Colonization and strategic stratification of butterfly Pachliopta aristolochiae (Lepidoptera: Papilionidae) and its relationship with the host plant Aristolochia indica (Piperales: Aristolochiaceae)

Abstract

Colonization experiment for the butterfly Pachliopta aristolochiae (Fabricius, 1775) (Lepidoptera: Papilionidae) was carried out in the Zoological Garden, Curzon Hall, University of Dhaka and Bhawal national park, Gazipur from 2010 to 2011, and butterfly host-plants and nectar-plants were identified for this purpose. The field observations and identification confirmed that the host plant species Aristolochia indica is a creeper plant. A. indica was cultivated for the butterfly oviposition behaviour and to continue developmental stages. The oviposition behaviour of gravid female, hatching, feeding and moulting behaviour of the four larval instars, and pupation behaviour of A. indica were recorded. Both laboratory and field observations revealed that while there was availability of food, 1st and 2nd instar larvae preferred tender leaves, whereas the 3rd and 4th instar larvae fed both on young and mature leaves. However, mature larvae were also observed to feed on the stems, flower and fruits of the host-plant in absence of suitable succulent leaves. The feeding time was recorded for each larval instars and it was relatively low for 1st and 2nd instar larvae, remarkably higher in 3rd instar larvae and highest in the case of ultimate and penultimate larval instars. The egg, larval and pupal mortalities were counted during the study period. Their survivability rate was 80% or more. This result was found to stand good for a successful colonization process of the butterfly P. aristolochiae.J. Biodivers. Conserv. Bioresour. Manag. 2017, 3(1): 45-54

Habitat heterogeneity and butterfly diversity of Kuldiha Wildlife Sanctuary, Odisha, India

“…1,2,3 and 4). The most significant factors (nutritional and other resources, and the interactions among different species) are determining the individual species' ability to utilize the habitats optimally (Ries and Sisk 2004, Bashar 2014, Aich et al 2016, Alam 2017). At the transitional habitats, the habitat parameters often turn out to be less favourable due to the operation of selection forces.…”

Vision on biodiversity: Indigenous techniques of biodiversity assessment of butterflies in some forests of Bangladesh

“…There is a synchronization of coincidences between the life stages of butterflies and the phenological stages of their host plants (Alam et al 2017, Rahman 2018. Both plants and animals are wild organisms.…”

Foraging Behaviour of Some Papilionid Butterflies in Bhawal and Madhupur Sal Forests of Bangladesh

“…Furthermore, an understanding of flower use and flower preferences is required to manage habitats for butterflies (Hardy et al 2007). Some research on butterfly has been done for nectar plant choices in some forests and gardens of Bangladesh (Bashar et al 2006) including Bhawal and Madhupur Sal Forests (Akand et al 2017, Alam et al 2017, Kamrunnahar et al 2018. And study on species specific foraging behaviour stands as most essential attempt in the field of butterfly conservation research.…”