . 1996 .
- Book: Gay . Thomas . Kehimkar . Isaac David . Punetha . Jagdish Chandra . Common Butterflies of India . Nature Guides . World Wide Fund for Nature-India by Oxford University Press . Bombay, India . 1992 . 978-0195631647 .
- Book: Haribal, Meena . The Butterflies of Sikkim Himalaya and Their Natural History . Gangtok, Sikkim, India . Sikkim Nature Conservation Foundation . 1992 .
- Book: Kunte, Krushnamegh . Butterflies of Peninsular India . India, A Lifescape . Hyderabad, India . Universities Press . 2000 . 978-8173713545 .
- Book: Wynter-Blyth, Mark Alexander . Mark Alexander Wynter-Blyth . Butterflies of the Indian Region . 1957 . Bombay, India . . 978-8170192329 .
- Shihan, T.R. (2016) A Photographic Guide to the Butterflies of Bangladesh. Butterfly Reintroduction Farm, Chuadanga, Bangladesh.
Notes and References
- Book: A Synoptic Catalogue of the Butterflies of India. R.K.. Varshney. Smetacek. Peter. Butterfly Research Centre, Bhimtal & Indinov Publishing, New Delhi. 2015. 978-81-929826-4-9. New Delhi. 113. 10.13140/RG.2.1.3966.2164.
- http://www.nic.funet.fi/pub/sci/bio/life/insecta/lepidoptera/ditrysia/papilionoidea/lycaenidae/theclinae/rathinda/ "Rathinda Moore, [1881]"] at Markku Savela's Lepidoptera and Some Other Life Forms
- Kalesh, S & S K Prakash. 2007. Additions of the larval host plants of butterflies of the Western Ghats, Kerala, Southern India (Rhopalocera, Lepidoptera): Part 1. Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society. 2. 235–238. 104.
