Great Orange Tip/Giant Orange Tip (Hebomoia glaucippe)

Largest Pieridae butterfly of the island with very fast flight. It often flies very high. Great Orange Tip occurs all over the country close to forest areas and in scrublands but much common in the dry lowlands up to about 100ft a.s.l. Larva feeds on Capparis mooni(රුදන්ති) in the hills and Capparis roxburghii(කලු ඉල්ලන්ගෙඩි), Crateva adansonii(ලුණුවරණ) and Capparis sepiaria(රිලා කටු) in the dry lowlands. Males settle on damp earth to absorb minerals. It is a migratory species and Ormiston mention about a flight of many thousands in November 1912 (“The largest flight I ever saw was in November, 1912. From south of Maho to Ambanpola, on the Northern line, the train passed for nearly half an hour through a swarm of many thousands” (Ormiston W., 1924))

Great Crow/King Crow (Euploea phaenareta corus)

Rather uncommon butterfly flies in well wooded coastal wetlands and mangroves of southwestern part of the country from Negombo to Galle. Further inland it can be also found in Sinharaja forest reserve near Kudawa, Kanneliya forest reserve and Kottawa forest reserve. Great Crow is a shade loving insect spends much of its time resting on leaves or twigs of forest trees while flies only hour or two after sunrise. Its larva feed on leaves of Cerbera odollam (ගොන් කඳුරු) trees. 

Ceylon Palm Bob/Small Palm Bob (Suastus minuta minuta)

Rather rare insect found in forested habitats of southwestern wet zone. Few colonies are also inhabiting below Revestone and Corbet's Gap areas of the Knuckles range. It's flight season is from April to June (Woodhouse noted that it has been captured between July and November in Kandy district). The larval host plants are Loxococcus rupicola[රන් දෝතළු], Calamus pseudotenuis[හීන් වේවැල්] (At the higher elevations) and Calamus radiatus[කුකුළු වැල්] (At the lower elevations). It also feeds on leaves of other Calamus species (Calamus digitatus, Calamus metzianus and Calamus thwaitesii ).

Joker (Byblia ilithyia)

Rare butterfly restricted to the scrub lands of northwestern coast from Chilaw to Jaffna.  Ormiston recorded of seeing numbers settled on a small bush at Palatupana of Hambantota district in 1909. But neither him nor anyone else met it there since. Its larva feeds on leaves of Tragia plukenetii (වැල් කහඹිලියා)

Pale Palm Dart (Telicota colon kala)

Rather rare butterfly inhabiting grasslands and open meadows of the Uva and Sabaragamuwa hills and drier areas of the Central province. It probably flies year-round. Ormiston in 1924 recorded it from Galle and Wellawaya and noted that it is very common at times in Haldummulla.  Its larva feed on an unidentified grass species (van der Poorten G. & van der Poorten N. 2016). As per Ormiston it also feed on Sugar cane/උක් (Saccharum officinarum) which is extensively cultivated for sugar production in some areas.

References

• van der Poorten G. & van der Poorten N. 2016,  The Butterfly Fauna of Sri Lanka.
• Ormiston  W. 1924, The Butterflies of Ceylon, H.W.Cave & Co., Colombo 1924, AES Reprint New Delhi, 2003

Common Acacia Blue (Surendra quercetorum)

Common butterfly flies all the year round in wetter parts of the island below 1000 m a.s.l. wherever its food plants grows. Its larva feeds on leaves of  Senegalia caesia (හිඟුරු-වැල්), Acacia pennata (ගොඩ හිඟුරු), Albizia lebbeck (සූරිය මාර), Falcataria moluccana (මාර) and Calliandra surinamensis.

Southern Duffer (Discophora lepida)

Rather rare butterfly of southwestern wet lowland rain forests with bamboo undergrowth. It flies at dawn and dusk. Larva feeds on Ochlandra stridula [Bamboo/බට] leaves.

Indian Dart/Pallid Dart (Potanthus pallida)

Very rare butterfly. W. Ormiston first collected it in Sri Lanka at Haldumulla, and noted in his monograph of Sri Lankan butterflies "The Butterflies of Ceylon" as either a distinct race or a seasonal form of Common Dart (Potanthus pseudomaesa) (Ormiston W., 1924). Since then no authentic published records or  collected specimens or photographs were available of it until Tharaka S Priyadarshana, Chamitha De Alwis and Ishara Harshajith Wijewardhane rediscovered it from Paraviyangala mountain of Badulla district on 14th October 2012 and again at Bambarakanda mountain road of Ratnapura district on 7th July 2014. Both locations are situated proximity of Haldummulla, the original locality where Ormiston collected it on or before year 1924. Above female Indian Dart was also photographed at Bambarakanda mountain road on 4th February 2015. No data available on its early stage of the life cycle or the larval host plant in Sri Lanka.

Note: - Two recently published butterfly guides for Sri Lanka have images of Indian Dart. "A Pocket Guide to the Butterflies of Sri Lanka, Second Edition Himesh Dilruwan Jayasinghe, Sarath Sanjeewa Rajapakshe, Chamitha De Alwis, 2015 and A Naturalist's Guide to the Butterflies & Dragonflies of Sri Lanka by Gehan De Silva Wijeyeratne,2015. However the image in the later one is not resembles the Indian dart and probably an incorrect identification of a male Tropic Dart (Potanthus Confucius satra)
.
References:

• Ormiston, W., 1924. The Butterflies of Ceylon.
• T.M.T.S. Priyadarshana, C. de Alwis & G.V.I.H. Wijewardana, 2015, Rediscovery of two Darts (Lepidoptera) in Sri Lanka after 90 years, Taprobanica,  January, 2015. Vol. 07, No. 01: pp. 43–44.

Banana Skipper/Rounded Palm Red-eye (Erionota torus)

Banana Skipper is the most recently discovered butterfly of  Sri Lanka. Rohana Gunawardana first observed two adults on 16th August 2015 at Ambagaspitiya in Gampaha District, while resting on a Musa x paradisiaca (Banana/කෙසෙල්) leaf. Next day he discovered many larva and pupa as well as adult butterflies on the vicinity and occurring of new invasive pest butterfly species in the island was formally published later on by Rohana Gunawardana, Ishara Harshajith Wijewardhane, H.M.B.E. Herath, and Tharaka S Priyadarshana in Wildlanka Vol 3 No 3, The research journal of the Department of Wildlife conservation, Sri Lanka.*
    Globally Banana Skipper is distributed in Southeast Asia, Taiwan, Japan and northern India and it is believed that it has been entered Sri Lanka with imported plant materials. In Sri Lanka it is observed that larva of Banana Skipper feeds on mature banana leaves. Also it rolls the banana leaf flap clockwise to form a shelter to rest inside, coursing serious damages to the banana trees. Banana being a commercially cultivated , wide spread crop plant throughout the island, above authors have highlighted the necessity of taking immediate measures to eradicate it in the early stage. Outside Sri Lanka it is reported that not only Banana but also Cocos nucifera (Coconut/පොල්), Areca catechu (පුවක්/Betel-nut palm), Bambusa oldhamii, Strelitzia reginae and Saccharum officinarum (උක්/Sugar cane) are also host plants of the Banana Skipper. Three of them are widely cultivating important crop plants and it was noted that it would be a great lose for the economy if it gradually spread to them as well.

Current Status:
Banana Skipper is now a widely distributed pest in most areas where banana trees are growing as a commercial cultivation or as a home garden fruit tree. Such as Udawalawe, Sinharaja, Gilimale,  Kandy, Kotte, etc (Personnel observation). However it has been observed that Yellow-billed babblers are feeding on larva, tearing its 'nest' where it hide during the day time (Rajika Gamage & Sujeeva Gunasena Personnel communication)

* Meanwhile quite independently  Tharindu Ranasinghe and Himesh Dilruwan Jayasinghe also observed it in the same area and their findings were published as a newspaper article on 27th September 2015 - Enter the Banana Skipper butterfly; bad news for banana farmers

References:
Gunawardana B.R., Wijewardana G.V.I.H, Herath H.M.B.E & Priyadarshana T.M.T.S. 2015, Erionota torus Evans, 1941: A New Record for Sri lanka with notes on its biology (Lepidoptera: Hesperiidae) WILDLANKA Vol. 3, No. 3, pp. 178 - 183.

Wallace's Swift (Borbo cinnara)

Common insect flies in grasslands, roadsides and open areas from drier North and Northwestern lowlands to higher hills (Woodhouse L.G.O., 1950).  Its larva feeds on leaves of varies grass species of the family Poeceae such as Coix lacryma-jobi [කිරිඳි], Panicum maximum[ගිනි තණ/Guinea grass], Setaria barbata, Arundo donax, Cyrtococcum trigonum, Ischaemum timorense and Zea mays [ඉරිඟු/Indian corn/maize] 

Restricted Demon (Notocrypta curvifascia)

Rare butterfly found in wet and intermediate zone jungles. Its larva feeds on Zingiber zerumbet, Zingiber officinale, Meistera trichostachya, Hellenia speciosa, and Meistera fulviceps.

White Orange Tip (Ixias marianne)

Common butterfly flies in the dry low country scrublands. Commoner in the northern part of the island especially in the Jaffna and Mannar districts though also occurs in the south and southeastern areas. Larval host plants are Capparis brevispina, Capparis grandis and Capparis sepiaria of the family Capparaceae .  

Common Albatross (Appias albina darada)

Common butterfly of the hill country. But not occurred in the very high elevations. It takes parts in migrations and also settles on wet patches on paths, river beds, etc. to absorb minerals in large numbers. Its only known larval food plant in Sri Lanka is Drypetes sepiaria.

Blue Glassy Tiger (Ideopsis similis exprompta)

Rather common butterfly restricted to the southwestern coast from Negombo to Galle, not occurring inland more than 32 km s. Blue Glassy Tiger especially flies in mangrove and marsh habitats. However it can be also observed in inland wet lowland forests such as Sinharaja, Morapitiya-Runakandha and Kanneliya. Larva feeds on Vincetoxicum indicum (බිං නුග), Vincetoxicum flexuosum var. tenuis,  and Anodendron paniculatum leaves (Ovipositing also observed on Parsonsia alboflavescens [කිරි අඟුණ/වල් අඟුණ] though larvae refused to feed on them when given in the lab).

          Major N. Manders while considering the restricted distribution of this butterfly doubted that it may be an accidentally introduced species to the island from the China via Galle harbor. Before completion of the breakwater at Colombo, Galle was the first port in the island and introduction of this butterfly may have been occured during that period (Manders N., 1904) As per Manders distribution of this insect at that time was "...coast and twenty miles or so inland, that is to say, the foothills extending from Galle in the south to about ten miles beyond Colombo on the north." 

Manders N., 1904 Butterflies of Ceylon, The Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society V. 16 (1904-1906)

Dark Blue Tiger (Tirumala septentrionis)

Dark Blue Tiger is a common butterfly flies mainly in the dry zone of the country up to 1000 m elevations. It takes part in migrations. Larva feeds on Dragia volubilis (අගුණ) leaves in the field and also on 

Heterostemma tanjorense when offered.

Tawny Rajah (Charaxes psaphon)

Rather uncommon butterfly flies all over the island except in the higher hills. It is much common in the dry zone especially during the south-west monsoon and scarce in the wet zone. Both sexes especially males settle on wet patches, bird droppings, decaying animal matters and rotting fruits. It is a very fast flier and also take part in migrations. Hill-topping phenomena is also observed of male Tawny Rajas*. According to the sources females are rarely seen, since they are less active and preferring to sit deep in the foliage. Larva feeds on Entada zeylanica, Tamarindus indica (සියඹලා/Tamarind/Indian Date), Dalbergia pseudo-sissoo (බඹර වැල්),  Entada rheedei (පුස් වැල්) and Croton laccifer (ගස්-කැප්පෙටියා). Egg laying observed on Miliusa tomentosa and  Actinodaphne stenophylla (නික දවුල) and larva fed on Aglaia elaeagnoidea when offered in the lab.

* Male flying up to and staying on a hill top waiting for females.

Five bar Swordtail (Pathysa antiphates ceylonicus)

One of the rarest butterfly of the island. It is confine to the few localities in the southwestern wet lowland forests. Where also it occurs probably in a certain period of the year, roughly from January to end of March. Few earlier records also available from the dry zone especially from the Uva province.  Five bar Swordtail usually flies around midday. Therefore it is also known as "12 O' clock fly". Males often settle on wet patches in stream beds and jungle paths as well as the decaying animal matters.  No larval host plants have been discovered of it from Sri Lanka.

Lemon Pansy (Junonia lemonias vaisya)

Common butterfly flies everywhere up to about 2000 ft. It is very common in the dry zone and local and scarce in the wet zone. It takes part in migrations. Larva feeds on Barleria prionitis (කටු කරඬු/Yellow Hedge Barleria),  Hygrophila auriculata (ක‍ටු ඉකිරි/නීරමුල්ලිය), Lindernia rotundifolia, Dyschoriste madurensis, Dyschoriste nagchana, Rungia repens (සුළු නයි/Creeping rungia), Ruellia prostrata (නිල් පුරුක්)  and Barleria lupulina (රන්වන් කටු කරඩු).

Common Jay (Graphium doson)

Common butterfly widely distributed throughout the country except in the far north. Males often settle in large numbers on wet patches on gravel roads, river beds, etc. It takes parts in migrations and sometimes flies in great numbers. The larva feeds on Polyalthia cerasoides [Patta-Ul-Kenda/පට්ට උල්කෙන්ද], Polyalthia korinti [Mi-Wenna, Ul-Kenda/මීවැන්න/උල් කෙන්ද], Uvaria macropoda and Miliusa indica*[Kekili-Messa/කැකිලිමැස්ස] of the family Annonaceae

* Larva fed on tender leaves and flowers only in the lab.

White Hedge Blue (Udara akasa mavisa)

A very local butterfly. But as per Ormiston (The butterflies of Ceylon - W. Ormiston)  plentiful where it occurs (Haputhale, Haldummulla and Nuwaraeliya especially during the March to April). It is usually found near streams in the hills. Males settles on wet patches on roads and females usually hovering among bushes and settle on flowers. No records available on its early stages or larval host plants*. This is probably the first photograph taken of  the White Hedge Blue in its natural habitats in Sri Lanka.

* As per Van der Poorten G.M. & Van der Poorten N.E., 2016 Female laying eggs were observed on developing buds of Persicaria chinensis. (2021/05/30)