Crimson Rose Butterflies

In News 

• The Crimson Rose butterflies have been flying from Dhanushkodi across the Indian Ocean. It is known for crossing the sea to migrate to Sri Lanka.

Crimson Rose Butterflies

• About:   
  • Crimson Rose, which belongs to the Swallowtails (Papilionidae) family.
  • It is known to migrate along the coast, inland and crosses the sea often.
• Description: 
  • It is a large butterfly with a mix of black, white and crimson colours on its wings and body, and is known for crossing the sea to migrate to Sri Lanka.
  • The most interesting and visually stunning aspect of the migration was that the butterflies made small pit stops on flowering plants on the beach to fuel their journey.
• Characteristics: 
  • Crimson Roses were spotted on Ipomea flowers and Half leaf flowers on the beach. 
  • The grandest gathering was on a Calotropis gigantea plant, which was the sole plant in the vicinity.
  • Each butterfly spent about 30 seconds on nectaring and then continued its journey towards Sri Lanka.

• Distribution :

• The species occurs mostly in dry, deciduous forests, dense scrub, jungles, and open country, but can also be found in disturbed semi-evergreen, evergreen forests
• This species occurs across mainland Sri Lanka and Peninsular India to West Bengal, as well as possible distributions along with the Andaman Islands, Nicobar Islands, in Western Myanmar, and Bangladesh

• IUCN Status :
  •  The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species in 2019  listed it as Least Concern. 

Source: TH