On a bright, sunny, breezy morning, Saturday the 30th of August a group of 14-butterfly enthusiasts and this author assembled at the north gate of JNU New Campus for the scheduled nature walk programme planned by IIC Nature Group, New Delhi. This trail was long awaited and had been planned several times but had each time been interrupted by rains.
Walking within JNU campus itself is a pleasant unforgettable experience for nature lovers as the ridge is spread over 13.8 sq/km and is home to almost every single butterfly species seen in Delhi, which is nearly about 75-80 species.
Our trail begun after Bela Butalia of IIC formally introduced me to the Nature Group members of IIC at the parking of Aravali Guest House.
From the parking itself we were greeted and welcomed by fluttering groups of Common Jay butterflies, one of my favorite butterflies, and they were so obliging that everyone had a very close look of this beautiful butterfly which is otherwise very swift in flight and hardly sits still or basks. On the other side of the road a group of “Common Castor” butterflies were preparing for their day out on the Castor seed-oil plant.
This was the correct time for me to explain to the group about the host plant and butterfly inter-relationship. No garden, despite the many beautiful and ornamental flowers, can attract butterflies unless species-specific host plants are there. This is because the larvae of the butterfly feed on specific host plants, which, if they are not there, will die soon thereafter. For the conservation of butterflies, host plant conservation is equally important. Butterflies are agriculturally very important as they pollinate around 75 per cent of the agriculturally important crop and stand second as pollinators after honey bees. If appropriate measures are not taken today for butterfly conservation, it will have a direct impact on the agricultural economy of the nation.
Discussing all this, the group slowly moved towards Parthasarthy Rock. Here we were welcomed by the “Plain Tiger” whose host plant is the Milk Weed Plant. Suddenly one of the biggest butterflies of Delhi, the “Common Mormon” showed up, beating its black wings with white spots rapidly, probably in search of the breakfast of nectar from the Lantana bush which is otherwise considered a weed but is life for almost every butterfly of Delhi.
Suddenly someone noticed a moth caterpillar eating Lantana fruit, as it was preparing for metamorphosis into an adult moth. We were now moving slightly up on the rock scanning every bush and we spotted the “Common Gull,” the “Small Yellow,” the “Common Grass Yellow,” the “Yellow Orange Tip” and other butterflies before reaching a spot where a classic example of sexual dimorphism could be seen. As the “Danaid Eggfly” gave a low fly-past I was so delighted that I showed it to the group but unfortunately we could not see the female of the same species. Well! No problems because the “Common Emigrants” and the “Mottled Emigrants” were really obliging us at every step.
We were thankful for the weather. It was really good for butterfly watch in the sunlight. We slowly headed towards the open-air theatre of JNU to see the butterflies of the open scrub and dry forest, yes, the Pansies, but unfortunately they didn’t show up. But what we saw was not less attractive; we were able to see an endemic species of butterfly, the “Common 3 Ring” basking on the footpath and a “Common Pierrot” was sitting coolly on a grass blade nearby with a “Rice Swift” on the nearby bush.
When we reached the open air theatre it was 9 am and everyone was feeling like having tea so we all decided to come to Gopalan’s canteen and relax for a while (picture above). On the way, a real small beauty, the “Plain Cupid” and the “Common Silverline” were seen sucking on a water droplet on a leaf and allowed for nice shots and closer examination! A couple of “Common Leopards” were also sighted on the way to the canteen.
During tea we all had a good discussion on various issues relating to environment and conservation of the flora and fauna of the country. Group members had scheduled preoccupations so we decided to disperse from the canteen itself after exchange of phone numbers and e-mail ids.
A mating pair of Common Jay butterflies (see above) was sitting high on the Ashoka tree to say goodbye to all those who appeared so caring for them and their privacy.
Seeing seventeen species of butterflies in a stretch of roughly 1 km is more than sufficient within an hour and a half.
I must thank all such really concerned people from IIC who spared time to see these ignored small flying jewel. Hats off to all of you!