Dear Butterfly Lovers,
வணக்கம் *Greetings+.
The third quarter of the year (July-Sep) saw the neighbouring state of Kerala suffer from its worst floods and
much of the Western Ghats which is shared by both TN and KL was battered by heavy rains. The consequences
of these on the butterflies have to be waited and watched. Tamil Nadu also had its good share of rain and
hopefully coming months, especially October and November will see good population of Butterflies.
More and more exploration of accessible lands of Western Ghats bring out many a hidden gems, some of them
are untouched and not polluted by human presence. It is always a pleasure to be part of such visits and explo-
ration and it was not a surprise when we could record 131 species from a non descriptive place in Theni District
which includes some rare butterflies such as Orchid Tit, Painted Courtesan, etc. An article on the same is cov-
ered in this issue and the TNFD deserves a rich appreciation in keeping the place safe and intact.
There are different documented techniques to attract butterflies like mud-puddling, salt spreading, planting
host and nectar plants, setting up UV lighting and various baits. Mr. Theivaprakasham Hari has shared an inter-
esting behaviour of butterflies where the little-winged jewels are attracted towards glass window. State Horti-
culture farm at Kallar remains an evergreen butterfly hotspot adding new butterfly species every season. Ms.
Monika G shares her experience of meeting her friends for a butterfly walk at Kallar gardens and end up docu-
menting 53 species of butterflies in a few hours.
September is the month of Milkweed migration on the lands of Tamil Nadu. There are already signs of migra-
tion in pockets from September and is expected to continue for this season. A brief note on the same is provid-
ed in this issue while a detailed one will be made in future issues. The ambitious exercise of revalidation of
butterflies occurring in the state of Tamil Nadu is reaching the summit but very slowly as the remaining ones
are rare and needs lot of time and efforts. The quarter has however knocked off the Nilgiri Grass Yellow from
the list. A comprehensive book on the butterflies of Western Ghats have been authored by Dr. Milind Bhakare
and Hemant Ogale and a review on the same is provided. The section” In News” has become a regular feature
and contains news on the Devadhanapatti Butterflies. Selective representative images from the FB pages from
all those contributors for the preceding quarter forms the last section of this issue.
We hope you enjoy going through this Newsletter and looking forward to your valuable feedback. We believe
that the News Letter belongs to every one of us and expect more contribution from all our members going for-
ward . Please write to [email protected]
Editorial Team
Tamil Nadu Butterfly Society
Pattampoochi– A quarterly magazine of
Tamil Nadu Butterfly Society
Wings 2 Veins 4
Oct –Dec 2018. Issued on 01.10.2018
Issued from Coimbatore, TN
For Private Circulation Only. Copy right is
with TNBS. Please write to us for getting
permission to use any of the contents
Editor: A Pavendhan
Editorial Team: Balakrishnan R, Gopala-
krishnan S, Nishanth CV, Theivaprakasham
H , Viswanathan S