Danaid Eggfly (Hypolimnas misippus)

An uncommon butterfly found from sea level to about 3500ft a.s.l. It is particularly common in low country dry zone during the north east monsoon. It takes part in migrations. W. Ormiston noted that once he encountered thousands of them both male and female settling on the road from about the 36^th to the 28^th mile of  Wellawaya - Hambantota road while he was walking to Tanamalvila (Ormiston W. 1924). Female mimic the Plain tiger and most remarkable thing is, it mimics both forms of with and without subapical markings of the model (i.e. Plain tiger) . Its larval food plants are Asystasia gangetica (පුරුක්/Ganges primrose/Chinese violet), Blepharis integrifolia, Blepharis maderaspatensis (සමාදාන/Creeping blepharis), Dyschoriste madurensis, Ruellia tuberosa (නිල් පුරුක්/Wayside tuberose/Minnieroot), Portulaca oleracea (ගෙඳ කොළ/Moss rose/Sun plant/Common purselane), Dyschoriste nagchana and Portulaca quadrifida