Orchid Tit butterfly sighted at Ponmudi

G. Mahadevan

RARE: The orchid Tit butterfly spotted at Ponmudi-Kallar area recently.

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Two nature lovers from Thiruvananthapuram, on a visit to the Ponmudi-Kallar reserve forests this week, have sighted the Orchid Tit butterfly (Hypolycaena othona).

C. Susanth and S. Aneesh sighted the butterfly on April 14. The Orchid Tit belongs to the family of Blue Butterflies (Lycaenid) and is believed to be among the most rare of butterflies in the State. According to information made available by Mr. Susanth this butterfly was sighted by British lepidopterist T.B. Larsen in the Nilgiris in the 1980s. The Orchid Tit was also sighted by E. Kunhikrishnan, Lecturer of Zoology at the University College, Thiruvananthapuram, at the Thattekkad Bird Sanctuary and the Kulathupuzha forest.

"We have verified that this is for the first time that the Orchid Tit is being seen in the Ponmudi area that is part of the Ashambu hills. We spotted the butterfly near a stream," Mr. Susanth told The Hindu here on Tuesday.

The butterfly, he explained, was normally found to stay at the canopy-level inside the forests and it rarely ventured to the forest floor. The larvae of this butterfly are known to survive on wild orchids in dense forests.

The butterfly is pale blue on top and white below. It has broken black and orange spots/bands and a prominent black spot on its base. The black spots seen on the edges of the wings are prominent and have an orange crown. The main attraction of this butterfly is the two thread-like tails seen on the hind wing, Mr. Susanth said. The butterfly has a wingspan of 24 to 27 mm.

"According to Krushnamegh Kunthe, author of `Butterflies of Peninsular India,' the Orchid Tit is rare and locally distributed in the southern Western Ghats. During sunny hours, it visits forest streams, rivulets and openings. It also visits flowers occasionally. The flight of this butterfly is weak and the insect settles frequently on the leaves of trees, on flowers and on damp patches," Mr. Susanth added.

Though the butterfly is sighted rarely in the south, it is more common in north India, chiefly in the dense jungles of Assam and Arunachal Pradesh.

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