Tamil Nadu Butterfly Name : Tamil Yeoman : Tamil Nadu State Butterfly Name
Tamil Nadu Butterfly Name : Tamil Yeoman : Tamil Nadu State Butterfly Name
Published on Mar 04, 2023
Tamil Nadu Butterfly Name : Tamil Yeoman : Tamil Nadu State Butterfly Name
Tamil Nadu Butterfly Name : Cirrochroa thais, also known as the Tamil yeoman, is a species of nymphalid butterfly found in forested areas of tropical Sri Lanka and India. It is the state butterfly of the Indian state of Tamilnadu.
Wet-season form:
Male. Upperside rich bright fulvous, somewhat deepest basally. Forewing with a slender dusky-lined discocellular streak, a transverse discal more or less prominent black sinuous interrupted line, its anterior portions from upper median dilated and bent inward; two submarginal sinuous lines, the inner dilating broadly inward to the costa, the outer partly merged into the black of outer border. Hindwing crossed by a more or less prominent black inner-discal slender broken line, anteriorly bordered by an outer costal quadrate white patch, followed by a medialrow of black spots, two submarginal sinuous Hues and a marginal even line.
Underside. Ground-colour of various shades of reddish-ochreous washed with pale violaceous-grey ; subbasal line dusky brown; transverse discal band white or violaceous-grey, dilated anteriorly, its inner-edge brown-lined and more or less deeply sinuous or broken up into dentate portions, its outer-edge being straight and unlined; followed by an outer-discal series of very obscure dusky dentate marks on the forewing, and a row of small black spots on hindwing, and submarginal lunular lines of the ground-colour bordered by violaceous-grey.
Female. Forewing more falcate at the apex. Upperside paler than in male, darker basally ; markings similar. Underside olivescent greyish-ochreous or pale brownish-ochreous, washed with violaceous-grey; markings similar to male; the discal baud generally prominently edged on both sides by a dark purple-grey line; the discal row of black spots on hindwing very small.
Dry-season form: Male. Upperside slightly paler than in wet-season form ; all the markings comparatively less prominent. Underside paler and a duller reddish-ochreous, the subbasal and outer markings obscure, the discal band on both wings entire throughout its course, and either of the same shade as the ground-colour or white, its inner edge being very slightly sinuous, and not broken up into dentate portions as in wet-season form.
Female. Upperside also slightly paler than in wet-season form, and the markings less prominent. Underside paler greyish-ochreous than in wet-season form; subbasal and outer markings similar; the discal baud entire, as in male, white.
Scientific Classification
Kingdom : Animalia
Phylum : Arthropoda
Class : Insecta
Order : Lepidoptera
Family : Nymphalidae
Genus : Cirrochroa
Species : C. thais
Binomial name : Cirrochroa thais
(Fabricius, 1787)
Tamil Yeoman Declared Tamil Nadu's State Butterfly
Tamil yeoman (Cirrochroa thais) butterfly species endemic to Western Ghats has been declared the state butterfly of Tamil Nadu.
Uniformly orange in colour with a dark brown outer ring, Tamil Yeoman is among the 32 butterfly species found in the Western Ghats. This butterfly species moves in groups in large numbers, but only in a few places. Also known as Tamil Maravan, which means warrior, these butterflies are found mainly in the hilly areas.
A government order was passed on Friday in this regard based on the recommendations of principal chief conservator of forests and chief wildlife warden.
A ten-member expert team was involved in identifying butterfly species to be declared state butterfly. The team had shortlisted two butterfly species - Tamil yeoman and Tamil Lacewing. The Tamil Yeoman was selected.
“Both butterfly species are unique in their own ways. The Tamil Lacewing butterfly is very rare and difficult to sight which may have been a reason for the government to prefer Tamil Yeoman,” Act for Butterflies founder Mohan Prasath, who was part of the expert team, said.
For the first time Tamil Nadu has declared its state butterfly and only fifth in the country to do so. Maharashtra was the first to declare Blue Mormon as its state butterfly, followed by Uttarakhand (Common peacock), Karnataka (Southern bird wings) and Kerala (Malabar banded peacock).
