Validation of the reported occurrence of Tajuria maculata , the Spotted Royal butterfly ( Lepidoptera : Lycaenidae ) , in the Western Ghats , southwestern India , on the basis of two new records

Acknowledgements: VKS and DSD are grateful to the Karnataka Forest Department for the permission to conduct field work at the Brahmagiris, and to Kumar Ghorpade for logistical support. The specimen depicted in Image 1 is from the Museum of Comparative Zoology (MCZ), Harvard University; thanks to Naomi Pierce (Curator of Lepidoptera, MCZ) and Philip Perkins (Collections Manager, MCZ) for permission and Rod Eastwood (Post-doctoral Research Fellow, MCZ) for his assistance in locating and photographing the specimen. This is Publication No. 2 of the Indian Foundation for Butterflies (http://ifoundbutterflies.org/). JoTT Note 3(3): 1629-1632

Roberts took from the Nilgiris District, northwestern Tamil Nadu, southern Western Ghats (Yates 1935) (Fig. 1).The collection date and exact locality of this specimen do not seem to have been reported in literature.Considering that a single specimen of T. maculata, presumably from the Nilgiris and without any associated information, had ever been collected, Larsen wondered, "If it is indeed a genuinely South Indian species", but noted that, "All the new records to the Nilgiris based on his [Stokes Roberts] material have since been validated by others and the species is so distinctive that it is difficult to see how a labeling error would have survived."(Larsen 1987).
Assuming that the Roberts specimen was indeed collected in the Nilgiris, it was likely collected in the vicinity of either Kotagiri, Coonoor or Udagamandalam ("Ooty") (approximate locations: 11.35-11.43 0N & 76.70-76.88 0E), three popular towns in the Nilgiris, from where British entomologists collected most of the Nilgiris butterfly material.There are no other records from the Nilgiris (Wynter-Blyth 1944a,b;Larsen 1987) or from the rest of the Western Ghats (Bell 1910-27).Gaonkar (1996) suspected this species to be present in Kerala, and mentioned the Western Ghats distribution in Tamil Nadu (from the Nilgiris) and Karnataka (possibly from Kodagu, popularly known as Coorg, where some work on butterflies was done by early British lepidopterists).We do not know whether Gaonkar's (1996) report of this species from Karnataka was extrapolated from the Roberts specimen, or was based on any specimens that have not been reported in print yet.Evans (1932) and Wynter-Blyth (1957) probably either overlooked the Roberts specimen or considered its presence in the Nilgiris improbable, so they did not include the Western Ghats in this species' distribution (Evans 1932;Wynter-Blyth 1957).The Madras Government Museum in Chennai has no specimens from the Western Ghats or from elsewhere in India (Satyamurti 1966).

New observations
Tajuria maculata was recently seen on two occasions approximately 200km northwest of the Nilgiris (Fig. 1).The details are as follows: (i) Sightings from Brahmagiri Wildlife Sanctuary (Images 2 A & B): The Brahmagiri Wildlife Sanctuary is located in Kodagu District in the southwestern corner of Karnataka, covering an area of approximately 181km 2 .The elevation ranges from 65-1,607 m, the lower slopes and valleys being mostly covered in evergreen and semi-evergreen forests, the upper reaches with a shola forest and grassland mosaic.
VKS and DSD saw four T. maculata individuals in this area on 19 November 2009, a partly cloudy and windy day.The first individual was seen mudpuddling VCB saw a single specimen of T. maculata (Image 2C) at 1313 hr on 2 October 2010, a rainy and misty day with occasionally clear skies.It was seen on the eastern slopes of Kottathalachimala (11 0 28.23'N & 75 0 78.97'E, 800m), feeding from the flowers of Knoxia sumatrensis (Rubiaceae), which was common there among boulders and grass.It then flew towards the valley and was not seen again.The known larval host plants of T. maculata belong to Loranthaceae (http://www.nhm.ac.uk/research-curation/research/ projects/hostplants/), and Dendrophthoe falcata (Loranthaceae) was common in semi-evergreen forest patches at Kottathalachimala.However, VCB did not see any evidence of larval activity on Dendrophthoe plants that he investigated.

Discussion
Our sightings confirm the occurrence of T. maculata in the Western Ghats.These sightings give credence to the specimen recorded from the Nilgiris by Roberts.They also confirm the presence of this species from the states of Karnataka and Kerala.The evergreen forest and montane grassland habitat patches at the Brahmagiri Wildlife Sanctuary are well-protected, so the population of T. maculata there is secure.However, large stone quarries have recently been established at Kottathalachimala, which has destroyed some forest and grassland patches.A small cross on the mountaintop is also a popular Easter pilgrimage for local Christians.Together, these two activities cause significant disturbance to wildlife habitats and make the long-term future of the T. maculata population at Kottathalachimala uncertain.

Figure
Figure 1.Localities in the Western Ghats where Tajuria maculata has so far been recorded (prepared by Krushnamegh Kunte).