Table Of ContentBULLETIN
OF THE
MADRAS GOVERNMENT MUSEUM
EDITED BY THE DIRECTOR OF MUSEUMS
DESCRIPTIVE CATALOGUE OF THE BUTTERFLIES
IN THE COLLECTION OF THE MADRAS GOVERNMENT MUSEUM
BY
S • THOMAS SATYAMURTI, M.A .• D.SC .• F.Z.S.
(Director oj Museums (Retired). Madras Government Museum)
NEW SERIES - Natural History Section Vol. VII, No.1
©
COMMISSIONER OF MUSEUM
Government of Tamil Nadu
1994
Printed at Pandian Offset. Madras-4.
on Behalf oj The Commissioner oj Museums
..
~
First Edition 1966
Reprinted 1994
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Price: Rs. B.s. 23\
,.
DESCRIPTNE CATALOGUE
OF THE
BUTTERFLIES
IN THE COLLECTION OF THE MADRAS GOVERNMENT MUSEUM
BY
S. THOMAS SATYAMURTI,
M.A. • D.se. • F.Z.S.
(Director of Museums (Retired). Madras Government Museum)
CONTENTS
Page
Introduction 1
Key to the families of butterflIes represented in the Museum collection 3
Systematic list of the species and races of"butterflIes represented
in the Museum collection 4
Descriptions of the species 14
Famliy Papilionidae 14
Pieridae 31
Danaidae 77
Satyridae 90
Amathusldae 114
Nymphalidae 116
Acraeidae 167
Erycinidae 168
Lycaenidae 171
Hesperiidae 217
References to literature on Indian butterflies 250
Index 251
DESCRIPTIVE CATALOGUE OF THE BUTTERFLIES
IN THE
COLLECTION OF THE MADRAS GOVERNMENT MUSEUM
By S.T. SATYAMURTI, M.A., D.se .• F.Z.S.
(Director of Museums (Retired). Government Museum. Madras)
INTRODUCTION
India has been appropriately described as the butterfly-collector's paradise. and
perhaps no other group of insects in India has been so exhaustively studied and
described as butterflies are. The.rich and fascinating variety in their form and size. and
the gorgeous splendour of their colour and patterns of colour markings have attracted
both the amateur naturalist and the professional scientist. and the popular interest
which this group has always aroused has, been in a large measure responsible for the
substantial mass of literature. both popular and scientific. on this large and attractive
assemblage of insects.
Talbot. in his volume on Butterflies. in the Fauna of British India series (second
edition. 1929). has outlined briefly. yet thoroughly. the history oft he previous work done
on butterflies in this country. in his Introductory chapter. He has listed therein almost
all the important publications on the butterflies of India and to this list may be added
the excellent monograph on the Butterflies of the Indian Region by Wynter-Blyth.
published by the Bombay Natural HistolY Society in 1957. One might wonder whether
in view of all this exhaustive literature. there is any real need for a descriptive catalogue
of the kind that has now been complied. Although it should be admitted that there is
very little scope for any original work on the systematic study of Indian Lepidoptera. yet
it was considered necessary to bring out a catalogue of all the species of butterflies so far
represented in the collection of the Madras Government Museum. in order to make the
collections of this Museum better known among the other Museums and scientific
institutions both in India and abroad. But at the same time it was felt that a well
illustrated and descriptive catalogue w1ll be much more useful than a mere handlist of
names. Again. almost all the earlier works including the volumes on butterflies in the
Fauna of British India series have dealt with butterflies of the entire Indian Region. and
as most. of the species described therein are found only in Assam. Sikkim. Bhutan and
other areas in the far north. the student Wishing to concentrate on the identification of
South Indian butterflies often feels considerable difficulty in wading through the entire
range of species before he is able to determine the South Indian species. As the Madras
Museum collection contains mostly South Indian species. it is expected that the present
work w1ll serve more or less as a guide to South Indian butterflies on which there is no
convenient handbook at present. It was mainly these considerations that prompted the
author to compile the nresent catalogue in the descriptive and illustrated form in which
it has appeared; and incidentally. when the measurements of the wing expanse of the
f'.',
~;'. '
2 Bulletin, Madras Government Museum [ N.H. VII, NO 1
specimens In the collection were compared to the existing records for the corespondIng
species. it was found that In many cases the measurements were above or below the
maximum and pUnimum recorded. expanse for these partlcuJar specIes. thereby establishing
newtecords In the range of expanse for these species.
Regarding the structure. variation. distribution. ecology and methods of setting and
preserving butterflies. Talbot and Wynter-Blyth have given exhaustive accounts In their
respective publications cited above. and it is therefore needless to repeat them here.
The classification adopted in the present catalogue is that adopted by Wynter-Blyth.
This is the same as that followed by Talbot In his volume In the Fauna of British India
series (Volume I). for Papilionldae and Pieridae. as this is the most up-to-date standard
work on Indian butterflies. belonging to these families. For the remaInIng families. the
classification followed by Evans in his "Identification of Indian Butterflies" has been
followed.
In Identifying butterflies. It is necessary to remember that there is consIderable
seasonal and individual variation in many species of butterflies. Hence it is necessary
to confirm the identifications made with the help of deSCriptIons by checking the locality.
size. habit and other details before one can 'be sure of the identification.
In order to identiiY a butterfly correctly. one has to become conversant with the
structure oft he wings oft he butterfly and their venation. and with the various descriptive
terms applied to the different part of the wings.
The terminology of the various parts of the wing and its venation is illustrated in the
accompanying figure.
The majority of the specimens represented in the Museum collection are from
localities In South India although the general range ofd istribution 9fthe species to which
they belong may be much wider. extending into localities In North India. even as far as
the Himalayas. Assam. Sikkim. Bhutan. and sometimes even to Burma and Malay
Peninsula. In South India. it is the hilly regions. such as the Nilgiris. PuIney Hills.
Western Ghats. etc. . that are particularly rich In butterflies. especially those of the
larger. more colourful and attractive species. but a large number of species occur also in
the plains.
The total number of species of butterflies recorded from the Indian Region is about
868 and out of these. the distribution of about 285 species extends to South India. The
number of species of butterflies found exclusively in South India is about 45. most of
which are found in the hilly regiOns such as the Nilgiris. Pulney Hills and Western Ghats.
The number of species represented in the collection of the Madras Government Museum
is 228. almost all of them being South Indian forms. but their distribution extends in
most cases to North India and sometimes even beyond Indian limits. In a large number
of cases it is the South Indian races of the species that are represented in the Museum
collection.
In the systematic descriptions of the species in the present catalogue. the wing
measurements mentioned under' the head "SpecImens in the collection" for each species
FORE WING
COSTA ..~.. :--_r~-__ --DORSUM
HIND WING +-
~~
h'~
('..0
~
Q
TORNUS
" 7 r.------".~
'J6
'lJO
FORE WING
HIND WING 'J5
DIAGRAMS ILLUSTRATING THE TERMINOLOGY OF THE VARIOUS
PARTS OF THE WINGS AND THEIR VENATION IN BUTTERFLIES.
(V: Vein; DeV: Discocellular vein)
1994] Descriptive Catalogue of the Butterflies 3
is the average oft he largest and the smallest oft he specimens. w1;lere there are more than
two specimens. In the case of species ofw hich only two specimens are represented. it is
the average of these two. ~d in cases where there Is only a single specimen. the
measurement of this single specimen is mentioned. Special mention is made 011
specimens which measure either less or more than the minimum or maximum recorded
expanse respectively. for the particular species.
The literature on this subject Is very extensive. and apart from standard descriptive
works such as Lepidoptera Indica and the Fauna of British India volumes on Butterflies.
numerous papers have been published on Indian butterflies. notably in the Journal of
the Bombay Natural History S~iety. Records of the Indian Museum. Journal of the
Aslatc Society of Bengal and the Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London. An
abridged bibliography on the subJect. listing some of the standard monographic works
and a selection of the more important systematic papers. is appended at the end of the
present paper. but further references can be readily traced by the reader from the
extensive bibliography in the latest edition of the volume on Butterflies by Talbot in the
Fauna of British India series.
I wish to acknowledge my gratitude to Miss. D. Chandramirtham. former Assistant
Curator for Zoology. for her assistance in rearranging the collections. preparing the
systematic lists oft he species and taking the wing measurements oft he specimens in the
collection. to Miss. A. Vimala. former Assistant Curator for Zoology. for her assistance in
the preparation of the Bibliography and Index. and to Sri R.N. Meganathan. Artist
modeller of the Government Museum. Madras. for the care and skill with which he has
prepared the coloured illustrations for this paper.
KEY TO THE FAMILIES OF BUTTERFLIES
(Adapted from Talbot's Fauna of British India volume on Butterflies. and Wynter
Blyth·s "Butterflies of the Indian Region.")
1. Forewing with vein 7 forked. Antennae ciosely
approximated together at base 2
Forewing with all veins arising from the cell. Antennae wide
apart at base and often with a hooked club Hesperiidae.
2. Hind wing without a precostal vein (except in a few
species of the Pieridae) 3
- Hind wing without a precostal vein.
All legs perfect in both sexes Lycaenldae
3. Forelegs fully developed in both sexes 4
Forelegs imperfectly developed in one or both sexes 5
4. Inner margin of hind wing channelled to receive the abdomen:
hind wing with vein 1 a absent (present in all other families).
Large. brightly coloured buttet<i1.ies with the
hind wings often tailed ... Papillonldae:
4 Bulletin, Madras Government Museum [ N.H. vn, NO 1
Inner margin of hind wing not channelled to receive the abdomen.
Hind wing with vein 1· a always present. Moderate-sized, usually
white or yellow; hind wing never tailed Pieridae
-'5. Forelegs imperfect in both sexes 6
Forelegs imperfect and brush-like in the male, perfect and
developed for walking in the female. Moderate-sized, usually
brown or tawny, with the hind wing ofteQ. toothed OJ: tailed Erycinldae
6. Both wings with the cell closed (i.e. cross veins are present) 7
Hind wing with the cell open (i.e. cross veins absent).
Cell narrowly closed in a few cases 9
7. Fore wing with vein I a forked with vein 1 b (I.e. vein 1 runs
into the median vein at the base). Large, dark brown or
tawny butterflies, often shot with blue and streaked or spotted Danaldae.
Fore wing with vein 1 a free (I.e. vein 1 runs free into the base) 8
8. Fore wing with one or more veins inflated or swollen at the base
(except in a few cases). Normally scaled wings, not spotted.
Medtm-slzed dark brown butterflies with ocelli on the wings Satyrtdae
Fore wing without any vein inflated at the base. Wings sparsely
scaled and spotted. Brick-red or yellowish brown butterflies,
with elongate wings and abdomen ... Acraeldae
9. Palpi small, narrow and sharp in front. Large, broad-winged
butterflies with the costa of fore wing strongly arched and
antennae gradually enlarged to a narrow club ...A mathusidae
Palpllarge, broad and rounded in front. The cell of the fore
wing usually open. Moderate-sized. usually coloured butterflies
of very varied shape and appearance. Antennae much more
abruptly enlarged to a club. Nymphalidae
SYSTEMATIC LIST OF THE SPECIES AND RACES OF BUTTERFLIES
REPRESENTED IN THE COLLECTION OF THE
MADRAS GOVERNMENT MUSEUM.
Note : The figures mentioned within bracketsagalnst each species or race indicate the .
number of specimens of that particular species or race'present in the Museum
collection.
Family PAPILIONIDAE.
Genus Troides Hubner.
Troides helena minos (Cramer) (2).
Genus Polydonu Swainson.
Polydorus hector (Linnaeus) (11)
Polydorus artstolochlae (Fabricius) (7)
