White Banded Awl (Hasora taminatus taminatus)

Rather uncommon* butterfly flies all the year round in dry and intermediate zone forests, mainly in the southeastern part of the country. The larva of White Banded Awl feeds on the leaves of Derris scandens and Derris parviflora. 

* However W. Ormiston wrote in 1924 "They suddenly appears in great numbers, generally during the north-east monsoon, and I am of opinion that they "flight." In October, 1916, I noticed great flights of large Hesperiidae on several evenings just before dark, all going south....Both [White Banded Awl & Common Banded Awl] are extremely plentiful all over Uva, up to the highest elevations, and I have specimens ..from Kandy and Deniyaya"

And L.G.O. Woodhouse noted in 1949 " Both species [White Banded Awl & Common Banded Awl] fly together; they suddenly appears in numbers generally during the north-east monsoon (October-December) and appears to be "flighting'...but can be taken in most months of the year, all over the island, particularly in the wet and hill zones, being comparatively scarcer in the low-country dry zone"

 

Indian Awl King (Choaspes benjaminii)

 Indian Awl King is a rather uncommon butterfly restricted to the hill country forests above 1500 m a.s.l. But there are few records of observing it at some slightly lower elevations as well. Its larval food plants are Meliosma simplicifolia (ඇල්බැද්ද) and Meliosma arnottiana (නික දවුල). Male Indian Awl Kings are usually settle on wet roads, stream beds and strongly attracted by bird droppings. As per W. Ormiston who wrote about this butterfly in 1924 it was a fairly common butterfly of the hills and was formerly very plentiful on the cart road below the Haputale jungle, but he noted that since the Forest Department has cleared out the original vegetation and planted Eucalyptus in its places this and other butterflies have, of course disappeared. But he mentioned that it was still common between Haputale and Ohiya. He had collected it from Maskeliya, the hills above Ratnapura, Kandy as well as Haldummula which is rather low as 3500 ft.

Rare Ace (Halpe egena)

Rare Ace is a rare and endemic butterfly. Its recent records are only from the higher elevations at Knuckles range and Peak Wilderness Sanctuary. However historical records available from Kalupahana, Ratnapura and Haldummulla-Horton Plains road (Ormiston W., 1924). Rare Ace is more or less similar to Ceylon Ace and some authors believes that both are one and same species while Ceylon Ace found at lower elevations and Rare Ace is restricted to the higher hills or that they are seasonal forms. The only consistent difference of both is the ground color and the ground color of Ceylon Ace is dark brown while Rare Ace is dark purplish brown. The immature stages of both species are also quite similar. Its larva feeds on leaves of Davidsea attenuata.

Common Small Flat (Sarangesa dasahara albicilia)

Seasonally common insect flies mainly in the southeastern dry zone jungles up to 800 m a.s.l. Its main flight season is from April to June. Since it remains in a relatively small area for much of its life, Common Small Flat often seen flying in same locality day after day. Its larva feeds on  Lepidagathis fasciculata, Lepidagathis ceylanica and Lepidagathis walkeriana  leaves.

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 ).

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

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.

Common Dartlet (Oriens goloides)

An uncommon butterfly occurs in grassy areas all over the island up to mid-hills. It often found settled on grass by the roadsides. If disturbed, darts off rapidly and usually settles again near by shrub. Common Dartlet larva feeds on Setaria barbata (තණ කොළ), Cyrtococcum trigonum and also Axonopus compressus only when offered.

Decorated Ace (Thoressa decorata)

Rare endemic butterfly found in southwestern forest areas up to about 1200 m elevations. No data available on its larval host plants or early stages of the life cycle.

Little Branded Swift (Pelopidas agna)

Little branded Swift is a rare butterfly with not much data on its distribution in the island. As per Woodhouse it is more likely to be found in the mid to upper hills while other similar species Small Branded Swift (Pelopidas mathias) with larger spots flies in the low country to mid hills (L.G.O. Woodhouse, 1950). It inhabits grasslands and open areas. Larva feeds on Arundo donax, Ischaemum timorense and also Axonopus compressus only when offered.

Philippine Swift (Catloris philippina seriata)

Rare butterfly found in wet zone habitats from lowlands to about 300ft elevation of the hills. Larva feeds on Bambusa multiplex, Bambusa vulgaris (උණ), Bambusa tuldoides, Dendrocalamus giganteus, Schizostachyum brachycladum and Ochlandra stridula (බට) of the family Poaceae.

Yellow Palm Dart (Cephrenes trichopepla)

Yellow Palm Dart is a butterfly restricted to the Australian region. It was first recorded in Sri Lanka by Dr. George (Michael) van der Poorten in July 2009. It is believed that it was accidentally introduced to the country by palms brought by horticulture trade. Yellow Palm Dart is now well established in western and Northwestern part of the island. In Sri Lanka its larva feeds on varies palms such as පොල්/Coconut(Cocos nucifera), ඉඳි (Phoenix pusilla) and Saribus rotundifolius. 

Indian Skipper (Spialia galba)

Common butterfly found in all climatic zones of the country throughout the year while becoming rarer in higher elevations. It is very fond of the sun and can be found on hottest places such as pathways during the hottest times of the day. Larva feeds on කොටි-කන් බැවිල[Kotikan-bevila] (Sida rhombifolia), ගස් බැවිල/Gas-bevila (Sida acuta) and Waltheria indica

Common Red Eye (Matapa aria)

An uncommon butterfly confine to the wet zone of the country up to mid-hills. It is more frequently seen from August to October (Woodhouse L.G.O. , 1950). Common Red-eye is active mostly at dusk and dawn except on a dull day. Its larval host plants are Bambusa vulgaris (උණ), Dendrocalamus giganteus, Bambusa multiplex, Schizostachyum brachycladum and Ochlandra stridula (බට) 

Giant Red Eye (Gangara thyrsis)

An uncommon butterfly occurs locally from lowlands to mid-hills. It flew very late in the evening. Larva feeds on  Calamus pseudotenuis (හීන් වේවැල්),  Calamus ovoideus (සුදු වේවැල්/තුඩරෑන)  Calamus rotang (හීං වේවැල් / පොළොන්නරු වේවැල්) and  Calamus thwaitesii(මා වේවැල්/වඳුරු වැල්/පුවක් වැල්/කත් වැල්) 

Ceylon Banded Awl/Ceylon Awl (Hasora badra lanka)

An uncommon butterfly occurs in southwestern forests from lowlands to the hills. It has a fast flight and often settle beneath leaves. Larva feeds on දිය කල වැල්/කළු කල වැල් (Derris canarensis) 

Grass Demon (Udaspes folus)

An uncommon butterfly probably occurs all over the island where its larval host plants available, excluding higher hills  . Both Ormiston (Ormiston  W., 1924)  and Woodhouse (Woodhouse L.G.O. , 1950) treated it as a very rare insect in Sri Lanka. However now a days it seems to be not such a rarity, probably due to adopting of its larva to feeds on varies exotic plants such as Curcuma longa[කහ/Turmeric], Curcuma zedoaria [හරන් කහ], Hedychium coronarium [එළ මල්], Kaempferia galanga [හිඟුරු පියලි], Alpinia calcarata (කලා කීරිය/කටු කීරිය/Indian Ginger/Snap-Ginger) and Zingiber officinale [ඉඟුරු/Ginger] some of them are widely cultivated. Curcuma oligantha is the only known larval food plant of it which is not introduced but indigenous (ibid).

References:

Ormiston  W., 1924 The Butterflies of Ceylon, H.W.Cave & Co., Colombo 1924, AES Reprint New Delhi, 2003

Woodhouse L.G.O. , 1950 The Butterfly Fauna of Ceylon, Ceylon Government Press, Colombo, 2nd (Abriged) Edition.  1950.