the Nilgiri Tiger

Butterflies 割付 A brief encounter with Parantica nilgiriensis — the Nilgiri Tiger R. I. Vane-Wright Department of Entomology, Natural History Museum, Cromwell Road, London SW7 5BD, UK; and Durrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology (DICE), University of Kent, Canterbury CT2 7NR, UK

On the morning of 1st February 2008 I left my home in

(Figs 1, 2). The very distinctive P. taprobana (Felder &

Canterbury, Kent, to travel to Kottayam, Kerala, South

Felder, 1865) from Sri Lanka (Fig. 3) is probably its closest

India. My flight took me to Kochi, and I arrived at

relative (Ackery & Vane-Wright, 1984: 320). The only

Kottayam by lunchtime on 2nd February. My primary

other danaine species entirely restricted to southern India is

objective was to attend Green Environment 2008, a series

Idea malabarica (Moore, 1877), found in moist forests at

of three international symposia to take place during 3

300–1200 m.

–9 February. The first was on fresh water, the second

Through Mini Kher’s agency in New Delhi, I hired a

on sustainable agriculture, and the last on “Ecology,

very able driver, Ganesh Nair (you need ability to survive

Religion and Sustainable Development”. The initiative

on Indian roads!), and booked two nights in a hotel at

was that of the Rt. Rev. Thomas Samuel, Bishop of CSI

Munnar—about 5 hours drive from Kottayam. This gave

Madhya Kerala Diocese, one of 22 dioceses that make

me one day, 10th February, to see if I could find the Nilgiri

up the Church of Southern India. CSI is making a most

Tiger.

important and timely attempt to make its teachings

Despite it being the dry-season, it rained overnight in

relevant to urgent issues, notably the impacts of climate

Kottayam on the 8th, and again as we approached Munnar

change, water insecurity, biodiversity conservation, and the need for sustainable agriculture. The programme convener was Professor Mathew Koshi, with the first symposium (“water”) held at his home institution (Bishop Moore College, Mavelikara), followed by “agriculture” at CMS College, Kottayam, and finally “religion” at the CSI Retreat Centre, Kottayam—where I delivered my own presentation (“Planetary awareness, Wo r l d v i e w s a n d t h e C o n s e r v a t i o n o f Biodiversity”) on Friday 8th February. The formal proceedings ended around noon on 9th February, when I set off in hope of spending a day in the high forests of the Western Ghats. February is the middle of the dry season, so I was very uncertain what I might see—and whether or not I would succeed in finding a particular species of my beloved milkweed butterflies. The Nilgiri Tiger, Parantica nilgiriensis (Moore, 1887), is a highland insect unique to southern India

Fig. 1. M ap from Gaonkar (2002) showing known distribution of P. nilgiriensis at quarter-degree resolution. Pampadum Shola National Park is located on the western margin of the quarter degree grid square 10°00'–10°15' N, 77°15'–77°30' E (highlighted in red).

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Butterflies 割付

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Fig. 2. Syntype female (only known type specimen) of P. nilgiriensis (Moore). Forewing length 38.5 mm, with labels.

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Fig. 3. Syntype female (one male syntype also exists) of P. taprobana (Felder & Felder). Forewing length 43.8 mm, with labels.

in the mid-afternoon of the 9th. Sunday 10th dawned with

western end of the Palni Hills, “remarkable for their wet

clouds all around, and it did not look good. Moreover, I had

evergreen and shola forests” (Mani, 1995: 43). These

already seen enough to realise that the former forests on

forests are now recognised as amongst the most important

the hills around Munnar town are now largely Eucalyptus

for conservation of the unique biodiversity of the Western

plantations, separated by extensive tea-farms (Dikshit,

Ghats (Vane-Wright, 1997; Kunte et al., 1999; Das et al.,

1991: 196). Although Munnar (ca 1500 m) is close to Anai

2006: 27).

Mudi, at 2695 m the highest peak in southern India, the

At the park checkpoint I was assigned Ganesh Murty as

immediate area did not look promising for Parantica—

my guide, a local, 24-year-old park-employee. It is not

even though P. nilgiriensis is said to occur in gardens and

permitted for visitors to enter the park without a guide,

cultivated areas above 600 m (Ackery & Vane-Wright,

mainly due to the possibility of attack from wild animals,

1984: 181).

or falling on the steep terrain. Over the next 5 hours we

By 09.15, with a few rays of sunshine now penetrating the

walked first along the old Kodaikanal trail, and then down

clouds, I had decided that I needed to go further, and asked

through a steep forested slope leading into plantation

Ganesh to take the road out of Munnar towards Kodaikanal.

woodland, to return by another road. For nearly three hours

After about 45 km, on the old Kochi to Kodaikanal Road

we had sun and high cloud, after which it became overcast.

and at the very border between Tamil Nadu and Kerala, we

But on regaining the checkpoint, I was amazed to discover

reached the recently gazetted Pampadum Shola National

that it had been raining heavily only 3 km from the old trail.

Park—at which point we were about 2100 m above sea-

I was very fortunate.

level (10º 08' N, 77º 16' E). This part of the Idukki District

The forest was beautiful, and looked in good condition. We

lies just to the north of the Cardamom Hills and at the

got fleeting glimpses of monkeys, and much better views of


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Butterflies 割付 the Malabar giant squirrel, Ratufa indica. There was plenty

activity or roosting behaviour.

of evidence of elephant and buffalo in the area, and even

Kunte (2000: pl. 21, fig. 121) illustrates a male P.

what appeared to be a large cat-spoor that Ganesh thought

nilgiriensis nectaring from Ageratum flowers. Ageratum

might be tiger—there are still a few left in the southern

conyzoides was growing here and there along the margins

parts of the Western Ghats. But of course, I wanted to see

of the trail, and I did see one pierid nectaring from this

butterflies—and, to my great excitement, we did come

species. However, I did not notice any Parantica on

across Parantica nilgiriensis (Fig. 4) at several points

the flowers, although I did see one specimen apparently

along the trail, and once just inside the forest—perhaps 20

nectaring from an unidentified pale blue Strobilanthus

individuals in total. It appeared to be a common insect in

(Acanthaceae). A. conyzoides contains pyrrolizidine

suitable habitat. Despite its narrow range, it is not listed in

alkaloids, and this invasive Latin American composite is

the Indian butterfly red data book (Gupta & Mondal, 2005).

now widely used by foraging Danaini throughout SE Asia.

Compared to some Parantica, the Nilgiri Tiger appeared

However, on more than one occasion I saw P. nilgiriensis

quite large on the wing—possibly a misleading impression

settled on young Ageratum that were just forming their

due to its rather pale overall coloration. It is in fact quite

flower-buds. These immature plants seemed intact,

variable in size, on average comparable to species such

without obvious damage (which usually makes them more

as P. melaneus. Most specimens of P. nilgiriensis in the

attractive to danaines), and it may well have been that this

Natural History Museum, London, fall in the range 36–48

“association” was simply opportunistic. I found sexing

mm forewing length. Despite the rather sombre brownish-

the butterflies difficult, and I got the impression that most

grey ground colour, nilgiriensis is distinctive. The pale

if not all the individuals that I observed were females—

stripes are bluish in life, due to a bile pigment within the

in which case active PA sequestration would be less likely.

wing membranes—but this fades to a pale straw-colour in

In 1981, near Genting in the Malay Peninsula, I observed

museum material.

numerous male Parantica melaneus and P. sita nectaring

Like most milkweed butterflies its normal flight cannot be

from Ageratum (and presumably PA gathering) throughout the day. P. nilgiriensis was the only milkweed butterfly that

described as fast, although it seemed somewhat faster than other Parantica that I have observed in various islands

I saw during my five hours at Pampadum.

of South East Asia. While it will circle around very low-

About 300 species of butterflies are known from this very

growing vegetation, occasionally settling near the ground,

rich part of the Western Ghats. Of the butterflies found in

it also makes quite fast, fluttering excursions up to 2 m high

this whole mountain system (Western Ghats Butterflies,

for nectar sources, and even to 5 m to investigate the tops

2008), nearly 40 are considered endemic, being found

of small trees. However, I did not observe any courtship

nowhere else, even in Sri Lanka or the rest of India

Fig. 4. Parantica nilgiriensis, photographed by R. I. Vane-Wright, Pampadum Shola National Park, 10th February 2008.


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Butterflies 割付 (Gaonkar, 1996; Daniels, 2001). Along with many other unique animals and plants, they make the Western Ghats a biodiversity “hotspot”—and part of “India vera or India proper” as Mani (1995: 41) described it. Given that I had no permission to collect, I had to be content with photographs when I could get them (I was using an ageing ‘pocket’ 3.2 mega-pixel automatic digital camera, far from ideal for the purpose), and fleeting glimpses of passing species. Overall my impression was that it was very much the dry season, despite the recent downpours, and I doubt that I saw more than 25 species in total, including several pierids and lycaenids that I was quite unable to identify as they flew past. Freshlooking Graphium sarpedon enlivened the trail every few minutes, settling momentarily here

Fig. 5. Mycalesis oculus Marshall, photographed by R. I. Vane-Wright, Pampadum Shola National Park, 10th February 2008.

and there to suck at sandy patches. The beautiful endemic Mycalesis oculus (Fig. 5) was the most numerous of all butterflies seen. A single Eurema was observed (probably brigitta), a few individuals of Colias nilagiriensis, one Argyreus hyperbius, one Neptis, and I had a fleeting moment with what was probably a species of Euthalia inside the forest. One or two white and black Papilio hurried past. I did not see a single skipper—and other insects were little in evidence too. However, one further butterfly of great current interest to me was seen in some numbers: Vanessa indica pholoe (Vane-Wright & Hughes, 2007). This south Indian race of the Indian Red Admiral was seen flying low along the sides of the forest trail, frequently “sunning” on the ground or small boulders (Fig. 6). It was not observed nectaring, and was very alert. Some old and faded individuals were seen, but others looked very fresh. Eventually

Fig. 6. Vanessa indica pholoe (Fruhstorfer), photographed by R. I. VaneWright, Pampadum Shola National Park, 10th February 2008.

one individual kindly stayed quietly on its chosen

Environment 2008, and especially Prof. Koshy Ninan, Dr

rock long enough to get some images. To see this lovely

Mathew Koshi, the Rt. Rev. Thomas Samuel, and staff of

butterfly in its natural habitat was an equal pleasure to that

the CSI Retreat Centre, Kottayam. The distribution map

afforded by my brief encounter with Parantica nilgiriensis.

(Figure 1) is based on the invaluable unpublished work of

Acknowledgements

Harish Gaonkar, held by the NHM London. Rob Young

I wish to thank Ganesh Nair, Brian Freeman, Mini Kher,

(NHM) kindly made the images for Figures 2 and 3. I

staff of Westwood Hotel Munnar, Ganesh Murty and other

am extremely grateful to Julie Cole (Royal Geographical

staff of the Wild Life Division Munnar, who made my visit

Society) for ascertaining the altitude and co-ordinates

to Pampadum not only possible, but also a great pleasure.

where I made my observations. John Rose (NHM library)

I also wish to acknowledge the organisers of Green

was also very helpful. Travel was funded by the National


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Butterflies 割付 Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts (UK),

America? (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae). Journal of the

and much of my stay in Kerala by the Church of Southern

Lepidopterists’ Society 61(4): 199–212. Western Ghats butterflies, 2008. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/

India.

Western_Ghats_butterflies. (Accessed 6th March 2008).

References Ackery, P. R. & Vane-Wright, R. I., 1984. Milkweed butterflies: their cladistics and biology. London & New

[ 和文摘要 ]

York: BMNH/Cornell UP.

ニルギリアサギマダラとの出会い

Daniels, R. J. R., 2001. National Biodiversity Strategy and

R. I. Vane-Wright

Action Plan – Western Ghats Ecoregion. Ministry

2008 年 2 月 3 - 9 日に南インドで開催された国際会議 Green Environment 2008 ( 緑の環境 2008 年 ) の後，著

of Environment and Forests, Government of India. [Chapter 2, “Biodiversity of the Western Ghats — an

者は最近国立公園の指定をうけた Pampadum Shola を

overview” is accessible on http://www.wii.gov.in/envis/

短期間ではあったが訪問することができた。

rain_forest/chapter2.htm (accessed 6th March 2008).]

Das, A., Krishnaswamy, J., Bawa, K. S., Kiran, M. C.,

この国立公園は Kerala 州と Tamil Nadu 州の境界上の

Srinivas, V., Kumar, N. S. & Karanth, K. U., 2006.

標高約 2,00m に位置し，Cardamom Hills の北端，及

Prioritisation of conservation areas in the Western

び Palni Hills の西端に位置する。およそ 300 種のチョ

Ghats, India. Biological Conservation 133: 16–31.

ウがこの区域から知られており，そのうち , およそ 40 種はインド半島の固有種である。

Dikshit, K. R., 1991. Environment, Forest Ecology and Man in the Western Ghats. Jaipur: Rawat Publications.

2 月は乾季の中ごろだが，季節はずれの降雨のおかげ

Gaonkar, H., 1996. Butterflies of the Western Ghats, India,

で，これらの南インド固有の少数のユニークな分類

including Sri Lanka. A biodiversity assessment of

群に遭遇できた。その中でも記すべきは，Mycalesis

a threatened mountain system. i + 8 9 pp. Report to

oculus, Colias nilagiriensis, Vanessa indica pholoe であり，なかでも著者にとって最も意義のあったのはニルギリアサギマダラ Parantica nilgiriensis ( 英名 the Nilgiri

the Centre for Ecological Sciences, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore. [Copy deposited in the

Tiger) である。このマダラチョウ ( 恐らくスリランカ

Entomology Library, BMNH, London.] Gaonkar, H., 2002. [Distribution maps of butterfly species of Western Ghats and Sri Lanka, at quarter-degree

固有の Parantica 属の 1 種 P. taprobana ときわめて近縁である ) は生態情報が極めて少ないのだが，幸運に

resolution.] Unpublished ‘WorldMap’ database (copy

して 20 頭ほどの成虫を道沿いに見ることができた。

held by R. I. Vane-Wright).

個体の大きさはまちまちである。飛翔は東南アジアの

Gupta, I. J. & Mondal, D. K., 2005. Red Data Book (Part-2).

Parantica 属の他種より幾分速いように思われた。

Butterflies of India, xv + 535 pp. Kolkata: Zoological

この地域特有の高地性常緑低木林 (shola forests) は西

Survey of India.

ガーツ山脈のユニークな生物多様性の保全のために最も重要である。( 文責 : 橋本恵 )

Kunte, K., 2000. Butterflies of Peninsular India. Hyderabad: Universities Press. Kunte, K., Jogelkar, A., Utkarsh, G. & Pranod, P. 1999. Patterns of butterfly, bird and tree diversity in the

[ 編集者註 ] ニルギリモンキチョウの学名はしばしば

Western Ghats. Current Science 77 (4): 577–586.

Colias nilgiriensis と書かれるが，Colias nilagiriensis が

Mani, M. S., 1995. Biogeography in India. Dehra Dun:

正しいことを著者に確認した。

Surya Publications. Vane-Wright, R. I., [1997]. Biodiversity of the Western Ghats. Research report to the Darwin Initiative for the Survival of Species, 1 + 29 + 2 + 19 + 2 + 52 + 6 pp. The Natural History Museum, London. [Unpublished; copy deposited in the Entomology Library, BMNH, London.] Vane-Wright, R. I. & Hughes, H. W. D., 2007. Did a member of the Vanessa indica complex formerly occur in North


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Citation of this paper:

Vane-Wright, R.I. 2008. A brief encounter with Parantica nilgiriensis—the Nilgiri Tiger. Butterflies (Teinopalpus), Japan (50): 24–28.

No pdf version of the published paper will be available. The final version does not differ substantially from this proof.