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.
Nice capture. I have a soft corner for Admirals. :)
ReplyDeleteI see you have done some house-keeping over here. I like the new look!
Would have been great if you had mentioned how you could get to perch on a denim, haha.
Amila
ReplyDeleteThanks!!!
Ok here is the secret - We were on our way to Kirigalpoththa peak and noticed this Admiral mud-puddling(Or is it dung-puddling :)) on scats of a certain carnivorous mammal (Probably a leopard). We three or four photographers started to shoot him from all four directions and poor fellow flew away and perched on one of ours denim trouser (Probably due to 'much better smell' of it than animal scats after 2 days long camping. :)) So in your next visit to plains don't forget to take 'necessary actions' to attract Admiral with readily available bait.