Aditya's Photography

Changeable Hawk-Eagle (Nisaetus cirrhatus)

2022-06-13T16:33:00.002+05:30

The changeable hawk-eagle or crested hawk-eagle is a large bird of prey. More informal or antiquated English common names include the marsh hawk-eagle or Indian crested hawk-eagle. It is a typical “hawk-eagle” in that it is an agile forest-dwelling predator and like many such eagles readily varies its prey selection between birds, mammals or reptiles as well as other vertebrates.

The changeable hawk-eagle is a largish but slender eagle. Adult changeable hawk-eagles are typically dark brown above and boldly streaked below with a strong bill, a variably sized, often floppy crest or no crest, rather short wings, a quite long, thinly-barred tail and long feathered legs. In flight, the changeable hawk-eagles is a large raptor with a prominent head, rather short rounded and broad wings, long squarish or rounded tail, but has somewhat slenderer wings and straighter trailing edges than sympatric species of hawk-eagles. The species tends to fly with a fast agile flight.

The extensive range of the changeable hawk-eagle includes much of the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia. In India, they may found almost continuously from the peninsular tip north to Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Odissa.

Changeable hawk-eagles are at home in a variety of wooded and semi-open habitats. Their physical form and flight style is typical of forest-dwelling raptors. These birds of preys usually prefer reptiles, small birds and mammals but some of them have also been observed to consume various parakeets and other large sized woodpeckers and birds.

Crested Serpent Eagle (Spilornis cheela)

2022-06-13T15:31:00.003+05:30

An Adult Crested Serpent Eagle

The Crested Serpent Eagle is a medium-sized bird of prey that is found in forested habitats across tropical Asia. Its presence ranges across the Indian Subcontinent, Southeast Asia and East Asia.

A Juvenile Crested Serpent Eagle

This medium-large, dark brown eagle is broad and has a sturdy built, with rounded wings and a short tail. Its short black and white fan-shaped nuchal crest gives it a thick-necked appearance. The bare facial skin and feet are yellow. The underside is spotted with white and yellowish-brown. In soaring flight, the broad and paddle-shaped wings are held in a shallow V. The tail and underside of the flight feathers are black with broad white bars. Young birds show a lot of white on the head.

A close up

The crested serpent eagle is a reptile eater which hunts over forests, often close to wet grassland, for snakes and lizards. It has also been observed to prey on birds, amphibians, mammals and fishes. It is found mainly over areas with thick vegetation both on the low hills and the plains.

The breeding season begins in late winter when they start courting and establishing territories. The eggs are laid in early summer. A study found that most nests were built along riverine trees. The nest is a large platform built high on a tree. Both birds in a pair build the nest but the female alone incubates. The usual clutch is one egg but two are sometimes laid and only a single chick is successfully raised in a season. When eggs are lost, a replacement is laid two to seven weeks later. The eggs hatch after about 41 days and the young fledge after about two months. Nests are defended by the parents.

Himalayan BulBul

2021-08-15T11:51:00.001+05:30

The Himalayan bulbul or white-cheeked bulbul, is a species of songbird in the bulbul family found in Central and South Asia.

The Himalayan bulbul is about 18 cm in length, with a wingspan of 25.5–28 cm and an average weight of 30 g. Its head, throat, and crest are black and white. The back, side, and lengthy tail are brown, the underside is pale yellow. Sexes have similar plumage. The song is a beautiful 4-piece whistle, which resembles an accelerated oriole whistle.

The species occurs in the northern regions of the Indian subcontinent and some adjoining areas. It is found in and near the Himalayas.

They are usually found in forests and shrubland and also comes into gardens and parks.

They feed on insects and other small invertebrates, as well as berries, fruits, seeds, buds and nectar.

Roofus Grasshopper (Gomphocerippus rufus)

2020-12-04T09:00:00.001+05:30

The rufous grasshopper is a medium-sized, broad, brown, 'short-horned' grasshopper with clubbed antennae that are tipped with a conspicuous white or pale colour. It is fairly large, averaging 14 to 22 mm in length. It can be encountered from late July through mid-December, usually in dry or slightly moist habitats. The environments in which it typically resides include dry grassland on calcareous soils, sheltered valleys with scrub, and the open borders of forests. It feeds on grasses and various herbaceous plants. It is known for its distinctive courtship song and accompanying display. The rufous grasshopper is usually found in open land, particularly terrain such as meadows, pastures, and forest edges that feature tall grass. More specifically, it can often be found in chalk grassland.

Males range from 14 to 16 mm, while females range from 17 to 22 mm. The coloration is usually shades of brown but features some grey, yellow, and red. The mature male has an abdomen tipped with orange-red. The female has similar coloration, but it is much less pronounced than in males. Some females are reddish-purple. The forewings are longer in the males, where they reach just beyond the primary joint of the hind legs than in the females, where they fall short of this joint.

Acrida willemsei

2020-11-30T09:00:00.001+05:30

Acrida willemsei is an Asian species of grasshopper. The recorded distribution of this species includes southern China, Taiwan, Indo-China, India, and Malaysia. They are sometimes called silent slant-faced grasshoppers.

In appearance, the species are often similar to those of the subfamily Gomphocerinae, with whom they share a slanted face. However, Acrida willemsei differ from Gomphocerinae in that they lack stridulatory pegs on their hind legs and thus, as the common name suggests, do not make sounds. The antennae of this species are flattened and sword-like, a trait also shared with some gomphocerines. They lack the postural spine seen in the spurthroated grasshoppers and lubber grasshoppers (Two different species of grasshoppers that share some common traits). Hind wings in this species are somewhat colorless.

They aren't particularly selective about what they eat, but they often favor green leaves. When grasses, plant stems, and flowers are scarce, they have no problem eating fungi, moss, animal dung, rotting meat, and weakened insects or spiders.

Scarlet Dragonfly (Crocothemis erythraea)

2020-11-27T09:00:00.001+05:30

Other names -Broad scarlet, common scarlet-darter, scarlet darter

The scarlet dragonfly is a common species in southern Europe and throughout Africa. It also occurs across western Asia as far as southern China. Its habitat is a wide range of both running and standing waters, except those that are shaded. Adults may be found some distance from water in habitats ranging from desert to open woodland; absent from dense forest.

They can reach a length of 33–44 millimetres. These dragonflies have a flattened and rather broad abdomen. The adult male scarlet dragonfly has a bright scarlet red, widened abdomen, with small amber patches at the bases of the hindwings. Also, the veins on the leading edges of the wings are red. Females and immatures are yellow-brown and have a conspicuous pale stripe along the top of the thorax. It feeds mainly on water shrews, frogs, predatory insects (including other dragonflies)

Lychee Shield Backed Jewel Bug(Chrysocoris stollii)

2020-11-23T09:00:00.004+05:30

They are a species of jewel bugs common in continental Southeast Asia. These bugs are commonly known as jewel bugs or metallic shield bugs due to their often brilliant coloration. These insects feed on plant juices from a variety of different species, including some commercial crops such as Pigeon pea, Arecanut, Jatropha, etc

A vast majority of jewel bugs, both adults and nymphs, are also capable of releasing pungent defensive chemicals from glands located on the sides of the thorax. Typical compounds exuded by jewel bugs include alcohols, aldehydes, and esters. Nymphs and adults often exhibit clustering behavior, being found in large numbers close to each other. This behavior is thought to have an evolutionary advantage. The more individuals present in an area, the stronger the odor of the chemicals released when the bugs are threatened. If this fails, stink bugs will react to threats by flying away or dropping to the ground.

One of the most common place to find them is in continental Southeast Asia. It is distributed all over Indochina and through the Sub-Himalayan Belt. Verified records are available from Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, India, Malaysia, Myanmar, Taiwan, Thailand, Vietnam; literature records from Korea, Sri Lanka, the Philippines, and Indonesia are erroneous

Yellow Waxtail(Ceriagrion coromandelianum)

2020-11-23T09:00:00.003+05:30

Yellow Waxtail is a species of damselfly, it is commonly known as coromandel marsh dart. This species can be found in South Asian countries such as India, Sri Lanka, and Nepal. It is a medium-sized damselfly with yellowish-green eyes. Its thorax is olive-green above and yellowish-green on the sides. Its abdomen is yellow. Its anal appendages are citron-yellow or ochreous, the inferiors tipped with black. The superiors are sub-quadrate as seen from above, with the corners gently rounded. The inferiors are sloped strongly upwards, broad at the base, then tapering rapidly to an acute point. Female is more robust and dull colored. Its thorax is more greenish and the abdomen is golden yellow to brown. It breeds in weedy ponds, ditches, and rice fields.

Picture 1 - Male

Picture 2 - Female

Black Francolin

2020-11-20T09:00:00.001+05:30

The black francolin belongs to the pheasant family. It was formerly known as the Black Partridge. It is the state bird of Haryana. It is known as Kaala Teetar locally.

The head of the black francolin is curved with brown iris eyes color and unique pattern of brown color crown and the throat color is black. It has a length ranging from 33 to 36 cm and weight approximate about 453 g and the size of black francolin is 9 to 16 inches. The primary color is black with black breast rufous belly, white spots on flanks, and golden brown spots at the back of the body. The flight pattern of the black francolin is short, direct flight punctuated by glides with rounded wings, rounded tail narrow black and white bars.

Black francolin male

The male black francolin is black with a white patch on the cheek, a chestnut collar, and white spots on the flanks. The back and wings are scalloped with shades of golden brown with sub-terminal tawny-buff bands and pale edges. The tail is black with narrow white or greyish bars. Legs are reddish-brown to red.

Black francolin female

The female is mainly brown but has a chestnut hind neck. The extent of the white spotting on the flanks varies substantially across the species' range and the depth of color of the females similarly varies. The female has the upper plumage, wings, and tail as in the male but the black is replaced by mottled brown and the brown bars on the lower back and tail are wider. Female is similar but dull with no cheek patch, and the collar is replaced with a nuchal patch. The Head and underparts are buff where the male shows black. Rump and upper tail coverts light brown.

Black francolins appear to be found in scrubby habitats with plenty of cultivated crops tall enough to offer shelter and open beneath to provide escape routes and easy travel. They prefer the areas of thick vegetation, usually near water. They are not forest birds but will frequent brushland and wood edges associated with grassland. They appear to be more closely associated with water than chukars are, and in drier areas.

Scarlet Minivet

2020-11-16T09:00:00.001+05:30

This minivet is found in tropical southern Asia from India, Sri Lanka to southern China, Indonesia, and the Philippines. They are common resident breeding birds in forests and other well-wooded habitats including gardens, especially in hilly country. While the male is scarlet to orange with black upperparts, the females are usually yellow with greyish olive upperparts.

The scarlet minivet is 20–22 cm long with a strong dark beak and long wings. The male has black upperparts and head, and scarlet underparts, tail edges, rump, and wing patches. The shape and colour of the wing patches and the shade of orange in the male vary across populations. The female is grey above, with yellow underparts, including the face, tail edges, rump and wing patches.

This minivet catches insects in trees by flycatching or while perched. It flushes insects out of foliage by beating its wings hard. Scarlet minivet will form small flocks. Its song is a pleasant whistling. This bird nests high up in the treetops. The nest is a cup-like structure woven with small twigs and spiders' webs to increase the strength of the nest. Two or three spotted pale green eggs are laid. Incubation is mainly by the female, but both birds help to raise the offspring.

Picture 1 - Male; Picture 2 - Female.

Anomalous Nawab (Charaxes agraria)

2020-11-13T09:00:00.002+05:30

The Anomalous Nawab is a butterfly found in Asia that belongs to the rajahs and nawabs group. It is found mainly in India, Nepal, and Sri-Lanka. Its wingspan ranges from 95-100 mm.

The male and female have wings with the yellow bands uniformly narrower, the outer edge of the band more irregular, undulated, the portions between the medians being each somewhat incurved. This butterfly somewhat resembles the Common Nawab, but it is paler with more acute forewings, light bands on the forewing relatively broader. It has two yellow dots near the forewing's apex.

Its flight is very swift and strong. It is often seen in the company of other butterflies, mudpuddling, or probing for plant sap. It is the most active in the months of March to November.

Plain Tiger (Danaus chrysippus)

2020-11-09T09:00:00.001+05:30

Plain Tiger, also known as the African Queen and the African Monarch, is a medium-sized butterfly widespread in Asia, Australia, and Africa. It primarily consume plants commonly called milkweed. Milkweed contains toxic compounds that are often consumed and stored by many butterflies. Because of their emetic properties, the plain tiger is unpalatable to most predators. As a result, the species' coloration is widely mimicked by other species of butterflies. The plain tiger inhabits a wide variety of habitats, although it is less likely to thrive in jungle-like conditions and is most often found in drier, wide-open areas.

Plain Tiger is a medium-sized butterfly with a wingspan of about 7–8 cm. The body is black with many white spots. The wings are orange, the upperside brighter, and richer than the underside. The upper half of the forewing is black with a white band. The hindwing has three black spots in the center. The wings are bordered in black and outlined with semicircular white spots.

The plain tiger is found across the entirety of Africa. Its range extends across the majority of Asia throughout the Indian subcontinent, as well as many south Pacific islands. The plain tiger is even present in parts of Australia.

Dusky Eagle Owl

2020-11-06T09:00:00.001+05:30

The dusky eagle-owl is an owl species that is widespread in South and Southeast Asia. The dusky eagle-owl occurs from India, Nepal, and Bangladesh to Myanmar, Thailand, Malaysia. Peninsular Malaysia, it has been recorded in oil palm plantations during surveys carried out between autumn 2009 and 2010 in the states of Selangor, Perak, Pahang, and Negeri Sembilan. Its preferred habitats are wetlands with dense tree cover.

The dusky eagle-owl is a large greyish-brown owl with prominent ear tufts. Its underparts are greyish-white with some dark brown streaks, and its dark brown wings have some whitish streaks. It is about 58 cm in size.

The dusky eagle-owl is usually active at night and emerges from its roost shortly before sunset. In cloudy weather, it sometimes also hunts during the day. The nesting season is from November to April. The nest is made of sticks in the fork of the trunk of a large tree preferably near water and often in the vicinity of human habitation.

Brown Fish Owl

2020-11-02T09:00:00.001+05:30

The brown fish owl is a fish owl species in the family known as typical owls. It is native from Turkey to South and Southeast Asia. It inhabits forests and wooded wetlands. Of the four living species of fish owl, it is the most widely distributed, most common, and best-studied. It occupies a range of over 7,000 km. The brown fish owl is an all-year resident throughout most tropical and subtropical parts of the Indian Subcontinent to Southeast Asia and adjoining regions.

The brown fish owl has prominent ear tufts and rufous-brown upperparts that are heavily streaked with black or dark brown. Its underparts are whitish, with wavy dark brown streaks and finer brown barring. Its throat is white and conspicuously puffed. Its facial disk is indistinct, the bill dark and the iris golden yellow. Its featherless feet are yellow. Two-year-old brown fish owls are somewhat paler than adults. Females and males differ slightly in size. In body size, it ranges from 48 to 61 cm with a wingspan from 125 to 140 cm. Its weight varies considerably, ranging from 1.1 to 2.5 kg.

The buffy fish owl is nocturnal but can often be located by the small birds that mob it while roosting in a tree. However, in some areas, it may be seen hunting during the daytime, especially in cloudy weather. Brown fish owl primarily hunts by stationing itself on a rock overhang or hanging perch over water, or by wading into shallow waters. It grabs food by gliding over the water, nearly skimming it with its feet and grabbing its prey by quickly extending its long legs. It feeds mainly on fishes, frogs, and aquatic crustaceans, especially crabs. It usually selects the larger freshwater fish available in waterways.

Common Emigrant (Catopsilia pomona)

2020-10-30T09:00:00.001+05:30

Common Emigrant, also known as Lemon Emigrant, is a medium-sized butterfly commonly found in India, Nepal, Bhutan, Sri-Lanka, and Myanmar. Its wingspan ranges from 55-80 mm.

It is a common species of gardens and city areas. Usually seen on flowers in gardens throughout the year. During the summers, due to the scorching heat, they can be found near damp patches. Their flight is rapid with erratic up and down swoops. They are found up to 4000m in the hills.

Both the genders are yellow to translucent greenish-white in color. Their antennae may be red or black in color.

Common Evening Brown (Melanitis leda)

2020-10-26T09:00:00.001+05:30

The Common Evening Brown is found in India, Nepal, Bhutan, Sri-Lanka, Myanmar, and Bangladesh. Their wingspan ranges from 60-80 mm.

Their flight is jerky and they fly close to the ground. They are found up to 2100m in the hills. They can be found fluttering around throughout the year. They are usually active at dusk and might enter houses since they are attracted to light.

These butterflies have two morphs(looks), one is the wet season morph and the other is the dry season morph. During the wet season, they have coffee brown wings with huge yellow, black and white spots. During the dry season, their wings are hazelnut brown in colour and the huge spots fade away and black patches appear on the wings which impart the look of a blotted paper, disguising it as a completely different butterfly.

Garden tent web spider (Cyrtophora cicatrosa)

2020-10-23T09:00:00.013+05:30

The garden tent web spider belongs to the family of orb weaver spiders. Although they are in the orb-weaver family, they do not build orb webs. Their tent-like, highly complex non-sticky web is sometimes considered a precursor of the simplified orb web. These webs are aligned horizontally, with a network of supporting threads above them. These spiders often live in colonies. Females have a body length of mostly about 10 millimeters long.

The spider constructs a tent web, about a meter high form the ground. Builds the web in an open environment. Prefers moist and thick surroundings.

Hunting method -

The spider rests at the hub or in the retreat. An airborne insect striking the upper barrier web either drops onto the horizontal net or remains entangled in the upper barrier web. The prey produces vibrations in the web upon impact and/or during struggling, and these are transmitted via web elements to the hub. Some discrimination of prey characteristics on the basis of vibration frequencies may occur at this stage, although accurate discrimination of prey type is unlikely. Location of prey on the web often involves pulling and jerking the net or threads of the upper barrier web with legs.

Insects are immobilized by biting or by wrapping in silk, or by a combination of the two methods. If an insect remains caught in the upper barrier web, the spider runs out under the sheet and shakes it violently until the prey falls on the sheet. Insects that cannot be dislodged in this manner are attacked and immobilized in the upper barrier web. The barrier web may be reached by climbing through the open hub, climbing over the outer edge of the sheet, or by cutting a hole in the sheet and climbing through it. Insects are rarely attacked in the lower barrier web

Neoscona theisi

2020-10-19T09:00:00.002+05:30

The Neoscona theisi are a species of spotted orb-weavers. The females have a body length of up to 11 mm. Males are slightly smaller, measuring up to 9 mm. They build an orb web and rest near the center. Individuals vary in color from dark reddish-brown to pale-yellow with a distinct pattern on the upper abdomen, lighter along the center-line, and darker on the sides. The legs are light with dark patches at the joints.

They are found from Cyprus, Israel, Russia, India, Philippines, China to Indonesia, Japan, Australia.

They normally feed on smaller bugs, flies, and other insects. It is usually observed that they retreat back to long leaves to rest at noon.

According to me the spider in the above image is a female.

Nothern Lime Swallowtail (Papilio demoleus)

2020-10-16T09:00:00.001+05:30

Other names - Lime Butterfly, Lemon Butterfly, Lime Swallowtail, Chequered Swallowtail.

These common names refer to their host plants, which are usually citrus species such as the lime. Unlike most butterflies belonging to the swallowtail family, it does not have a prominent tail. The butterfly is found from Asia to Australia and can be easily spotted in gardens.

The butterfly has a wingspan 80–100 mm. Above, the background colour is black. A broad, irregular yellow band is found on the wings above, which is broken in the case of the forewing. Besides this, the butterfly has a large number of irregular spots on the wing. The upper hindwing has a red spot with blue edging around it.

This butterfly is an avid mud-puddler(as explained in the Ceracris post) and visitor of flowers. It basks with its wings held wide open on tufts of grass and herbs, and generally keeps within a metre of the ground, even on cloudy days. It relies on its quick flight for escape. It has a number of modes of flight. In the cool of the morning, the flight is slow considering that it is an edible and unprotected swallowtail. As the day progresses, it flies fast, straight, and low. In the hotter part of the day, it may be found settling on damp patches, where it will remain motionless, except for an occasional flutter of wings, if not disturbed. It is also a frequent visitor of flowers in gardens, where it shows a preference for flowers of smaller herbs rather than larger plants. It can be found swarming in the groves of its food plants.

Common Castor (Ariadne merione)

2020-10-12T09:00:00.001+05:30

Common Castor is an orange butterfly with brown lines whose larvae feed almost exclusively on the castor oil plant. Their wingspan ranges between 30–35 mm. Like others in their family, their front two legs are small and unused, effectively making them four-legged. These smaller appendages are covered with long hairs, giving them the characteristic brush look.

It is a very active butterfly but weak on the wing. It flies gracefully as if sailing through the air among the castor plants or any dense vegetation. It is fond of resting on leaves at the top canopy, keeping the wings slowly moving sideways, and always nearer to host plants.

It is found all over India, Shimla to Sikkim in The Himalayas, and recorded from Rajputana and Bengal, Assam, Cambodia, Myanmar, Tenasserim, Malayan subregion.

Ceracris

2020-10-09T09:00:00.001+05:30

They are a type of grasshoppers belonging to the family Acrididae. It occurs in Indo-China and southern China, where it may become a locally significant agricultural pest.

Mud-Puddling behavior has been noted in them, they seek out nutrients in certain moist substances such as rotting plant matter, mud, and carrion and they suck up the fluid. Where the conditions are suitable, conspicuous insects such as butterflies commonly form aggregations on wet soil, dung, or carrion. From the fluids, they obtain salts and amino acids that play various roles in their physiology, and ecology.

They are nearly 3cm - 5cm long and are green in color with black strips either side. They can be seen fluttering the bushes and shrubs in groups of 10 and 20, they easily get scared by human presence and are totally harmless to humans.

Painted Grasshopper (Poekilocerus pictus)

2020-10-05T09:00:00.000+05:30

The Painted Grasshopper is a large brightly colored grasshopper found in the Indian Subcontinent. Nymphs of the species are notorious for squirting a jet of liquid up to several inches away when grasped. It is also known as Aak grasshopper or locally in a few tribal areas called titighodo.

The half-grown immature form is greenish-yellow with fine black markings and small crimson spots. The mature grasshopper has canary yellow and turquoise stripes on its body and pale red hind wings. It changes its outward appearance by molting.

The grasshopper feeds on the poisonous plant known as crown flower

Upon slight pinching of the head or lower body, the half-grown immature form ejects liquid in a sharp and sudden jet, with a range of two inches or more, from a dorsal opening. The discharge is directed towards the pinched area and may be repeated several times. The liquid is pale and milky, slightly viscous, and bad-tasting, that the insect obtains from the plant it feeds upon.

Ditch Jewel (Brachythemis contaminata)

2020-10-02T09:00:00.002+05:30

The male's abdomen length is nearly 18-21 mm and wing length is 20-23 mm

The female's abdomen length is nearly 18-20 mm and wing length is 22-25 mm

The Ditch Jewel is a small dragonfly with brown-capped yellowish-green eyes. Its thorax (body) is olivaceous-brown, marked with a reddish-brown stripe and two brownish stripes on each side. It has wings that are transparent but reddish in color. Its Abdomen(tail) is ochreous-red, marked with brown stripes.

The Female is similar to the male in body structure but it is pale yellowish-green in color. Its wings are transparent, tinted with yellow at the extreme base.

It breeds in weedy ponds, lakes, and slowly moving streams; especially in sluggish waters. It is very common along sewage canals, tanks, ponds, and ditches. It is a dragonfly of polluted waters. That flies very near the ground and perches on aquatic weeds.

It is found in most of the Asain countries.

Granite Ghost (Bradinopyga geminata)

2020-09-28T09:00:00.000+05:30

It is native to India, Sri Lanka and Thailand, where it is a common and widespread species.

It is a medium-sized dragonfly with brown-capped grey eyes. Its thorax is ashy grey in appearance, marbled, and peppered with black in a very irregular manner. Wings are transparent and black at the center and pure white at distal and proximal ends. Female is similar to the male.

Taking advantage of its well-developed camouflage, it always rests flat on slab rock or cement-plastered walls, where it almost invisible. Adults occupy habitat near water bodies, such as pools, irrigation channels, wells, and containers with standing water. It breeds in rainy hollows in the rocks or in wells and small cemented tanks.

The species has been studied as a predator of the disease-carrying Yellow Fever Mosquito (Aedes aegypti). The larvae of the dragonfly consume the larvae of the mosquito in the standing-water habitat types that both occupy.

Rounded Pierrot(Tarucus extricatus)

2020-09-25T09:00:00.004+05:30

The wingspan of the rounded pierrot is nearly 23-28mm. It is not a rare pierrot and can be easily spotted.

It is usually found in Nepal, Sri-Lanka, and India.

It flies low over grasses and shrubs. In the Himalayas, it is found even up to 2,130m. It is active almost throughout the year.

The lower side of the wings is white with black spots, strips, and borders. The upper side is violet-blue with a narrow black border. They have a short tail on each hind wing.

They are not as alert and aware of human presence as larger butterflies and go about their business without paying much attention to humans.