Butterflies Butterflies are beautiful flying insects with striking colours

and patterns on their wings.

Butterflies along with moths belong to the order Lepidoptera (lepido = scale; ptera = wings).

Lepidoptera is a second largest group of insects, with more than 150, 000 species worldwide.

Butterflies often regarded as flagship species among the insect group.

In terms of indicator organisms for bio-diversity studies butterflies are an excellent choice they are common almost everywhere, attractive and easy to observe.

Cruiser Butterfly

Atlas Moth

Classification Butterflies belonging to class insect of the phylum Arthropoda. They along with moths constitute a order Lepidoptera. There are five families of buttrerflies found in the wetsern

ghats viz., Papilionidae, Pieridae, Nymphalidae, Lycaenidae and Hesperiidae.

Butterfly Morphology Butterfly body has been divided

into head, thorax and abdomen. The antennae are located on the

head of the butterfly. They are used to help the butterfly smell and touch. Each antenna has a knob on the top of it.

The head portion is completely occupied by a pair of rounded, compound eyes, composed of several thousand lenses and is useful in detecting short-range movements.

Adult butterfly has specialized mouthparts called Haustellum or Proboscis. The mouthparts are modified for purpose of sucking nectar, nutrients etc.

The proboscis is two narrow tubes that are joined together.

Proboscis is kept coiled in front and hidden completely or partly between the hairy labial palpi.

Body Parts

Head parts

The thorax is divided into three smaller segments.The butterfly's legs and wings are attached to the thorax.

The butterfly has six legs. The two front legs of about half the butterfly species are very short. The front pair of legs are frequently used to clean the antennae. Each foot ends in a pair of grasping claws. The feet are also studded with sense organs and are used to taste food.

A butterfly has four wings, two forewings and two hindwings. The hind wings of the butterfly are usually more rounded and smaller than the fore (front) wings.

The wings are covered with tiny scales. They are attached to the second and third thoracic segments (the meso- and meta-thorax). Strong muscles in the thorax move the wings up and down in a figure-eight pattern during flight.

The abdomen is relatively soft and is divided into 10 segments (7-8 are easily seen, the others are fused). The abdomen contains the butterfly or moth's simple, flexible, tube-like heart, Malpighian tubules, reproductive organs (claspers or ovipositors), many spiracles (breathing pores), and most of the digestive system (foregut, hindgut and rectum).

Butterfly wings are made of two chitonous layers (membranes) that are nourished and supported by tubular veins.

The veins also function in oxygen exchange ("breathing").

The wings are covered by thousands of colorful scales, together with many hairs (setae).

The name Lepidoptera (which includes butterflies and moths) means "scale wing" in Greek. These wing scales are tiny overlapping pieces of chitin on a butterfly or moth wing.

The scales are outgrowths of the body wall and are modified, plate-like setae (hairs). The front and back of the wings usually have different patterns.

Spot Swordtail butterfly

Life Cycle All butterflies go through

a life cycle known as complete metamorphosis. The stages of their life cycle include, egg, larva, pupa, and adult. The advantage of metamorphosis is that it allows the larva and adult to live in different environmental conditions.

Ecology

Butterflies are the indicator species for the diversity representing particular vegetation/habitat.

Butterflies are sensitive to the changes in habitat and climate, which influences their distribution and abundance. This ultimately leads to the migration in butterflies. Classic example is the migration in Monarch Butterfly (Danaus plexippus) between North America and Mexico. In India, butterflies like Tigers, Crows and Albatross usually migrate during unfavorable conditions.

Wing patterns and colourations are helpful in studying seasonal variation. Dry season and wet season forms can be easily made out in some species like Evening browns, Bush browns etc.

Butterflies play pivotal role in the pollination, especially in some important angiosperms. While foraging for nectar, butterflies also carry pollens that help in pollination.

Butterflies are important prey species for birds, reptiles, and some invertebrates.

Some of them are useful tools in the study of genetics.

Apart from beneficial aspects, some butterflies feed on crops during their larval stages and wipe out the entire crops, posing a severe threat to human welfare.

Measures to conserve butterflies Compared to larger mammals the insect groups are totally

neglected from conservation point of view. Except some wildlife protection laws, the butterflies are most neglected group of insects.

The Wildlife Protection Act (WPA), 1972 (amended in 1993) lists the butterfly conservation priority. Under this law, collection of butterflies from the wild, or any action leading to threatening their habitats, is prohibited (Kunte, 2000).

Butterflies are listed in Schedule I, II, IV and V of WPA. The other conservation measures include the protection of forest and grassy blanks from encroachments and grazing, and creating butterfly parks and gardens by planting butterfly larval host plants.

In urban areas, gardens with larval host and adult nectar plants can attract many butterfly species. This procedure can also be implemented in the home gardens to attract butterflies.

Common lascar

Clipper

Yam fly

Water snow flat

Some Western Ghats Butterflies

Common Evening brown Monkey puzzle

Red pierrotAngled pierrot