Butterflies of
the Indian
subcontinent
Blue Tiger
Tirumala limniace
CRAMER, 1775
Family - NYMPHALIDAE
subfamily -
DANAINAE
Tribe - DANAINI
Tirumala limniace,
female, Weligaththa, Sri Lanka
Introduction
The
subfamily Danainae, which includes the Monarchs & Tigers, Nymphs and Crows,
comprises of about 190 species worldwide.
The genus Tirumala is
structurally closer to Danaus than to the other
similarly marked genera i.e. Ideopsis and
Parantica.
There are
10
Tirumala species, 2 of which occur in Africa, with the remainder distributed
across various parts of tropical and sub-tropical Asia, although one species
hamata has a range extending from Arabia to
Australia.
Tirumala limniace
is a widespread species, found from Afghanistan to the Philippines, and south to
Sulawesi, Java, Bali and Timor. It is fairly common in India, Sri Lanka, lowland
Nepal, Burma and Thailand, but is is rare on the Malay peninsula, and absent
from Sumatra and Borneo.
Habitats
This species occurs in many habitats ranging from Acacia scrub to dry deciduous woodlands, humid sub-tropical forests, gardens
and parks
at altitudes between sea level and about 300m.
Lifecycle
The larval foodplants
include Dreggea, Heterostemma,
Asclepias, Calotropis,
Marsdenia,
Crotalaria,
Hoya
and
Epibaterium.
Adult behaviour
The butterflies are usually encountered singly or in two's and
three's.
They have a slow undulating flight, with fairly shallow wing
beats, and patrol flowery areas.
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