I have a mad compulsive love for butterflies and cannot stop chasing them with my camera. My recent vacation in Uttarakhand led me to spot some new ones. This got me thinking about introducing a section on butterfly my blog.
So lepidoptera (Moths & Butterflies) is the new section on my blog from this month. Looking for some favorable views on this from my readers.
Family: Riodinidae
Genus: Dodona
Species: D durga
This gorgeous creature with orange dots on its wings is called Dodona Durga or the Common Punch butterfly which is native to the Indo-Himalayan region. I spotted this one calmly grazing on these gorgeous umbrella flowers in the garden at Uttarakhand. It didnt move one whit even as the 100mm lens bore down on it to get this closeup.
Its habitat is the Himalayas – from Kashmir to Nepal. I was just so thrilled to have spotted it in the garden and kept an eye out for it the next few days too.
Intrigued? Pin it for later!
I do wonder how this one was named as both its common name and the botanical one are quite interesting. The family name Riodinidae means metal marks and refers to the spots on the wings.
BTW this one butterfly is said to be not too fond of flowers, making me wonder what it feeds on.
Are you fond of butterflies and keep a tab of the ones you spot around you too? Please do share with me your sightings too.
I used to haunt the Bannergatta Butterfly park when I was staying in Bangalore and used to love clicking all the myriad butterflies I would see there. Perhaps I will redo those posts again under this section.
Besides butterfly, I love chronicling trees that I spot around me, especially when they are flowering. Have a look at this gorgeous one I spotted in Bangalore – Queen’s Crepe Myrtle
Hain? No flowers? Went and looked up – they feed on tree sap and other organic matter. But why would you do that when you have nectar? There really is no accounting for taste :-).
Ha ha true that Tulika. I just found this little one so so pretty!! Loved the name too!!
I am not obsessed with them though I do find them pretty. And you know Bannerghatta National Park is pretty close to my place. 🙂
Oh lucky you – in my 16 months or so stay in Bangalore I must have gone there 6 times at the very least – all to shoot the butterflies. It was my first time at a butterfly park and I was totally blown away by it especially the event they have daily where they bring out boxes of newly hatched butterflies and ask peeps to release them 🙂
Intriguing! I must confess I don’t know much about butterflies at all but I do find them pretty! I wouldn’t even know what to look for if I saw one
I just love chasing them with a camera whenever I can!! Its quite a hobby of mine 🙂
I like butterflies, though my older sister isn’t particularly fond of them. When we were little, a butterfly landed on me and she freaked out. She hasn’t liked butterflies since. We always give her a little bit of a hard time about it.
Interesting that this one doesn’t like flowers though.