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
Vivek Kumar Sarkar1, Daniel Sukumar Das 2, V.C. Balakrishnan 3 & Krushnamegh Kunte 4
1 Bidhu Bhawan, Rajmata Road, OPO Block, Coochbehar,
West Bengal 736101, India
2 No. 42, 3rd Main Road,
K.S. Town, Bengaluru, Karnataka 560060, India
3 Society for Environmental Education in
Kerala (SEEK), Edat P.O., Kannur,
Kerala 670327, India
4 FAS Center for Systems Biology,
Harvard University, 52 Oxford St., Cambridge, MA 02138, USA
Email: 4 krushnamegh@ifoundbutterflies.org
(corresponding author)
Date of
publication (online): 26 March 2011
Date of
publication (print): 26 March 2011
ISSN
0974-7907 (online) | 0974-7893 (print)
Editor: Peter Smetacek
Manuscript details:
Ms # o2645
Received 07 December 2010
Final received 07 March 2011
Finally accepted 10 March 2011
Citation: Sarkar, V.K., D.S. Das, V.C. Balakrishnan & K. Kunte(2011). 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. Journal of
Threatened Taxa 3(3): 1629–1632.
Copyright: © Vivek Kumar Sarkar,
Daniel Sukumar Das, V.C. Balakrishnan & Krushnamegh Kunte 2011. Creative Commons Attribution
3.0 Unported License. JoTTallows unrestricted use of this article in any medium for non-profit purposes,
reproduction and distribution by providing adequate credit to the authors and
the source of publication.
Acknowledgements:VKS and DSD are grateful to the Karnataka Forest
Department for the permission to conduct field work at
the Brahmagiris, and to Kumar Ghorpadefor 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/).
For figure, images -- click here
Tajuria maculata (Hewitson,
1865) (Lepidoptera, Lycaenidae, Theclinae,Iolaini), popularly known as the Spotted Royal, is a
widespread oriental butterfly (Image 1). It ranges from the central Himalaya and northeastern India to South
China, Indo-China, peninsular Malaysia and Borneo. No valid subspecies are currently recognized in this vast
region (Evans 1932; Pinratana 1981; Smith 1989; Corbet et al. 1992; Io 2000; Inayoshi2010). It is uncommon to rare
throughout its range, although reportedly common in the KhasiHills (Swinhoe 1911-1912), and usually associated
with montane habitats between 1,000–1,500 m (Wynter-Blyth 1957; Smith 1989; Corbetet al. 1992). Within the Indian
sub-region, it has been reported from central to eastern Nepal (Smith 1989),
Sikkim and the eastern Himalaya, Sibsagar in eastern
upper Assam, the Khasi and Naga Hills in northeastern
India, and from Myanmar (de Nicéville 1890; Swinhoe 1911-1912; Wynter-Blyth
1957), but not from Bangladesh (Larsen 2004). It is at least bivoltine, being
reportedly on the wing in March, May, September and October in Nepal, June,
July and November in the Khasi Hills, and May in the
Naga Hills (Wynter-Blyth 1957; Smith 1989). Its early stages have recently been
studied in Hong Kong (http://www.hkls.org/info-t_maculata.html).
The only
Western Ghats record of T.maculata is in the de Nicéville collection,
a single specimen that Stokes Roberts took from the NilgirisDistrict, 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 Nilgirisbased 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: 11.35–11.430N & 76.70–76.880E),
three popular towns in the Nilgiris, from where
British entomologists collected most of the Nilgirisbutterfly 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 BrahmagiriWildlife 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 181km2. 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 sholaforest 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 (Image 2A) from 1100
to 1130 hr near the Iruppu Falls, a popular tourist
destination (approximately 300–500 m, 11057.8’N & 75058.5E). The other three were seen feeding on
white flowers of an unidentified straggling vine in a sholaforest patch near the Narimalai Guest House, at
1,300m. These individuals were
feeding well above the ground, constantly chasing each other, and could not be
photographed.
(ii)
Sighting from Kottathalachimala (Image 2 C & D): Kottathalachimala is an isolated mountain in Kannur District, northern Kerala. Its summit and the western slopes are covered with
grasslands, whereas the eastern slopes are mosaics of semi-evergreen forests
and grasslands dominated by Cymbopogon. It is very close to Mundrot Reserve Forest in
Karnataka, merely 2 air-kilometers away.
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(11028.23’N & 75078.97’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 Kottathalachimalauncertain.
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