Butterflies of Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka is home to 245 species of butterflies with 23 of these being endemic to the island.^[1] Of the 245 species, 76, are listed as threatened nationally, while the Ceylon rose is designated as critically endangered.^[2]

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The majority of species are found in the foothills (up to 3,000 feet (910 m) elevation). A much smaller number of species are found above 4,000 feet (1,200 m), while 20 species of butterfly are restricted to the low lying dry zone (below 500 feet (150 m) elevation). The number of butterflies peaks in two seasons during the year. The first of these is during the southwestern monsoon in the months of March to April. The second is during the northeastern monsoon which continues from September to October.

Within Sri Lanka, the latest revision of lepidopterans described 1903 species with 58 families of butterflies and moths. Out of these 1903 species, 208 species are butterflies and 1695 species are moths.

The family-wise number of butterfly species are:^[2]: 53

The first studies of Ceylon butterflies were published by James Emerson Tennent in Ceylon, Physical, Historical and Topographical based on work by Robert Templeton and Edgar Leopold Layard active in the 1840s. In these early years William de Alwis made watercolour illustrations of life histories. Later in the century this was followed by The Lepidoptera of Ceylon by Frederic Moore which was published in 1880. Pioneering studies based on field observations were published by Walter Ormiston, a tea planter from Kalupahani, Haldumille, in 1924, Lionel Gilbert Ollyet Woodhouse and George Morrison Reid Henry in 1942 and by Woodhouse again in 1950. Bernard d'Abrera published The Butterflies of Ceylon in 1998 based on examination of specimens in the Natural History Museum in London. Recently, papers have been published on status of particular butterfly families, check-lists of various localities, life-cycles and natural history as well as butterfly migration.^[2]

In 2008, Dr. Michael van der Poorten discovered a new species of Sri Lankan butterfly, the first such discovery in 60 years.^[3] The species has been identified as Catopsilia scylla.

Habitat destruction and degradation, air pollution, over-usage of pesticides, and over-exploitation for ornamental trade are the main threats to butterflies in Sri Lanka.^[2] Prolonged droughts and over-predation also pose a threat to them. Opportunistic predators such as ants and birds prey on butterfly eggs, caterpillars, pupae and adults. The Ceylon rose and Ceylon birdwing are presently included in the appendices of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). This United Nations initiative aims to protect these species against over-exploitation by restricting trade across borders.

A majority of endemic species are restricted to the wet zone forests.^[2] The Ceylon birdwing is one of the largest endemics of the country and is found in large numbers in the Sinharaja Forest Reserve.^[4]

source: srilankaninsects.net^[1]

Harish Gaonkar

• Channa N. B. & Bambaradeniya E. (2006). The Fauna of Sri Lanka: Status of Taxonomy, Research, and Conservation. Colombo, The World Conservation Union (IUCN).
• D'Abrera, B. L. (1998). The Butterflies of Ceylon. Hill House: Melbourne; London. ISBN 0-947352-35-X
• Henry, G. M. R. & Woodhouse, L. G. O. (1942). The Butterfly Fauna of Ceylon. Colombo; Ceylon.
• Moore, F. C. (1880–1887). The Lepidoptera of Ceylon. L. Reeve & Co.: London. 3 v.
• Ormiston, W. (1924). The Butterflies of Ceylon. Colombo, H. W. Cave.
• Pethiyagoda, R. (1998). "The family de Alwis Seneviratne of Sri Lanka: pioneers in biological illustration". Journal of South Asian Natural History. 4: 99–110.