Rare butterfly species found

Sarath Babu George, Thiruvananthapuram
The Hindu, February 11, 2019

Garhwal Large Branded Five-ring, a rare butterfly species, was rediscovered in the Himalayas over five decades after it was initially recorded.
The species, scientifically known as Ypthima hannyngtoni Eliot, was recorded and photographed by nature conservationist and wildlife photographer Kalesh Sadasivan of the Thiruvananthapuram-based Travancore Nature History Society from Dehradun in June 2018 while on a butterfly walk to the Western Himalayas.
“It had been initially described by noted English entomologist J.N. Eliot in 1967 in the scientific paper The Sakra Moore, 1857 Section of the Satyrid Genus Ypthima Hübner, which appeared in the famous journal Entomologist. Since its original description, the species was never spotted or photographed,” Dr. Sadasivan said.
The identification was confirmed recently by subject expert Krushnamegh Kunte of National Centre For Biological Sciences (NCBS), Bengaluru. In an e-mail, he was quoted as saying,
“These are the first images of the species from India as far as I know. I have been looking for this species for a long time.”
According to Dr. Sadasivam, the species appeared to be a rare one and was possibly confined to the mid-lower elevations of the Western Himalayas. “Nothing is known about the early stages of its natural history,” he said.

Uploaded

The images were compared with the Type specimens in the London Museum of Natural History (BMNH) for confirmation of identity.
The species images have been uploaded in the peer-reviewed site on Indian Butterflies www.ifoundbutterflies.org/ ifoundbutterflies.
This discovery implied that lepidopteran diversity of Western Himalayas called for a more dedicated study.
Further species were likely to be found with scientifically structured butterfly surveys, Dr. Sadasivan said.

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Survey spots 51 odonate species in Munnar

Radhakrishnan Kuttoor, PATHANAMTHITTA
The Hindu, October 26, 2015

The four-day odonate survey, organised by the Kerala Forest and Wildlife Department in association with the Kottayam Nature Society and Travancore Natural History Society, has identified 51 species of dragon and damsel flies in the high altitude Munnar landscape.

G. Prasad, Wildlife Warden at Munnar, told The Hindu that Davenport’s False Spreadwing, Red Veined Darter, Laidlaw’s Clawtail and Plain Sinuate Clubtail were the rare sightings during the survey that came to a close on Saturday.

Of the 51 species identified, 44 were spotted in the Chinnar Wildlife Sanctuary. Survey teams observed large-scale migration of Global Wanderer (commonly known as ‘Onathumbi’) at the Kurinjimala and Chinnar wildlife sanctuaries, he said. Acccording to Tom Augustine of the Kottayam Nature Society, these dragon flies migrate all across the Indian sub-continent in the monsoon winds and cross the Arabian Sea to Africa. Travancore Torrent Dart, Blue Darner, Coorg Bambootail and Blue-tailed Forest Hawk were also recorded during the survey, he said.

Mr Prasad said the study of the odonates was important as they were good indicators of environment and habitat quality and the survey results too amply indicated the same. The survey teams could spot only 11 species at Kurinjimala wildlife sanctuary, which is a disturbed habitat because of its wattle plantation and agricultural lands, he said.

B. Sreekumar, KNS president, said pollution of water bodies due to agricultural chemicals posed a big threat to dragon flies.

The survey was led by Kalesh Sadasivan, Kiran C.G, David V. Raju, and Toms Augustine. Prabhu P.M, and Siby K. E, Assistant Wildlife Wardens, monitored the survey team under the guidance of Mr. Prasad.

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Nilgiri Tit among butterflies spotted in Chinnar

Radhakrishnan Kuttoor,
PATHANAMTHITTA

The Hindu, October 6, 2015

Three rare species of butterflies have been spotted during a bi-monthly follow-up survey of butterflies held in the Chinnar wildlife sanctuary in Munnar on Sunday. The three new sightings are Sullied Sailor, Indian Ace, and Painted Courtesan. With this, the total number of butterfly species spotted in Chinnar had touched 225, said G. Prasad, Wild Life Warden at Munnar.

The checklist of Chinnar wild life sanctuary had touched 222 butterfly species as on September 27, he said.

The survey was conducted by the Kerala Forest Department in association with the Travancore Natural History Society (TNHS) and the Kottayam Nature Society (KNS).

Mr. Prasad said the Nilgiri Tit, a very rare butterfly species found in the biodiversity hotspots of Western Ghats and Sri Lanka, was a major sighting in Chinnar.

As per the available records, it was the British scientist, Frederick Moore, who had spotted the Nilgiri Tit in Kerala way back in 1883. Moreover, the sighting of Nilgiri Tit in Kerala was recorded only in Chinnar, said E. Kunhikrishnan, academic and butterfly enthusiast.

Earlier, the big butterfly survey held at the Chinnar Wildlife Sanctuary as well as the four national parks of Mathikettan Shola, Pampadum Shola, Anamudy Shola, and Kurinjimala wildlife sanctuary in Munnar had spotted 206 new species.

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Butterfly survey spots 206 species in Munnar

Radhakrishnan Kuttoor,  PATHANAMTHITTA
The Hindu,  September 30, 2015

The first ever comprehensive butterfly survey held in the Munnar wildlife division has spotted as many as 206 new species. The three-day survey, conducted by the Kerala Forest Department in association with the Travancore Natural History Society (TNHS) and the Kottayam Nature Society (KNS), came to a close on Sunday.

According to G. Prasad, wildlife warden at Munnar, the survey team has systematically reviewed the Chinnar Wildlife Sanctuary as well as the four national parks of Mathikettan Shola, Pampadum Shola, Anamudy Shola and the Kurinjimala wildlife sanctuary. He said 15 strategically located base camps, covering all the habitats, had been set up as part of the survey. Mr. Prasad said the highest number was recorded at Mathikettan Shola with 148 species, closely followed by the Chinnar wildlife sanctuary with 141 species. The Anamudi Shola recorded 94 species and Pampadum Shola had 88 species.

Migration of Common Emigrant, Common Albatross, Common Crow, Double Branded Crow, and Great Eggfly was noted in Chinnar and Kurunjimala sanctuaries. The highlights of the survey in the Shola national parks included Eversheds Ace, Indian Awlking, Nilgiri Four Ring, Broad-tailed Royal, Pale Green Awlet, Sullied Sailor, Dirty Sailor and Anomalous Nawab, he said.

The noteworthy finding from Kurunjimala Sanctuary include the Palani or Davidson’s Bushbrown, which is an endemic butterfly seen only in and around the Palani hills. This grassland species was recorded at Kadavari region.

Mr. Prasad said the largest butterfly in India, Southern Birdwing, was sighted at Kurunjimala and Pampadum Shola and the smallest butterfly, Grass Jewel, was sighted in the Chinnar sanctuary.

The other important sightings at the Kurinjimala were Palni Fritillary, Palni Four-ring, Yellow Striped Hedge Hopper and Nilgiri Clouded Yellow, all endemic butterflies of Western Ghats,

The sightings in Chinnar wildlife sanctuary included the Coorg Forest Hopper which is an endemic butterfly of Western Ghats and Nilgiri Tit, a very rare and exclusive butterfly of low elevation dry habitat, said Mr. Prasad.

With this survey, the checklist of Chinnar wildlife sanctuary has touched 222 butterfly species.

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Bird survey spots a ‘newcomer'

K.S. Sudhi
KOCHI,  
The Hindu,February 15, 2011 

Grey-necked bunting, a dry area bird, has been spotted from the shola forests of south Kerala. The bird, usually found in normal plains, was spotted at an altitude of 1,200 metres at Athirumala in Neyyar Wildlife Sanctuary recently. Researchers said the bird was very rare in southern Kerala. Its presence was first recorded in Kannur in 2006.

The bird was spotted in a survey conducted in Neyyar and Peppara, the southernmost wildlife sanctuaries in Kerala. This was the 66 {+t} {+h} survey conducted in Kerala, said P.O. Nameer, who led the survey. Three vulnerable species including Broad-tailed Grassbird, White-bellied Shortwing and Nilgiri Wood Pigeon were recorded during the survey. However, four others, Wayanad Laughing-thrush, Great-eared Nightjar, Blue-bearded Bee-eater and Great Black Woodpecker, were conspicuous by its absence.

Even though these species could not be spotted during the survey, other birds which occupied the same niche were identified. Of the16 species endemic to Western Ghats, 14 were recorded, Dr. Nameer said.

Blanford's Laughing-thrush, Nilgiri Pipit, Great Pied Hornbill, Darter, Lesser Fish-Eagle and Nilgiri Flycatcher are some of the near threatened species, according to the classification of the International Union for Conservation of Nature Guidelines, that could be spotted during the survey.

Black-and-Orange Flycatcher, Grey-headed Bulbul, Oriental-Dwarf Kingfisher, Black-capped Kingfisher and Black Baza were also spotted. Ceylon Frogmouth was reported from many mid and low altitude sites in the sanctuaries.

The survey team consisted of S. Kalesh of the Travancore Nature History Society and J. Praveen of the Kerala Birder.

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