 Butterflies of Sri Lanka
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244 species of butterflies occur in Sri Lanka, of which about 20 are
endemics.
Their habitats range from the hottest areas in the arid zones to the coolest
areas in the forested hills. Some butterflies can be seen all year round
while others are seasonal. In size, they range from the large, aptly named Bird-wing butterfly to the tiny,
just as aptly named, Grass Jewel.
The highest number of species of butterflies occur in the foothills up to 3000 feet elevation. About half a dozen species occur above 4000 feet. Twenty species are strictly confined to the dry zone below 500 feet. There are two major seasons in which the butterfly numbers peak. These correspond to the onset of the south-west monsoon in March-April and the north-east monsoon in September-October. The eleven families found in Sri Lanka are Danaidae,
Satyridae, Amathusiidae,
Nymphalidae, Acraeidea,
Libytheidae, Riodinidae,
Lycaenidae, Pieridae, Papilionidae and
Hesperiidae. Danaidae General Characteristics
Satyridae
Amathusiidae
Nymphalidae
Acraeidae
Libytheidae
Riodinidae
Lycaenidae
Pieridae Papilionidae
Hesperiidae General Characteristics
All material protected by copyright. If you need to use any of the
material here for personal use, please ask. Endemics (pers comm, Harish
Gaonkar, in prep, The Atlas of the Butterflies of the Western Ghats and
Sri Lanka, The Natural History Museum, London) |
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