Water Snow Flat (Tagiades litigiosa)
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| Water Snow Flat (UP) |
Marathi Name : जल प्रतल
Family : Hesperiidae (Skippers)
Subfamily : Pyrginae (Flats & Angles)
Tribe : Tagiadini (Flats)
Sci. Name : Tagiades litigiosa (Möschler, 1878)
Subspecies : T. l. litigiosa (Möschler, 1878)
Wingspan : 37- 44 mm
Description :-
The main color of the upperside of the wings is dark brown with hyaline white dots on the forewing and a large white tornal area on the hindwing with 12 dark marginal spots.
The underside is similarly marked as the upperside with paler undertone and slightly larger white patch. Males and females look almost similar.
Range, Habitat & Behaviour :-
Water Snow Flat is a small butterfly found in the Eastern Himalayan range as well as the Eastern and Western Ghats. They are more common in forested areas.
They are fast flyers and have the habit of hiding on the underside of leaves with its wings opened flat.
They are seen visiting many flowers like Pagoda flower (दिपमाळा), Leea (दिंडा) and Blue Snakeweed for nectar and sometimes feeding on bird droppings.
Purple Yam (कोनफळ) and other Wild Yam species (रान करांदा) are used as larval host plants.
Life Cycle :-
Eggs are laid singly on the leaf stalk.
Eggs take 3-4 days to hatch. The caterpillar eats only the part of the egg shell required for hatching and leaves the rest of the egg shell intact.
The caterpillar builds its leaf shelter by cutting the edges of the leaf. It rests inside whereas ventures out of the shelter to feed on the leaf lamina in the vicinity. As the caterpillar grows, the size and shape of leaf shelter changes.
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| Leaf shelter |
A caterpillar moults 5 times in its life cycle. In the first 4 instars, the body color is yellowish green and the head color is black. While in the 5th instar, the color of the body becomes more yellowish whereas the color of the head changes to reddish brown. The caterpillar stage lasts for 18 to 20 days, growing up to 30 mm in length.
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| 5th instar caterpillar |
After complete growth, the caterpillar ceases feeding and its body decolorises to pale green. It enters the prepupatory stage by spinning the silk around itself within the leaf shelter. Pupation takes place the next day.
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| Prepupa |
The pupa is pale beige in color with three triangular white patches at wing pads on both sides. The pupa is about 20 mm in length.
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| Pupa |
After about 7-8 days of pupal development, the pupa turns dark in the wing pad and thorax areas.
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| Matured Pupa |
The following day, the adult butterfly emerges from the pupal case. After emerging, the butterfly open its wings to dry and flies away after 1-2 hours.
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| Freshly emerge Water Snow Flat |
Larval Host Plants :-
▪ कोनफळ (चिना) | Purple Yam
Dioscorea alata L. (Dioscoreaceae)
Purple Yam (कोनफळ) is a large vine, cultivated for its edible, stem and root tubers which are purplish white inside. Stem is winged, leaves are heart-shaped, tender leaves and leaf petioles are purple tinged.
▪ रान करांदा
Dioscorea wallichii Hook.f. (Dioscoreaceae)
रान करांदा is a large wild vine with heart-shaped leaves, purple tinged tender leaves and leaf petioles.
Nectar Plants :-
▪ दिपमाळा | Pagoda Flower
Clerodendrum paniculatum (Lamiaceae)
▪ गजकर्णी | Large Leaf Leea
Leea macrophylla (Vitaceae)
▪ Blue Snakeweed
Stachytarpheta jamaicensis (Verbenaceae)
Similar Species :-
▪ Large Snow Flat
Tagiades gana (Moore, 1865)
Marathi Pronunciation :-
वॉटर स्नो फ्लॅट
तजायडीज लिटिजिओसा (हेस्पेरीडी)
Text & Photos by Nitin Kawthankar.
References :-
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