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Male Club Beak
Description
Wingspan 30-45 mm. A brown butterfly with yellow and white markings above.
The undersides have a purplish sheen in both sexes and more prominently
marked streaks on the males. Its most distinctive feature is its snout,
which is quite long. These butterflies are sometimes referred to as
'Snout butterflies'.
Similar species
The Beak - The upper and under sides of the hind wing lack the white
that is present in the Club Beak.
Status, distribution and habitat
A butterfly of the hills above 1500 feet though it has been recorded from
lower elevations. It is essentially confined to the central hills
around Kandy in the central province, and in Madugoda and the Knuckles
range in the Uva province. It is uncommon and never numerous. It is
mostly encountered along gravel roads through forests, roads inside
plantations close to forests or along rivers or streams with a trickle of
water.
Habits
One usually encounters this butterfly along forested gravel roads when it
is flushed by your foot steps. It then flies a short distance and settles
down abruptly. Unless approached very cautiously, it repeats this
behaviour, until you have stalked it for a few hundred yards or so, when
you realize that you are been taken for a walk! It is quite inconspicuous
once settled, and unless one keeps one's eyes on the 'ball', it is quite
difficult to locate and approach cautiously. It has a
characteristic flight with many variations built in to it. At times, it flies rapidly,
while at at other times it hops or darts across short distances, and on
other occasions, it combines these with a short glide or sail. I have
never see it settle on flowers to nectar or any other food source.
Early stages
The larvae feed on Celtis tetrandra.
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