Butterflies feeding on tree sap

Many butterflies adore the sweet taste of sap dripping from trees. This sap is actually the fluid transported in the cells within in the tree. The cause of the leaking of sap from trees is believed to be due to the carbon dioxide that can build up inside the tree, forcing the sap through cracks or openings called "wounds".The common species of butterflies that we might see in this context, are the Common Baron, Large Oakblue, Baronet, Gaudy Baron and nymphalids that belong to the sub-family Charaxinae. They feast on the leaking sap. The sap contains carbohydrates (Phloem content) and a lot of minerals, sugar, hormones meant as raw materials for different parts of the tree (Xylem content). 

I have noticed that trees ooze a lot more sap on warm days than on the cold days. This is probably because of the pressure built up within the sapwood (alburnum) is much higher when the temperature is greater.

It is interesting to observe that these butterflies which feed on tree sap, also feed on rotten fruits and animal dung. These species are rarely found on flowers. They are rarely seen nectaring. Mudpuddling (See butterflies-mudpuddling-and-courtship)  is a common phenomenon though. This might mean that their necessities are slightly different from the butterflies which feed on nectar, or that they have adapted themselves to other sources of nutrition.The sap which oozes from wounds of the bark is called exudate. When dried, this exudate becomes crystallized and is referred to as manna.

A few glimpses of sap-feeding butterflies that I photographed this month.

Common Baron (Euthalia aconthea) at J.P Nagar forest, Bangalore:

Common Baron (Euthalia aconthea) at Girinagar, Bangalore:

Common Baron (Euthalia aconthea) and Large Oakblue (Arhopala amantes) at J.P Nagar Forest, Bangalore. On Eucalyptus tree.

Baronet (Euthalia nais), courtship, at J.P Nagar Forest, Bangalore:

Baronet (Euthalia nais) at J.P Nagar Forest, Bangalore:

Large Oakblue (Arhopala amantes) feeding on tree sap at J.P Nagar Forest, Bangalore:

Spalgis epius - Pupa and butterfly

For those who were waiting for this post, sincere apologies. This was long overdue. Thanks a million to Poornima Kannan who found this and let me keep it! Apefly, from pupa stage to a hatched adult. I have uploaded the pictures in high resolution so that you can observe every detail. This butterfly "Apefly" is called so because of the resemblance of the pupa to the face of an ape. I was amazed to see one for real, the camouflage is so mind-boggling. And it really does look like an ape! A meditating one, to be precise!

Day 1:

With size reference of a USB cable:

Day 5, no changes. The "meditating ape" that I talked about? Wow:

 Day 11, night before hatching:

The vacated pupa and the adult butterfly:

  

The pupa took 12 days to hatch from the day it was found. It was probably a few days old at the time.

The Apefly is a small butterfly that belongs to the Lycanidae family. An interesting thing about this species is that, in the caterpillar stage, it feeds on scale insects and mealy bugs! Yes, that means this caterpillar, ulike any other species, is a carnivorous caterpillar. The individual I have photographed is a male, judging by the pointedness of the apex. In case of the female, it is slightly but noticably more rounded. The butterfly shows a fast, erratic flight pattern and tends to keep to the bushes. Often, this species is observed basking, with it's dusky brown upper side almost invisible amongst a bunch of dry leaves or soil.

Happy butterflying!

Tawny Coster - another pupa

The pupa of this butterfly, as you have seen in my earlier post, is usually orange in colour. But such colour variants are also seen. It was the first time for me. Both the pupae shot at the same place! Take a look. :)

Tawny Coster (Acraea violae)

Offlate, I seem to have some luck with Tawny Costers. (Acraea violae) They pose for me quite well, and the lighting seems to be delightful each time too.
Came across the pupa of a Tawny Coster in Kumaran Public School. Sketched and photographed it.
Later this month, came across a mating pair of them in Bangalore University campus. A very fresh individual also happened to pose for me. Sharing the images, will put up the sketch soon as I scan.

Local butterflying!

Hey everybody, I had been off for sometime, as you would have noticed. I'm back and I'm back for good, will continue posting as regularly as I come up with things to talk about.
Hope butterflying is going good!

It has been a long time since I have had the time to go out long distances for butterfly watching. But local watching has been going on always. It has been quite cloudy in Bangalore since the past few days, makes the city more charming for the people in it, but not the same for the butterflies. Whenever there is a little sunshine, they make the most of it and flaunt their colours for enthusiasts like me to see. Endlessly chased them for pictures, but made really bad ones due to deficient light. Hence, I decided to let my camera rest for a while so that my observation skills are put to test.

There are so many things to observe about territorial marking behaviour among the Pansies. The Yellow Pansy, as I have observed, chases away any other mid-sized butterflies that enter its territory. It is observed more in the male butterfly than the female. As a swift flier, the Yellow pansy can easily "attack" another butterfly by darting towards it. Hence, the butterfly sets up a "perimeter" for itself and maintains its reign.
Many a times, making pictures might not be possible. Or, we might make bad photographs which end up useless. At those times, field notes come in handy. A simple sketch can convey a LOT of things a good or bad image cannot. A simple note can help us remember what the camera cannot. Behavioural aspects of insects or animals can be best documented by notes and sketches.

I don't intend to say that a sketch is always meant to be a substitute when photography seems impossible. A photograph may not do justice to all aspects of the subject, and hence, a note/ sketch will definitely help. Field notes is a very good habit to keep. Here is my note about the Yellow Pansy! 

Another butterfly I happened to see recently, is the Blue Mormon. Papilo polymnestor. This butterfly is usually seen as a lonely flyer. Rarely do we see it in groups: while mudpuddling, for instance. Mudpuddling is the process wherein the butterflies suck up certain salts from moist soil, using their proboscis. These salts are necessary for the male butterflies, as it helps in the formation of certain pheromones in order to attract the females for mating. Many a times, we observe a large group of swallowtail butterflies on moist soil, and Blue Mormons are some among them. This butterfly feeds on citrus species in its larval stage, and is more common in hilly regions. Thanks to the beautiful blue shade and the graceful slow flying, any butterfly watcher will be happy to see this butterfly for as long as possible. Here is my sketch of a Blue Mormon!

A common visitor to our nearby gardens, a high-flyer in comparitively wooded places. This butterfly happens to stray into the wrong places too many times, I have observed. Often have I seen this butterfly getting caught in road accidents. If anyone wants to watch this butterfly continuously for hours together, the best place in Bangalore would be Hebbal lake.

Winged Jewels turns 1 :-)

Hey everyone, thanks for all the support and appreciation for my blog since the past one year I've run it through. It has been dormant for a while, and it will remain a little inactive this year because of my studies! But I promise to keep updating as and when I get time! I hope my efforts to spark enthusiasm about butterfly watching among the the young-blood have proved a little successful. Merry butterflywatching! Hope all of you, and myself, have a great butterfly-year :-) Thanks a lot, once again!

Here's a series of images I made when I visited Veerapura (AP) recently this month. Hope you all like it!
A group of Whiskered Terns (Chlidonias hybridus) enjoying themselves.

The sanguine Sunrise, with his meteor eyes, And his burning plumes outspread! from "The Cloud" by Percy Bysshe Shelley.