Rare butterfly sighted in Tamil Nadu’s Villupuram
A rare philomela form of the Common Wanderer butterfly has been documented for the first time in the Villupuram district of Tamil Nadu. The sighting highlights the ecological importance of preserved green spaces in the region.
Why it matters
This discovery provides valuable data for lepidopterists and emphasizes the role of institutional green spaces in biodiversity conservation.
A rare philomela form of the Common Wanderer butterfly, Pareronia hippia , has been documented for the first time in Poothurai of Villupuram district by a butterfly enthusiast. Till date, the butterfly species has been historically associated more often with northeastern India and adjoining regions.
Records from peninsular India are comparatively scarce, making the observation in Poothurai near Puducherry, a rare sighting.
The butterfly, was observed by Smita Rani Mishra, a resident of Puducherry at Matur Udyanam, a unit of Sri Aurobindo Ashram, recently. The individual was found resting and fluttering among vegetation on the campus during hot and humid summer.
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