White Four-Ring (Ypthima ceylonica)

White Four-Ring is a common butterfly found in all elevations of the island in all the year round, while less common in higher hills. Its larva feeds on පොටු තණකොළ (Axonopus compressus) and Cyrtococcum trigonum of the family Poaceae

ඕලු[Olu]/Water Lilly (Nymphaea pubescens)

Olu is a very common indigenous aquatic herb of ponds and tanks, particularly in the dry lowlands. Flowering throughout the year and color of the flowers vary from nearly white to red. The seeds are edible and also use in traditional medicine. 

Little Green Bee-eater (Merops orientalis ceylonicus)

Little Green Bee-eater is a very common breeding resident of open areas, cultivations and open spaces of forests in dry lowlands.  Sometime perching birds on wires are not uncommon in suburban areas and it is occasional visitor to wet zone too.  It usually encounters as pairs and communal roosting during the night are observed in bushy trees. Like all other bee-eaters its main food consists of varies type of flying insects like beetles, bees, butterflies, dragonflies, etc. and it darts out to feed on them from its favorite perching wires or branches of a tree and often return to same place to swallow its catch. Little green Bee-eater breeds during April to August and lays 3-5 white color eggs in a nesting burrow which it dug into the side of a bank. 

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නිල් මානෙල්[Nil Manel]/Common water Lilly(Nymphaea nouchali)

An indigenous aquatic herb with floating leaves common in ponds and tanks of lowlands, particularly in dry zone and often cultivated in other areas. Flowering all the year round and flowers used for worshipping in Buddhist temples. 

Blue Tiger(Tirumala limniace leopardus)

Very common butterfly found in open scrub lands throughout the island though very common in lowlands below 1000ft a.s.l . Larva feeds on leaves of Dragia volubilis (අගුණ). It takes part in migration.  

නෙලුම්[Nelum]/Lotus (Nelumbo nucifera)

An aquatic indigenous herb common in ponds and tanks, particularly in dry zone. Seeds and rhizomes are edible and flowers use as temple offering. Color of the flowers vary from white to pink. Flowering throughout the year. 

Eurasian Thick-knee/ගොළු කිරළා[Golu Kirala] (Burhinus oedicnemus)

Eurasian Thick-knee is a breeding resident of mainly coastal dry zone areas, though occasionally found in wet zone coastal areas as well. It lives in pairs or as small flocks, spending day time squatting on ground in the shade of small bush and as dusk descends it become active. It is mainly a crepuscular and nocturnal bird feeds on ground insects such as grasshoppers, beetles, termites, etc. and such small animals. Breeding season is from June to August and nest, a shallow scrape on the ground where it lays two eggs, well camouflaged with the ground by color and difficult to locate. 

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Indian Red Admiral (Vanessa indica nubicola)

Rather uncommon butterfly of the hill country, which seldom found below 900m a.s.l. However at certain times of the year it is very common in higher hilly areas like Horton plains, Hakgala, Nuwaraeliya, Haputhale,Pattipola etc. Its larva feeds on Girardinia diversifolia (ගස් කහඹිලියා/Giant nettle) and it ties the leaves into a ball about the size of an orange and pupae can be found inside this ball (Ormiston W. 1924) . Urtica urens is one of its another larval food plant which is an introduced herb, now naturalized in the home gardens and cultivated lands in the higher elevations.

Desert rose (Adenium obesum )

Native to eastern Africa and Northern Arabian countries (Kenya, Uganda, Arabia and Mozambique). Cultivated in gardens as an ornamental plant in tropical and subtropical countries. Flowering mainly after the dry period and it is very resistance to the dry climate. Sometimes referred as “Pride of Japan” though it is not a native shrub of Japan (Kottegoda S.R.1994).

Indian Sunbeam (Curetis thetis)

Indian Sunbeam is an uncommon butterfly with rather unusual male-female distribution pattern in Sri Lanka. W. Ormistom wrote in last century that “the male is very plentiful in Wellawaya, and is almost always found settled on wet roads and in river-beds. The female is scarce there. At Anuradhapura I have found the male scarce, but the female common.” (Ormiston W.,  1924). Base on museum specimens de’Abrera also confirmed this by stating “male is more visible south of the central mountain range, whilst the female is more visible in the northern low country dry zone.” (de’Abrera B., 1998)  Female in above picture was photographed at Anavilundawa sanctuary of North-Western province and male which is not shown here has dissimilar bright copper red recto. Its larva feeds on Derris parviflora,  Entada rheedei (පුස් වැල්), Indigofera tinctoria, Pericopsis mooniana, Pongamia pinnata(මගුල් කරඳ), Pterocarpus indicus,  Lepisanthes tetraphylla (දාඹු), Abrus precatorius (ඔළිඳ/Crab's Eyes/Indian Liquorice),Derris scandens (කල වැල්) and Canavalia rosea.