Breathtaking Butterflies

More than 700 species of Indian butterflies have been illustrated for the first time in The Book of Indian Butterflies by Isaac Kehimkar, writes Lt Gen Baljit Singh (retd)

A female common Mormon displays the anatomical features of a butterfly

There are at least 1,501 species of butterflies in India. One is unlikely to see them all in a lifetime. Not even if one were to visit a chain of well laid and tended butterfly parks.

However, most of us must have witnessed, given our fondness to plant even stamp-sized gardens around or in our homes, the four stages in the life cycle of a butterfly. These stages are fleeting and not too obvious but are fascinating.

The Book of Indian Butterflies by Isaac Kehimkar released on June 5, 2008, tells the reader all this and much more. The book is the latest offering from the Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS), which is home to the largest archival wealth of the sub-continent’s natural history. This book is a pick from that vast knowledge-bank. And the first ever to carry photographs of each described butterfly.

Butterflies may appear to be in abundance but the sad fact is that their life span varies from just six weeks to one year at the most.

So axiomatically the shorter-lived species are genetically engineered not only to breed more frequently in a year but also lay more eggs. And at the same time be masters of mimicry to keep predation rate within survival limits.

This white Dragontail is sucking on wet mud to quench its thirst for salt.

In the art of mimicry or apery the Orange Oak Leaf butterfly provides a fascinating example. When resting, all butterflies shut their wings displaying their underside for view. So in the case of this species what one sees is an exact replica of an oak leaf, complete with colour shades, the midrib and even some fungal spots.

But once disturbed, it opens its wings, flashing brilliant splashes of blue, orange and warm chocolate brown colours. This sudden display startles the predator momentarily and allows the butterfly to escape and ‘hide’ once again among other dead leaves, leaving the predator thoroughly puzzled.

The life cycle of a butterfly commences with laying eggs. Though the eggs differ in size, shape and quantity according to the species, none is bigger than a pinhead.

The eggs are deposited, singly or in clusters, on the underside of a leaf or tender stalks closest to the buds and flowers. So the next time, don’t get alarmed by snow-white ‘fungal’ growth or by ‘curly-leaf’ disease on your favourite hibiscus bush in the garden, because these may be butterfly eggs.

After four to seven days, when you again find the bush bereft of many leaves but not even one shed on the ground beneath, it means that the eggs have hatched, marking the beginning of the second stage — larvae or caterpillars.

Orange Oak Leaf butterfly, when resting, is an exact replica of an oak leaf, complete with colour shades, the midrib and even some fungal spots.

These caterpillars are voracious eaters of leaves, buds, flowers etc but there is no need to panic and spray ‘killer’ chemicals because caterpillars are also a much-awaited delicacy for birds, lizards, wasps, spiders etc.

The butterflies have also species-specific plants for feeding. The female butterflies have chemical receptors in their antennae and on the soles of their feet to detect their ordained food plants for laying eggs.

The caterpillar has to be lucky in order to remain undetected by the predators for another two to four weeks. Once fully grown, it anchors itself to a stalk by spinning a silken thread around itself. Over the next eight to 10 hours, it wriggles out of its skin to emerge as pupa, enclosed in a transparent capsule, revealing the shape, colours etc of the butterfly-to-be. Then it ruptures the pupal skin open, which kickstarts one of the nature’s most fascinating displays that lasts for almost 20 minutes. First the wings unfurl, and then they expand to the normal size and finally become strong after getting exposed to air. After a pause, it flaps its wings for a while and then takes off as a colourful butterfly.

The book covers 735 species, each illustrated with state-of-the-art colour photographs. In addition, there are colour plates of each species from different angles giving a total perspective. These plates have been taken from the collection at the BNHS.

The last 25 pages make a delightful reading on butterfly watching, photographing, gardening and conservation alternatives. There is another seven-page concise history of butterfly documentation in India, which is quite interesting.

The moist sub-tropical regions are home to the Golden Sapphire.

Dr Johann Gerhard Koening was employed by the Nawab of Arcot as a physician and botanist. Besides documenting medicinal plants (the curry leaf is, in fact, named ‘Murray Koeningii’), Koening had, by 1767, also collected 35 species of butterflies around Madras, which were, "probably the first-ever scientifically described butterfly species in the world and are still preserved in the Zoological Museum in Copenhagen."

Over the past three decades, I have persisted with the claim that Brig W. H. Evans, is the ‘Father of Indian Butterflies’. Here, at last, is a book, which supports that claim. Brigadier Evans is the only man, who had collected all 1,501 specimens of Indian butterflies and also described them in a book, Identification of Indian Butterflies, published by the BNHS in 1927. Revised in 1932, the book is a collector’s piece today.

The male and female butterflies look alike. The identification involves expert knowledge of their genitalia.

It was Brigadier Evans, who refined the concept of ‘lock-and-key’, that is, just as no two keys can operate one lock — no male of one species can mate with the female of another.

The Regal Apollo, photographed in 2007 at the Khardung La on the Leh-Siachin road in Ladakh, is exclusive to the Himalayas.

The author does mention that Brigadier Evans was born in Shillong, "The ultimate Mecca for butterfly enthusiasts", in 1876 but omits that he graduated from Royal Military College, Sandhurst, volunteered and was commissioned in the Indian Army (Corps of Engineers), fought in the First World War in France, won the DSO for gallantry and retired as Chief Engineer, Western Command, in 1931. He spent the last 24 years of his life in his room at the British Museum of Natural History, London, documenting butterflies of Europe, Asia, Australia and the Americas.

He led an incredible life, combining his chosen profession with his passion.

Last but not the least, the book also dwells on the ever-lurking fear of the species’ extinction due to excessive human intervention.

Several thousand butterflies are annually supplied to scientists, museums, private collectors and manufacturers of fancy items. "The global turnover of this trade is $20 million to $30 million per year."

Although the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, prohibits the catching, killing and trade of butterflies, India has not been able to enforce this law effectively.

Many of our exotic species such as the Kaiser-e-Hind and the Bhutan Glory are already on the Red Data list of the World Conservation Union. While many other species of butterflies, too, are on the threshold of this dreaded list.

The book can rightfully be called the ultimate butterflies’ field guide, though for the present only. There lies a challenge ahead for scientists, amateurs and the BNHS alike to complete the butterflies’ collection from the present 735 species to the full 1,501 and to photograph rest of the 766 species in their natural habitat before publishing the revised edition.