Jul - 2016


July - 2016
Dear Nature Lovers,
Greetings from oikos !

White Orange Tip is commonly seen in deciduous forests & open areas.
Name refers to the orange colored tips on the upper side of wings.
Scientific name : Ixias marianne,  Family : Pieriade (Whites and Yellows)
It is distributed throughout the plains and low lands of peninsular India. 
Flies among bushes and small trees, within three meters off the ground. 
 
Oligophagy :
Adult butterflies lay eggs on specific plants called host plants.
These strict preferences are dictated by the chemical composition of plant parts that the caterpillars eat. There are three levels of this specialization :-
  1. First level is where the caterpillars feed only on a single plant species and not any other, is termed as monophagy. (mono = single; phagy = feeding)
  2. But more commonly, as in case of White Orange Tip, caterpillars find multiple plants of single family or of same genus. So they feed on few plants, so termed as oligophagy. (oligo = few)
  3. Few caterpillars seem to be very flexible and feed on various plants. These are termed as polyphagous. (poly = many)
Larval Food plants : 
White Orange Tip, being oligophagous, feed on various species of one family Capparaceae; namely Capparis decidua, C. divaricata, C. grandis, C. sepiaria, Cadaba fructicosa. 
पाचुंदी - Capparis grandis 
Commonly seen shrub in deciduous forests and scrub.
Thorny plant with beautiful white flowers.
Regards, 
Ketaki & Manasi. 
Reference for text : Butterflies of peninsular India by Krushnamegh Kunthe.
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