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Naturetrek Tour Report 6 – 15 September 2014

Common Jezebel, Delias eucharis by David Raju Syrandhri Clubtail Davidioides martini by Trisha Thompson

Ruby-Tailed Hawklet by David Raju Rounded Palm Red-eye by David Raju

Report compiled by David Raju Images by David Raju and Trisha Thompson

Naturetrek Mingledown Barn Wolf's Lane Chawton Alton Hampshire GU34 3HJ England T: +44 (0)1962 733051 F: +44 (0)1962 736426 E: [email protected] W: www.naturetrek.co.uk

Dragonflies & Butterflies of the Western Ghats Tour Report

Tour Leader: David Raju

Participants: Roland De La Moussaye Steve Dutmer Wendy Simons Trisha Thompson

Day 1 Saturday 6th September

Two members of the group started the tour in London with a flight to in . Meanwhile the other two group members were making their own way from France and the Netherlands. This was to be a truly international tour.

Day 2 Sunday 7th September

Kochi to Kumarakom – Coconut Lagoon Resort The flight from the UK landed in the morning at International Airport, Kerala where all the group members including tour leader David met up. It turned out that two of the group were keen on dragonflies and the other two were interested in butterflies.

After a quick and sumptuous breakfast at Kochi we headed towards Kumarakom. September is the best month to visit Kerala for exploring and studying butterflies and dragonflies because the state does not receive heavy rains during this month, however a few fleeting showers of rain during our trail were welcome. We experienced good sunny days through the rest of our tour.

We had a good start locating some of the endemic such as Kerala Dartlet (Agriocnems keralensis), and we saw quite a few butterflies including Blue Tiger, Tailed Jay and Crimson Rose. We were looking for the largest Indian , the Southern Birdwing, which is usually pretty common at the hotel but we had trouble locating it. A couple staying in the hotel asked our help to identify a butterfly they had photographed a few minutes earlier - Southern Birdwing. We had just missed it but that’s nature. On the positive side we managed to see about 22 different species of butterflies and 16 species of dragonflies at Kumarakom, a great start indeed.

Day 3 - 5 Monday 8th to Wednesday 10th September

Thattekkad Bird Sanctuary – Soma Birds Lagoon On the way to Thattekkad we stopped at a stream near Kootthattukulam to check for dragonflies. We saw more than 25 species of dragonflies within a stretch of about 100 metres. We also saw Black Rajah, an uncommon species of butterfly near streams.

Thattekkad was full of surprises. We visited the different regions of Thattekkad Bird Sanctuary: Bhoothathankettu, Urulanthanni and Pooyamkutty. The best thing was that at all these places we had great butterfly and sightings.....all in a span of three days.

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Dragonflies & Butterflies of the Western Ghats Tour Report

After missing it earlier, it was very rewarding to see India’s largest butterfly, Southern Birdwing. We also saw the flying beauty Paris Peacock, a few rare butterflies like Malabar Raven , Malabar Banded Swallowtail, Tamil Cat’s Eye, Clipper, and a recently recorded butterfly in the Western Ghats, Rounded Palm-redeye (Erionota torus).

Syrandri Clubtail, Kodagu Clubtail, and Ruby-tailed Hawklet were a few unexpected, rare and endemic dragonflies we encountered at Thattekkad. Ruby-tailed Hawklet is supposed to be a rare dragonfly in Western Ghats but we saw quite lot of this beautiful dragonfly in Thattekkad and . We also saw Emerald Banded Skimmer, Asiatic Bloodtail, Iridescent Stream Glider, Malabar Torrent Dart and Wayanad Bamboo Tail.

While meandering through a bamboo patch at Pooyamkutty, Roland expressed his desire to see Bamboo Treebrown, a butterfly he had tried to see on his many past trips to India. In fact he had been to India more than 30 times! David and Sudheesh, our local guide, tried to locate this butterfly in the bamboo thickets without success. Roland was advised that the butterfly was not common in this area and reassured that we might see Bamboo Treebrown later at Periyar.

Day 6 - 8 Thursday 11th to Saturday 13th September

Periyar Tiger Reserve - Spice Village Walking through the lush evergreen forests of Periyar Tiger Reserve was a sheer joy. Exploring and trying to sight the beautiful and dainty butterflies inside the forest was even more special.

We found that Blue Mormon and Red Helen butterflies were pretty common and Glad-eye Bushbrown and Tamil Cat’s Eye gave us the best views. Cruiser was a special catch whilst we had special sightings of Common Map and Fulvous Pied Flat. We had lovely sightings of dragonflies including Blue Darner, Brown Darner, lots of Ruby-tailed Hawklets, Blue-tailed Yellow Skimmer, Jungle Grass Dart, Violet-striped Slender Dartlet and Sapphire-eyed Spreadwing. It was indeed a thrilling experience.

But yet we had not sighted the Bamboo Treebrown, that rare butterfly Roland had been trying to sight for several years. Whilst discussing this with our resident naturalist Girish at the Spice village, he suggested that we should explore around the parking area to try and locate this butterfly. And yes, true to his suggestion, we found this elusive butterfly. There it was fluttering above us and eventually perched on top of the bamboo. Roland was carrying his ‘Papilio binoculars’ (specially made to see ) and could see this beautiful butterfly clearly. After a few minutes it flew away, disappearing into the bamboo thicket. Our mission had been accomplished and Roland was very happy.

But it was not over: while having our dinner at Spice village Roland whispered “David, turn around and look at the light”. There was another Bamboo Treebrown sitting near the light and getting the warmth. The butterfly was right in front of Roland and it stayed there the whole night making Roland the happiest man of all!

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Dragonflies & Butterflies of the Western Ghats Tour Report

Day 9 Sunday 14th September

Aleppy – Marrari Beach Resort On the way to Aleppy we saw a variety of butterflies fluttering around and we stopped at a few places to take a closer look at them.

At Marrari we walked around the beach to find some butterflies and dragonflies. We saw a few butterflies including Psyche, Common Rose, Dark Grass Blue, Pale Grass Blue, Common Emigrant, Common Grass Yellow, Common Four-ring, Rustic and Angled Castor. Moving along we also sighted dragonflies including Rufous-backed Marsh Hawk, Ditch Jewel, Black Marsh Trotter, Greater Crimson Glider, Scarlet Marsh Hawk, Pied Paddy Skimmer and Coromandel Marsh Dart.

We stayed overnight at Marrari.

Day 10 Monday 15th September

In the morning farewells and thanks were said to David. Two members of the group went to the airport for their flight back to the UK whilst the other two made their own way onwards.

Later in the day the pair flying back to the UK landed at London Heathrow Airport and another Naturetrek adventure came to an end.

This was the first Naturetrek Butterfly and Dragonfly expedition through the Western Ghats and we had sighted over 65 species of dragonflies and 105 species of butterflies. It was also heartening to see Roland completely blissful after finally having sighted the elusive Bamboo Treebrown on his 31st trip to India.

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Dragonflies & Butterflies of the Western Ghats Tour Report

Species Lists

Dragonflies & Damselflies Darners Family:Aeshnidae Blue-Tailed Green Darner Anax guttatus (Burmeister, 1839) Blue Darner Anax immaculifrons Rambur, 1842 Parakeet Darner Gynacantha bayadera Selys,1891 Brown Darner Gynacantha dravida Lieftinck,1960 Clubtails Family:Gomphidae Syrandhri Clubtail Davidioides martini Fraser,1924 Kodagu Clubtail Gomphidia kodaguensis Fraser,1923 Common Clubtail Ictinogomphus rapax (Rambur, 1842) Common Hooktail Paragomphus lineatus (Selys,1850) Skimmers Family: Trumpet-Tail Acisoma panorpoides Rambur, 1842 Scarlet Marsh Hawk Aethriamanta brevipennis (Rambur, 1842) Rufous-Backed Marsh Hawk Brachydiplax chalybea Brauer, 1868 Ditch Jewel Brachythemis contaminata (Fabricius,1793) Emerald-Banded Skimmer Cratilia lineata Foerster, 1903 Ruddy Marsh Skimmer Crocothemis servilia (Drury, 1770) Ground Skimmer Diplacodes trivialis (Rambur,1842) Rubytailed Hawklet Epithemis mariae (Laidlaw,1915) Amber Winged Marsh Glider Hydrobasileus croceus (Brauer, 1867) Asiatic Blood Tail Lathrecista asiatica (Fabricius, 1798) Fulvous Forest Skimmer Neurothemis fulvia (Drury, 1773) Pied Paddy Skimmer Neurothemis tullia (Drury, 1773) Brown-Backed Red Marsh Hawk Orthetrum chrysis (Selys, 1891) Blue Marsh Hawk Orthetrum glaucum (Brauer, 1865) Tricoloured Marsh Hawk Orthetrum luzonicum (Brauer, 1868) Crimson-Tailed Marsh Hawk Orthetrum pruinosum (Burmeister,1839) Green Marsh Hawk (Drury, 1770) Blue-Tailed Yellow Skimmer Palpopleura sexmaculata (Fabricius, 1787) Wandering Glider Pantala flavescens (Fabricius, 1798) Rufous Marsh Glider Rhodothemis rufa (Rambur, 1842) Common Picturewing Rhyothemis variegata (Linnaeus, 1763) Pigmy Skimmer Tetrathemis platyptera Selys, 1878 Coral-Tailed Cloud-Wing Tholymis tillarga (Fabricius, 1798) Black Marsh Trotter Tramea limbata (Desjardins,1832) Trithemis aurora (Burmeister, 1839) Black Stream Glider Trithemis festiva (Rambur, 1842) Long-Legged Marsh Glider Trithemis pallidinervis (Kirby, 1889) Greater Crimson Glider Urothemis signata (Rambur, 1842) Iridescent Stream Glider Zygonyx iris Selys,1869 Brown Dusk Hawk Zyxomma petiolatum Rambur, 1842

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Dragonflies & Butterflies of the Western Ghats Tour Report

DAMSELFLIES Glories Family: Stream Glory Neurobasis chinensis (Linnaeus, 1758) Black-Tipped Forest Glory apicalis Selys, 1873 Clear-Winged Forest Glory (Rambur, 1842) Stream Jewels Family:Chlorocyphidae River Heliodor Libellago lineata (Burmeister, 1839) Stream Ruby Rhinocypha bisignata Hagen in Selys,1853 Marsh Darts Family: Violet-Striped Slender Dartlet Aciagrion hisopa (Selys, 1876) Green-Striped Slender Dartlet Aciagrion occidentale Laidlaw, 1919 Kerala Dartlet Agriocnemis keralensis Peters,1981 Pygmy Dartlet Laidlaw,1919 White Dartlet (Rambur, 1842) Splendid Dartlet Agriocnemis splendidissima Laidlaw,1919 Orange-Tailed Marsh Dart Ceriagrion cerinorubellum (Brauer, 1865) Coromandel Marsh Dart Ceriagrion coromandelianum (Fabricius, 1798) Orange Marsh Dart Ceriagrion rubiae Laidlaw, 1916 Senegal Golden Dartlet Ischnura senegalensis (Rambur, 1842) Black Marsh Dart Onychargia atrocyana (Selys, 1865) Yellow-Striped Grass Dart Pseudagrion indicum Fraser, 1924 Jungle Grass Dart Pseudagrion malabaricum Fraser, 1924 Blue Grass Dart Pseudagrion microcephalum (Rambur, 1842) Saffron-Faced Grass Dart Pseudagrion rubriceps Selys, 1876 Torrent Darts Family:Euphaeidae Malabar Torrent Dart Euphaea fraseri (Laidlaw,1920) Spreadwings Family:Lestidae Sapphire-Eyed Spreadwing Lestes praemorsus Hagen in Selys, 1862 Bush Darts Family:Platycnemididae Yellow Bush Dart Copera marginipes (Rambur, 1842) Blue Bush Dart Copera vittata Selys,1863 Reedtails Family: Platystictidae Pied Reedtail Protosticta gravelyi Laidlaw,1915 Bamboo Tails Family:Protoneuridae Wayanad Bambootail Caconeura risi (Fraser,1931) Black Bambootail Prodasineura verticalis (Selys,1860)

Butterflies FAMILY: PAPILIONIDAE Common Jay Graphium doson (C & R Felder) Tailed Jay Graphium agamemnon (Linnaeus) Common Bluebottle Graphium sarpedon (Linnaeus) Common Rose Pachliopta aristolochiae (Fabricius) Crimson Rose Pachliopta hector (Linnaeus) Malabar Rose Pachliopta pandiyana (Moore) Southern Birdwing Troides minos (Cramer) Common Mime Papilio (Chilasa) clytia, Linnaeus

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Dragonflies & Butterflies of the Western Ghats Tour Report

Malabar Banded Swallowtail Papilio liomedon (Moore) Blue Mormon Papilio polymnestor (Cramer) Red Helen Papilio helenus (Linnaeus) Common Mormon Papilio polytes (Linnaeus) Malabar Raven Papilio dravidarum (Wood-Mason) Paris Peacock Papilio paris (Linnaeus) FAMILY: PIERIDAE Common Gull Cepora nerissa Fabricius Common Jezebel Delias eucharis Drury Chocolate Albatross Appias lyncida Cramer Psyche Leptosia nina Fabricius Great Orange-Tip Hebomoia glaucippe Linnaeus Common Emigrant Catopsilia pomona Fabricius Mottled Emigrant Catopsilia pyranthe Latreille Small Grass Yellow Eurema brigitta Cramer Common Grass Yellow Eurema hecabe Linnaeus Three-Spot Grass Yellow Eurema blanda Boisduval FAMILY: NYMPHALIDAE Common Beak Libythea lepita (Moore) Subfamily Danainae Glassy Tiger Parantica aglea (Stoll) Dark Blue Tiger Tirumala septentrionis (Butler) Blue Tiger Tirumala limniace Cramer Plain Tiger Danaus chrysippus Linnaeus Common Or Striped Tiger Danaus genutia Cramer Common Indian Crow Euploea core (Cramer) Black Rajah Charaxes solon (Fabricius) Common Nawab Polyura athamas (Drury) Whitebar Bushbrown Mycalesis anaxias Hewitson Gladeye Bushbrown Mycalesis patnia Moore Common Bushbrown Mycalesis perseus (Fabricius) Dark Branded Bushbrown Mycalesis mineus (Linnaeus) Bamboo Treebrown Lethe europa (Fabricius) Common Fivering Ypthima baldus (Fabricius) White Fourring Ypthima ceylonica Hewitson Common Fourring Ypthima huebneri Kirby Tamil Catseye Zipaetis saitis Hewitson Nigger Orsotriaena medus (Fabricius) Common Evening Brown Melanitis leda (Linnaeus) Common Palmfly Elymnias hypermnestra (Linnaeus) Cruiser Vindula erota Fabricius Tamil Yeoman Cirrochroa thais (Fabricius) Rustic Cupha erymanthis (Drury) Subfamily Limenitidinae Commander Limenitis procris (Cramer) Common Lascar Pantoporia hordonia (Stoll) Common Sailer Neptis hylas Linnaeus

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Dragonflies & Butterflies of the Western Ghats Tour Report

Shortbanded Sailer Neptis columella Moore Clipper Parthenos sylvia (Cramer, ) Common Baron Euthalia aconthea (Cramer) Grey Count Tanaecia lepidea (Butler) Common Map Cyrestis thyodamas Boisduval Angled Castor Ariadne ariadne Linnaeus Common Castor Ariadne merione(Cramer) Gray Pansy Junonia atlites (Linnaeus) Peacock Pansy Junonia (Precis) almana (Linnaeus) Chocolate Pansy Junonia (Precis) iphita (Cramer) Great Eggfly Hypolimnas bolina (Linnaeus) FAMILY: LYCAENIDAE Common Pierrot Castalius rosimon Fabricius Angled Pierrot Caleta caleta Hewitson Banded Blue Pierrot Discolampa ethion Westwood Quaker Neopithecops zalmora Butler Common Hedge Blue Acytolepis puspa (Horsfield) Indian Cupid Chilades parrhasius (Fabricius) Dark Grass Blue Zizeeria lysimon (Hübner) Tiny Grass Blue Zizula gaika (Trimen) Pointed Ciliate Blue Anthene lycaenina (C Felder) Peablue Lampides boeticus (Linnaeus) Common Cerulean Jamides celeno (Cramer) Pointed Lineblue Nacaduba helicon Felder Common Lineblue Prosotas nora (Felder) Tailless Lineblue Prosotas dubiosa (Semper) Many-tailed Oak-Blue Thaduka multicaudata Moore Large Oakblue Arhopala amantes (Hewitson) Common Acacia Blue Surendra quercetorum (Moore) Monkey Puzzle Rathinda amor (Fabricius) Fluffy Tit Zeltus etolus (Fabricius) FAMILY: HESPERIIDAE Pygmy Grass/Scrub-Hopper Aeromachus pygmaeus (Fabricius) Bush Hopper Ampittia dioscorides (Fabricius) Paintbrush Swift Baoris farri (Moore) Rice Swift Borbo cinnara (Wallace) Palm Redeye Erionota thrax (Linnaeus)(Erionota torus) Chestnut Bob Iambrix salsala (Moore) Common Redeye Matapa aria (Moore) Restricted Demon Notocrypta curvifascia (Felder & Felder) C Banded Demon Notocrypta paralysos (Wood-Mason) African Straight/Straight Swift Parnara naso (Fabricius) Coon Psolos fuligo (Mabille) Indian Palm Bob Suastus gremius (fabricius) Tamil Grass Dart Taractrocera ceramas (Hewitson) Dark Palm Dart Telicota ancilla (Herrich-Schäffer) Grass Demon folus (Cramer)

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Dragonflies & Butterflies of the Western Ghats Tour Report

Common Dartlet Oriens goloides (Moore) Subfamily Pyrginae Golden Angle Caprona ransonnetti (Felder) Tricolour Flat Cogia indrani (Moore) Fulvous Pied Flat Coladenia dan (Fabricius) Common Small Flat dasahara (Moore) Spotted Small Flat Sarangesa purendra (Moore) Water Snow Flat Tagiades litigiosa (Möschler)

Tailed Jay by David Raju

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