It had been a fairly long time since I visited Lalbagh to do some butterflywatching. I was around the area today, and I thought of checking the place out for a short while because some tiny part of my brain insisted that it was going to be a lucky day.
Lalbagh, as we see it, has been losing its bird diversity over time. As evident as it may seem, we don't hear the Coppersmith Barbets the way we used to a few years earlier. But its not the same with respect to butterflies. Lalbagh paves a way for these winged wonders to thrive amidst the busy city. The reason for this is the abundance of host plants and nectar plants. Lalbagh has a large variety of plants that attract a lot of butterfly species.
I spent about 45 minutes (11:15am - 12:00pm) this morning, and I was pleased to see how much I could see in such a short span of time.
Common Crow Euploea core - 4
Plain Tiger Danaus chrysippus - 4
Dark Grass Blue Zizeeria karsandra - 5
Chocolate Pansy Junonia iphita - 2
Common Castor Ariadne merione - 4
Lemon Pansy Junonia lemonias - 5
Common Grass Yellow Eurema hecabe - 3
Yellow Pansy Junonia hierta - 4
Pioneer Belenois aurota - 2
Pea Blue Lampides boeticus - 1
Mottled Emigrant Catopsilia pyranthe - 5
Common Emigrant Catopsilia pomona - 2
Common Cerulean Jamides celeno - 2 {Mating pair}
Common Mormon Papilio polytes - 2 {1 male, 1 female: form Romulus}
**Common Albatross Appias albina - 1 {Female}**
Total butterfly count: 45
Species count: 15
I was pleasantly surprised to see the Common Albatross female in the patch next to the rose garden. There was only one, and it flew close to the grass, nectaring on Tridax flowers.
Later on my way to the west gate, I found a mating pair of Common Ceruleans.
Overall, it was a quick 45 minutes of good butterflying. Hope to spend more time on finding out what other species inhabit ನಮ್ಮ Lalbagh!
A sketch of the Yellow Pansy Junonia hierta that I did after a day of butterfly watching at Jalahalli a few days ago, just thought of sharing!
Happy butterfly watching!
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