A Butterfly with humongous wings

  The stark green rolling mountains juxtaposed with dense mist made the whole scenery murky. Indistinct shrieks from the crested serpent eagle and very many atypical calls from the background gave me an inkling of how plentiful this obscure beauty was with life. Enchanted with its sheer beauty I walked towards the boundaries of the jungle. 

A thin stream traversed my path, pebbles, and cobbles overrunning them and partially submerged in water. A thin-film of slime encapsulated these stones, reminding me of how concealed one can become if one is forever submissive. The surefooted water striders and the geometric patterns of the streams dumbfounded me. The moss-painted stones alongside the stream, interlaced with ferns and dainty petite blooms made it a pure paradise. As I strolled through further, the gust of wind reflexed the delicate blooms of Impatiens and wafted the malodorous smell of a nearby stinkhorn. It made me repulsive. A carpet of violet-mauve-colored flowers under a tree seemed welcoming, I sought solace beneath the tree overlooking the picturesque forest. Something black with a yellow hue fluttered evoking a sense of surprise. It was Southern Birdwing, an endemic yet, largest butterfly in the southern Indian counterparts. It alighted individually on blossoms exploiting sheer monopoly over the nectar resources. The black forewings faintly suffused with white shades making the veins bold, yet its hindwings neatly colored with canary yellow showing off their intricate black vein networks. Its yellow body wriggling up and down as it probes the nectar, standing there was I totally oblivious of the surrounding, mesmerized by the pure grace of the butterfly.

Picture Courtesy: Indianbutterflies

KNOW MORE ABOUT THE ANIMAL.

1. The Southern Birdwing Troides minos is the largest butterfly seen to the south of India, it is endemic to this region. It is also the state butterfly of Karnataka.

2. Birdwings are swallowtail butterflies with exceptionally huge wings. In India, the Himalayan Goldenwing Troides aeacus with a wingspan of 190mm and the Southern Birdwing Troides minos with a wingspan of 150mm, are the two birdwing species seen, making them the largest of butterflies in their northern and southern counterparts respectively. 

The wingspan is the total wing length of the butterfly when spread across. 

3. The Southern Birdwing is seen to inhabit a range of habitats from wet evergreen rainforests to dry scrublands all through the south of India. It accesses nectar from a myriad species of flowers. Their pollination services are poorly studied and often overlooked.

4. The host plant of this butterfly species is Aristolochia indica. The caterpillars are voracious feeders on the leaves of the said plant. However, the species also lay eggs on many closely related species of Aristolochia (Dutchman's Pipe).