T

he Chocolate Pansy is neither

an exotic sweet nor the name

of a gay chocolate hero. It is a

common butterfly that subsists

on different nectar plants,

including bride’s tear, cayenne jasmine, lantana,

pigeon berry, and wild indigo. A nectar plant is a

plant that provides nectar for the adult butterfly.

The adults mainly survive on floral nectar.

Their nectar consumption level may affect egg

production and lifespan.

However, the babies (caterpillars) survive on

a different set of plants, the larval host plants.

Each caterpillar species can feed only on a set of

plants. Food of one species is poison for the other

species. There is no scope for snatching others’

food. Chocolate pansy larva likes petunias, blue

bells, bell weed, Indian swamp weed, small

flowered justicia....The pansy emerges from the

pupal case in slightly less than a month.

Wingspan of the chocolate brown brush-footed

butterfly ranges from 55-88mm. Their hairy

forelegs look like brushes. The brown color has

multi tones. A brush-footed butterfly is also

known as four-footed butterfly.

Patterns on the wings of the Asian butterfly

vary with the season as a consequence of

environmental changes and to improve its

survival chances. As a result of this seasonal

dimorphism, the pansy is found in two forms:

dry season form (DSF) and wet season form

(WSF). The pansy adopts the latter form

generally in monsoon. The pansy acquires the

former form in the remaining period of the year.

The DSF butterflies resemble dry leaves when

they close their wings.

The tailless member of Junonia genus (the

Pansies) lives in shady and damp areas and

clearings and paths alike covering a wide range

of terrain, tropical forests to high altitude (up to

3,000 m).

The genus is probably named after Juno Goddess

who rode a peacock-drawn chariot. Tail feathers

of the male peacock are decorated with eyelike

patterns. The butterflies with numerous ocelli

therefore may have been named after the

goddess. An ocellus is a simple eye or eyelike

spot. The Chocolate Pansy spotted across the

Indian Himalayas has eyelike small spots.

Chocolate Pansy

Himalayan Key

Fauna

278
Volume 4, Issue 1 | June 2019