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.
