Rare Marbled Map butterfly sighted in Eastern Ghats

Rare Marbled Map butterfly was sighted in Eastern Ghats near PM Kota village of Maredumilli mandal in East Godavari district of Andhra Pradesh. This is the first time that the Marbled Map butterfly species, usually found in the north-east, was sighted in South India. The butterfly was found by a group of green enthusiasts including N. Chandramohan Reddy, an Indian Forest Service officer, while they were exploring

the thick forest of the Eastern Ghats of the region.

At present, Reddy is working as the managing director of AP Urban Greening and Beautification Corporation Ltd.

A book by Issac Kehimkar titled ‘The Book of Indian Butterflies’ says that the Marbled Map (Cyrestis cocles) is listed as a rare butterfly species. Its availability is confined to forested hills in the region between Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Bhutan and Myanmar.

Marbled Map (Cyrestis cocles)

• The Marbled Map is a species of nymphalid butterfly found in parts of Asia.

• This species is pale green with faint vertical lines and rounded wings.

• Its wings span is between 50-60 mm.