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Species diversity and richness of butterflies in habitats constituted by different land-use patterns were studied in the Terai region of Pantnagar for 2 years from Nov 2017 to Dec 2019. A total of 92 species of butterflies belonging to 66 genera and five families were documented from three different habitats viz., inhabited settlement, agricultural land and secondary forest. Family Nymphalidae (34.13%) dominated over Lycaenidae (28.88%), Pieridae (26.20%), Papilionidae (8.76%) and Hesperiidae (4.04%). Among the different species of butterflies, Pseudozizeeria maha was the most dominant butterfly with 6.09% relative abundance followed by Pieris canidia (5.20%), Eurema hecabe (4.86%), Ariadne merione (3.42%), Catopsilia pomona (3.21%) and Luthrodes pandava (3.01%). Diversity and evenness indices viz., Margalef’s index (Dmg), Shannon diversity index (H') and Pielou’s J revealed a greater diversity in undisturbed secondary forest rich in host and nectar plant than the habitat intervened with crop cultivation. Three-factorial ANOVA showed a significant variation in abundance of butterfly concerning months, site and butterfly families. Pearson’s correlation showed the existence of a positive correlation between butterfly abundance and weather parameters viz., maximum temperature, morning and evening relative humidity and rainfall. The results obtained indicate that the Pantnagar region holds a splendid diversity of butterflies and the diversity is altered by different land-use pattern. Regular survey and monitoring of the region are suggested for conservation and documenting the changing biodiversity.

Communal roosting on an over-nightly basis is common in butterflies for resting and for avoiding predation. Having a source of nectar and safeguarding from harsh weather conditions are also notable parameters to consider a site as a potential roosting spot. Roosting differs from a congregation in the fact that the latter happens mainly in the exposed plant part or the oozing out of fluid, which attracts the butterflies to extract chemicals from the same. The current study has been conducted on an Elephant-apple tree Dillenia indica in the New Forest campus of Dehradun, Uttarakhand, India to observe the roosting behaviour of three blue butterfly species, namely: Large Oakblue Arhopala amantes, Indian Oakblue Arhopala atrax, and pierid butterfly Common Emigrant Catopsilia pomona. The roosting observation was first noted during mid-October. The coinciding of the roosting period and the fruiting season of the tree may mark the importance of having a food source in a potent roosting site. Moreover, the site would provide a shady area with dense foliage, which would also include safeguards against predation.

Corbett Tiger Reserve (CTR) located in state Uttarakhand is the first protected area established for in-situ conservation of biodiversity in India. Despite its national importance, there exists lacunae in knowledge on butterflies, important from the viewpoints of effective planning and implementation of conservation actions in the CTR. Using standardized methods, the present study conducted between 2013 to 2014 was aimed to record butterfly species composition and distribution in different sampling regimes of the CTR in relation to habitat types and disturbances. Study revealed a total of 2621 individual butterflies of 56 species under 5 families. Among them, 24 species belong to the Nymphalidae family, 14 species to the Pieridae, 9 species to the Lycaenidae, 5 species to the Papilionidae and 4 species to the Hesperiidae. 50% of the total species were recorded as ubiquitous and 30 species are new records to the CTR. Species such as Catopsilia pomona (Fabricius), Papilio polytes (Cramer), Eurema hecabe (Linnaeus), Catopsilia pyranthe (Linnaeus) were most abundant and Athyma zeroca (Moore), Sarangesa purendra (Moore), Cyrestis thyodamas (Boisduval), Polyura agraria (Swinhoe) were least abundant species. Variations in the calculated diversity indices across the seasons were observed; wherein, summer season exhibited maximum value for Shannon-Diversity index, followed by late monsoon and early winter. Lowest diversity of butterflies was observed during the periods of late winter. Presence of seven species under the Indian Wildlife Protection Act and five species as rare, substantiate the importance of pristine conditions prevailing in the protected landscape of the reserve. Ongoing tourism activities and habitat alterations threatening butterfly diversity and ecological integrity of the CTR, were also discussed.

One of the primary characteristics of the pupal stage of most holometabolous insects is their immobility. This paper describes a previously unknown example of mobility in a pierid pupa from SE Asia. The movements of the pupae of Catopsilia pomona assume the form of a vigorous kicking motion when disturbed. Their sensitivity to touch was found to decrease with time since ecdysis, but detachment of the silk girdle was sufficient to solicit kicking in all pupae. Microscopic analysis indicated that the kicks are generated at the posterior of the abdomen by the retention of freedom of movement in two abdominal segments (A5 and A6). Video analysis suggests that the kicks are probably products of general cutaneous sensitivity rather than specialized sensilla and generate both ‘surprise’ and force by their extreme speed (

Innate colour preferences in insects were long considered to be a non-flexible representation of a floral ‘search image’ guiding insects to flowers during initial foraging trips. However, these colour preferences have recently been shown to be modulated by multi-sensory integration of information. Using experiments on the butterfly Catopsilia pomona (Common Emigrant), we demonstrate that cross-modal integration of information not only affects colour preferences but also colour learning, and in a sex-specific manner. We show that spontaneous colour preference in this species is sexually dimorphic, with males preferring both blue and yellow while females prefer yellow. With minimal training (two trainings), both males and females learned to associate blue with reward, but females did not learn green. This suggests that the aversion for green, in the context of foraging, is stronger in females than in males, likely because green is used as a cue to find oviposition sites in butterflies. However, females learned green after extensive training (five trainings). Intriguingly, when a floral odour was present along with green during training, female colour preference during the subsequent choice tests resembled their innate preference (preference for yellow). Our results show that multi-sensory integration of information can influence preference, sensory bias, learning and memory in butterflies, thus modulating their behaviour in a context-specific manner.

From Potohar region of Pakistan pierids butterflies and their biogeographical affiliation were studied during January 2012–February 2015. Of the species found, 10 namely (Delias eucharis, Pontia daplidice, Anaphaeis aurota, Belenois aurota, Pieris rapae, Pieris canidia, Pieris brassicae, Ixias pyrene, Colotis amata, Colotis etrida and Colotis protractus) belonged to subfamily Pierinae, while subfamily Coliadinae represented seven species i.e. (Catopsilia pyranthe, Catopsilia pomona, Gonepteryx nepalensis, Colias fieldii, Colias erate, Eurema laeta, and Eurema hecabe.) Out of 17 reported species, 5 (Colotis amata, Colotis etrida, Colotis protractus Anaphaeis aurota = Belenois aurota and Delias eucharis) species were new records for the pierid fauna of Potohar region. However, one species i.e. Gonepteryx nepalensis was already recorded from Pakistan as G. mahaguru or G. rhamni (wrong determination). Biogeographical affiliations of pierids butterflies in Potohar region indicated that pierid fauna of ...

Polyphenism, an adaptation to survive throughout the year, is shown by many butterflies including Catopsilia pomona. With the variation of seasons, different morphs were found. Among all the morphs, lime exists throughout the year whereas the yellow one is available only in the winter season. The current study deciphers the colouration mechanism of yellow morph using various microscopic and spectroscopic techniques. The scanning electron microscopy analysis reveals various types of scales on the dorsal as well as the ventral side. The shape of the cover scale varies from region to region. The fine structural arrangement of the scale like window, ridge, microrib, crossrib and pigments vary throughout the wing. The pigment present in the wing is pterin as evidenced from the shape and its isolation technique. Absorption spectroscopy further confirms the presence of various types of pterin within the wing. Scanning electron microscopy discloses the dense amount of pigments within the wing. The fine structural arrangement of the wing of yellow C. pomona is compared with the yellow region of the lime C. pomona. All together, the current study describes the fine structural arrangement of the wing of yellow C. pomona and the various types of pterin which contribute towards the wing colouration. The advantage of yellow morph over lime is also discussed in this paper.

Butterflies wings possess different types of scales to perform diverse functions. Each scale has many nano and microstructures, which interferes with light, resulting in unique coloration for each butterfly. Besides coloration, the arrangement of scales further helps in giving better survivability. Thus, analysis of wing pattern provides an overall idea about adaptation and activity of the animal. The current study deciphers the structure and composition of a wing of a pierid butterfly Catopsilia pomona, which remains active at 42°C at which temperature all other butterflies face a tougher task for existence. In order to know the relation between survivability and adaptation in the wing, we have investigated the structural and physical composition of the wing of C. pomona under optical spectroscopy (absorption, reflectance and transmittance) along with microscopy techniques (optical and scanning electron microscopy), which are not described in earlier studies. The current findings reveal unique structural arrangement within scales to provide the best fit to the animal in variable temperature.

Foraging responses of seven butterfly species were determined for flower models that differed in color, size, and depth of artificial corolla. We measured frequency of visits to flowers of various colors (red, orange, yellow, purple, and white) with or without the application of honey water to flower models. We found that the relative strength of butterfly response to visual versus olfactory cues differed among butterfly species. We suggest that the seven butterfly species tested exhibit four different patterns in how visual and olfactory cues were combined as determinants of foraging importance: (1) vision was given priority over olfaction (in Cethosia cyane and Danaus chrysippus); (2) olfaction was given priority over vision (Cethosia biblis, Idea leuconoe, and Tirumala limniace); (3) olfaction and vision were equally important (Catopsilia pomona); and (4) only olfaction was used (e.g., Danaus genutia, which was not sensitive to the five colors tested but very sensitive to the smell of honey in our experiments). In tests with flower models of different sizes, the visitation frequency of C. cyane, I. leuconoe, and D. chrysippus increased with increasing corolla diameter, provided flowers were sprayed with honey water. C. cyane and D. chrysippus showed this trend because of their strong dependence on visual cues. In contrast, I. leuconoe with its large body size preferred larger flowers, it could be that butterflies need more nectar to support its large body size. Catopsilia pomona tended to visit large and middle-sized flowers because it used both vision and odor to detect food, large or middle-sized flowers could have more vision and odor stimulation than small flowers for foraging butterfly. The other three butterfly species did not show that trend because of lack of dependence on visual cues. There was no correlation between visitation frequency and corolla depth within particular butterfly species. In conclusion, the foraging strategies of butterflies are not only mainly determined by the weights given to visual and olfactory cues, but also affected by body size.

Documentation of butterfly diversity is necessary for ecosystem management both at the local and the global scales. The varied types of functional role of the butterflies qualify them for conservation and thus sustenance of the ecosystem services. Information about the biodiversity of Purulia district as well as arid regions of Chota Nagpur Plateau is insufficient and this necessitates to investigate about the butterfly diversity of Purulia which will provide subsequent information for ecosystem management. On the basis of this proposition, the present study was carried out in the campus of Jagannath Kishore College, Purulia, West Bengal (India). The species richness, species diversity, seasonal variation and habitat utilisation by the butterflies were studied for a period of one year between February 2016 and January 2017 with photographic documentation. A total of seventy-one butterfly species under five families were encountered, of which, the family Nymphalidae represented highest number of species. The butterfly species richness was lower in summer probably due to the scarcity of water, but during monsoon and post-monsoon seasons water availabitity boost up the vegetation and therefore species richness increased to its maximum. Among the different species, Eurema hecabe was the most abundant species throughout the year followed by Leptosia nina, Danaus chrysippus and Catopsilia pomona. In the study area, thirty-one species of herbs and shrubs were identified as nectaring plants for adult butterflies. Among them, Tridax procumbens, Lantana camara, Alternanthera sessilis and Tagetes sp. were recognized as the preferred nectaring plants based on the number of butterflies visiting them. As an effort for conservation of the butterflies, the information on the plants and the species avaialble in the concerned region may be used further. However, long term monitoring of the concerned region is recommended to understand the changes in the environmental quality as reflected through the variations in the butterfly species assemblages.

Cabbage butterflies, Pieris rapae and Pieris brassicae , contain strong cytotoxic proteins, designated as pierisin-1 and -2, against cancer cell lines. These proteins exhibit DNA ADP-ribosylating activity. To determine the distribution of substances with cytotoxicity and DNA ADP-ribosylating activity among other species, crude extracts from 20 species of the family Pieridae were examined for cytotoxicity in HeLa cells and DNA ADP-ribosylating activity. Both activities were detected in extracts from 13 species: subtribes Pierina ( Pieris rapae , Pieris canidia , Pieris napi , Pieris melete , Pieris brassicae , Pontia daplidice , and Talbotia naganum ), Aporiina ( Aporia gigantea , Aporia crataegi , Aporia hippia , and Delias pasithoe ), and Appiadina ( Appias nero and Appias paulina ). All of these extracts contained substances recognized by anti-pierisin-1 antibodies, with a molecular mass of ≈100 kDa established earlier for pierisin-1. Moreover, sequences containing NAD-binding sites, conserved in ADP-ribosyltransferases, were amplified from genomic DNA from 13 species of butterflies with cytotoxicity and DNA ADP-ribosylating activity by PCR. Extracts from seven species, Appias lyncida , Leptosia nina , Anthocharis scolymus , Eurema hecabe , Catopsilia pomona , Catopsilia scylla , and Colias erate , showed neither cytotoxicity nor DNA ADP-ribosylating activity, and did not contain substances recognized by anti-pierisin-1 antibodies. Sequences containing NAD-binding sites were not amplified from genomic DNA from these seven species. Thus, pierisin-like proteins, showing cytotoxicity and DNA ADP-ribosylating activity, are suggested to be present in the extracts from butterflies not only among the subtribe Pierina, but also among the subtribes Aporiina and Appiadina. These findings offer insight to understanding the nature of DNA ADP-ribosylating activity in the butterfly.

Large numbers of adults of certain species of butterfly flying in an apparently 'purposeful' manner are often noted by entomologists and the general public. Occasionally, these are recorded in the literature. Using these records we summarise information regarding the direction of movement in Australian butterflies and test whether there are consistent patterns that could account for known seasonal shifts in geographical range. The data were analysed using contingency tables and directionality statistics. Vanessa itea, Vanessa kershawi, Danaus plexippus, Danaus chrysippus and Badamia exclamationis flew predominately south in the spring-summer and north in the autumn-winter. Tirumala hamata has a strong southern component to its flight in spring but, as in Euploea core, appears non-directional in the autumn. For many supposedly known migratory species, the number of literature records are few, particularly in one season (mainly autumn). Thus, for Appias paulina, four of seven records were south in the spring-summer, as were six of nine records for Catopsilia pomona, and three of five for Zizina labradus. For Belenois java, flight records were only available for the spring and these showed geographical differences; predominantly north-west in northern Australia (Queensland) and south-west in southern Australia (Victoria, New South Wales). There were too few records for Papilio demoleus in the literature (four only) to draw any conclusions. Major exceptions to the seasonal trend of south in the spring and north in the autumn were Junonia villida, which showed a predominant north-westward direction in both seasons, and Eurema smilax, with a predominant southern or western flight in both seasons. We discuss these species specific trends in migration direction in relation to seasonal shifts in suitable habitat conditions, possible cues used in orientation and in timing changes in direction.

The complete mitochondrial genomes of Leptidea morsei Fenton (Lepidoptera: Pieridae: Dis-morphiinae) and Catopsilia pomona (F.) (Lepidoptera: Pieridae: Coliadinae) were determined to be 15,122 and 15,142 bp in length, respectively, with that of L . morsei being the smallest among all known butterflies. Both mitogenomes contained 37 genes and an A+T-rich region, with the gene order identical to those of other butterflies, except for the presence of a tRNA-like insertion, tRNA Leu (UUR), in C . pomona . The nucleotide compositions of both genomes were higher in A and T (80.2% for L . morsei and 81.3% for C . pomona ) than C and G; the A+T bias had a significant effect on the codon usage and the amino acid composition. The protein-coding genes utilized the standard mitochondrial start codon ATN, except the COI gene using CGA as the initiation codon, as reported in other butterflies. The intergenic spacer sequence between the tRNA Ser (UCN) and ND1 genes contained the ATACTAA motif. The A+T-rich region harbored a poly-T stretch and a conserved ATAGA motif located at the end of the region. In addition, there was a triplicated 23 bp repeat and a microsatellite-like (TA) 9 (AT) 3 element in the A+T-rich region of the L. morsei mitogenome , while in C . pomona, there was a duplicated 24 bp repeat element and a microsatellite-like (TA) 9 element. The phylogenetic trees of the main butterfly lineages (Hesperiidae, Papilionidae, Pieridae, Nymphalidae, Lycaenidae, and Riodinidae) were reconstructed with maximum likelihood and Bayesian inference methods based on the 13 concatenated nucleotide sequences of protein-coding genes, and both trees showed that the Pieridae family is sister to Lycaenidae. Although this result contradicts the traditional morphologically based views, it agrees with other recent studies based on mitochondrial genomic data.

The genome sequence of Catopsilia pomona nucleopolyhedrovirus (CapoNPV) was determined by the Roche 454 sequencing system. The genome consisted of 128,058 bp and had an overall G+C content of 40%. There were 130 hypothetical open reading frames (ORFs) potentially encoding proteins of more than 50 amino acids and covering 92% of the genome. Among all the hypothetical ORFs, 37 baculovirus core genes, 23 lepidopteran baculovirus conserved genes and 10 genes conserved in Group I alphabaculoviruses were identified. In addition, the genome included regions of 8 typical baculoviral homologous repeat sequences (hrs). Phylogenic analysis showed that CapoNPV was in a distinct branch of clade “a” in Group I alphabaculoviruses. Gene parity plot analysis and overall similarity of ORFs indicated that CapoNPV is more closely related to the Group I alphabaculoviruses than to other baculoviruses. Interesting, CapoNPV lacks the genes encoding the fibroblast growth factor (fgf) and ac30, which are conserved in most lepidopteran and Group I baculoviruses, respectively. Sequence analysis of the F-like protein of CapoNPV showed that some amino acids were inserted into the fusion peptide region and the pre-transmembrane region of the protein. All these unique features imply that CapoNPV represents a member of a new baculovirus species.

Study of structural colors in case of insects and butterflies is important for their biomimic and biophotonics applications. Structural color is the color which is produced by physical structures and their interaction with light while pigmentary color is produced by absorption of light by pigments. Common Emigrant butterfly is widely distributed in India. It is of moderate size with wing span of about 60–80 mm. The wings are broadly white with yellow or sulphur yellow coloration at places as well as few dark black patches. It belongs to family Pieridae. A study of structural color in case of Common Emigrant butterfly has been carried out in the present work. The characterization of wing color was performed using absorption spectroscopy. Scanning electron microscopic study of the wings of Common Emigrant butterfly showed that three different types of scales are present on the wing surface dorsally. Diffracting structures are present in certain parts of the surfaces of the various scales. Bead like structures are embedded in the intricate structures of the scales. Absorption spectra revealed that a strong absorption peak is seen in the UV‐range. Crystalline structure of beads was confirmed by the X‐ray diffraction analysis.

Bleberan Village has ecotourism potential in terms of insects biodiversity. Moreover, this village has some beautiful tourism objects, such as Sri Gethuk waterfall and Rancang Kencono cave. In the other hand, biodiversity in this village is yet to be explored, hence this research aims at studying insects biodiversity, especially of three orders: Orthoptera, Lepidoptera and Odonata. The final objective of this reseach is to provide information for studying and conserving biodiversity in this ecotourism region. The observation was conducted in 10 stations in both Kedung Poh (1st location) and Oyo River (2nd location ). Several ecological parameters were calculated such as density, diversity index, and distribution. In addition, enviromental parameters were also measured, i.e temperature, humidity, and light intesity. This research found 17 species of each order, with the highest number of individuals was observed in the member of Orthoptera, especially withPhlaeoba fumosa; 381 individuals (1st location 1) and 445 individuals (2nd location). In the order of Lepidoptera, species Catopsilia pomonahad the highest number of individuals, there were 31 and 46 individuals in 1st location and 2nd location, respectively. The latter is Odonata, had Orthetrum sabinawhich dominated the number with 252 individuals in 1st location and 188 individuals in 2nd location. This research also revealed that diversity index was varied between 0.79 and 0.99, with all orders were distributed in a clumped pattern. All the environmental factors had been observed and did not show any abnormality, therefore insects couldbe alive normally.

Development rates and juvenile survival of seven species of pierid butterfly from the Australian tropics were examined in laboratory conditions at a range of temperatures between 15 and 32�C. We studied three monophagous species, Eurema brigitta, E. laeta and E. herla, and four oligophagous or poly- phagous species, E. hecabe, E, smilax, Catopsilia pomona and Pieris (Artogeia) rapae; the last of these is the predominantly temperate cabbage butterfly, which has established a small tropical population on the Atherton Tableland in north Queensland. Larval and pupal stages of all species survived poorly at temperatures above 30�C, and most showed reduced survival below 22�C. Within their optimal temperature ranges, smaller species tended to survive better than larger ones. Oligophagous and polyphagous species developed more rapidly than monophagous ones, even though three of the former are larger than the latter. Development thresholds were between 10�C (for P. rapae) and 15�C (for C. pomona). There was little correlation between development threshold and latitudinal distribution, and we suggest that selection for the ability to develop relatively rapidly at lower temperatures may be influenced by the seasonal timing of the breeding season as well as by geographic distribution.

Photoperiod and temperature during development were shown to control the phenotype of adults of Catopsilia pomona pomona in a population in Queensland. These environmental cues controlled pattern and colour elements of the phenotype to different extents, and the responses of males and females differed. Weather experienced in the 5th larval instar and pupal stage determined the adult phenotype. Differences in the responses of the progeny of February and July adults may have reflected differential survival of different genotypes over the dry season, through selection for the seasonally appropriate phenotype. The adaptive significance of the 2 seasonal forms is not known.