Common Butterflies of Sri Lanka

T
LC
Nilgiri Tit Hypolycaena nilgirica
Large Guava Blue Virachola perse
S
VU
Lycaenidae
Female
The male is dark reddish purple-brown on the upper side. It has two black spots
capped in orange near the tails. The female is pale brown. The black spots at the
tornus are not heavily capped in orange as in the male. It has tapering patches of
white dustings above the black spots and in the adjacent interspaces. The underside
looks similar in both sexes but can vary. The background is white with a black spot at
each tail, as on the upper side. Both wings have a faint sub-marginal band of crescentshaped
markings and a distinct distal band. The hind wing has a black spot near the
upper margin and golden yellow wavy markings in the distal band at the bottom.
It has another black spot above the cell of the hind wing, basally to the distal band.
Males engage in mud sipping. Their flight is moderately fast and they visit flowers in
hedges. They bask in the morning, but do not open their wings otherwise.
It has a minute tail at the tornus and a circular lobe near the anal angle. This lobe is
situated perpendicular to the wing when the butterfly is in closed wing position and
acts as a false eye spots at the back. The male has a shiny bright blue colour on the
upper surface of most of the hind wing and basal parts of forewing, while the rest is
black in colour. It has a sex brand on the hind wing which is usually concealed by the
forewing. The female is a more muted shade of blue and does not have the sex brand.
It has a whitish patch beyond the forewing cell and a sub-marginal row of indistinct
black spots on the hind wing. The underside has the same pattern in both sexes but
the male has a purple wash over the background. It has a distal row of large spots and
a cell end spot in both wings. A circular black spot is present in the basal area near the
upper margin of the hind wing. ‘Eye spots’ are present at both the tornus and the lobe,
with light blue scales apparent in between.
Male
Male
Lycaenidae
The cryptic Nilgiri Tit appears to be more common than we encounter. Their early
stages are more prevalent. They inhabit forests and lush home gardens, especially
those with orchids.
LFPs: Flowers and aerial roots of both native and introduced orchids including
Spathoglottis plicata, Malaxis versicolour and Vanda tessellata.
It is a very fast flier and eagerly feeds on flowers of shrubs and large herbs.
It is a dry zone butterfly who is found in any type of open vegetation, where its larval
food plant grows.
LFPs: Larvae feed within the fruit of Catunaregam spinosa (l=l=reudka$mqmqreuy).
102 Common Butterflies of Sri Lanka
Common Butterflies of Sri Lanka 103