Monday, November 22, 2010

DOBSONFLY


Common Name: Dobsonfly
Scientific Name: Corydalus sp.

 Kingdom:       Animalia
Phylum:          Arthropoda
Subphylum:    Hexapoda
Class:             Insecta
Subclass:       Pterygota
Infraclass:       Neoptera
Superorder:   Endopterygota or Neuropterida
Order:             Megaloptera
Family:           Corydalidae
Subfamily:      Corydalinae
Dobsonflies spend most of their life in the larval stage, during which they are called hellgrammites
After a few years of living and growing underwater, the larvae crawl out onto land and pupate. They stay in their cocoons over the winter and emerge only to mate. Upon emerging, they live for only seven days. While not generally believed to eat during their adult stage

MY OBSERVATIONS
09-03-1993Location : Palode, Thiruvananthapuram
Eyes        : Compound eyes, light green tint
Legs         : Small white hairs in legs and in the body
                     Thorn-like parts at the end of the legs
Wings      : Transparent, Brown in colour, with veins, Hard as dragonfly. When at rest, wings are held flat over the back and extend beyond the abdomen
Very slow speed in flight. Flying sound is like dragonfly

Sunday, November 21, 2010

BLUE ADMIRAL BUTTERFLY (Kaniska canace)


MY OBSERVATIONS

09-07-1993 – Collected and pupa from a hard stemmed plant. Sways very fast when touched.
Pupa is coloured from hard brown to light brown. Having glod and spots and silver patches.

12-07-1993 – Emerging in the morning may be between 9 and 10
                           One side of the wings are coloured like tree bark
Brown Antenna.
                           Yellow legs.

BLUE ADMIRAL BUTTERFLY (Kaniska canace)
“Neelaraajan” (in Malayalam)
Kingdom:            Animalia
Phylum:               Arthropoda
Class:                  Insecta
Order:                  Lepidoptera
Family:                Nymphalidae
Subfamily:           Nymphalinae
Tribe:                   Nymphalini
Genus:                Kaniska (Moore, 1899)
Species:             K. canace

Saturday, November 20, 2010

TIGER WASP



MY OBSERVATIONS

20-08-1992 – In a Euphorbia plant the wasp is making nest with mud from a nearby stream. There are three separate rooms. First three rooms are made and then the whole are again covered with another layer of mud.
14-09-1992 – One small wasp emerged at night through a hole made in the upper side of the walls
15-09-1992 – Another two emerged.
20-09-1992 – The nest is dissected. Inside the two mud covering there is another covering with                                         thermocol-like material 







Friday, November 19, 2010

Green Moth

MY OBSERVATIONS

CATERPILLAR
Hairs are reddish brown in colour

04-7-1993 – Pupate in a twig.It made its cocoon with its brown hairs in very finishing
 We can see Glazed dark brown cover of the pupa through the hairs

22-7-1993 – Emerged in the morning.  Emerging by breaking the backside of the outer cover
                       Legs are fully covered by hairs and leaf green in colour
                       Antenne, very light brown in colour.
                       Wings, leaf colour and having leaf-like vein structures




IT TAKES 18 DAYS FROM THE NEXT DAY OF PUPATION TO BECOME AN ADULT







STICK INSECT

STICK INSECT
Kingdom:      Animalia
Phylum:          Arthropoda
Class:            Insecta
Subclass:      Pterygota
Infraclass:      Neoptera
Superorder:  Exopterygota
Order:            Phasmatodea
There are in excess of 3,000 described species
Segmented Antenna
Front leg was stretched towards front very close to the antenna when resting
Vanes in the wings were prominently seen
Male was small compared with female in length and size and some more dark in colour
Mating takes hours (May be 6or more hours)
Female can fly while mating









The  stick insect and leaf insect (order: Phasmida) are almost confined to the tropics and subtropics. Most of them are fairly large. They always live and feed among vegetation and are protected by their resemblance to the surroundings, this their name. They are very difficult to see when they are resting among twigs and branches. Stick insects feed at night


MY OBSERVATIONS

04-10-1991 – Eggs seen in a thin dry twig
                        Eggs are brown in colour with white covering except in top


08-10-1991 – Hatchlings emerged from eggs at 9.00 PM
                        Dark Orange in colour. Antennae are prominent and having a length equal to the body. Black eyes
                        Tail end of the body was curved upwards

Thursday, November 18, 2010

CRIMSON ROSE BUTTERFLY - Atrophaneura (Pachliopta) hector


CRIMSON ROSE BUTTERFLY
Atrophaneura (Pachliopta) hector (Linnaeus, 1758)
"Chakkara Rose" (in Malayalam)
Kingdom:      Animalia
Phylum:         Arthropoda
Class:            Insecta
Order:            Lepidoptera
Family:          Papilionidae
Subfamily:     Papilioninae
Genus:          Atrophaneura
Subgenus:    (Pachliopta)
Species:       A. (P.) hector
It is a large swallowtail butterfly,common in Western Ghats. Male upper side black. Fore wing with a broad white interrupted band. Hind wing with a diseal posteriory strongly curved with series of crimson spots.
HOST PLANT - Murraya koenigii (L.) Sprengel

curry tree [Malayalam: à´•à´±ിà´µേà´ª്à´ªിà´²]

Order:          Sapindales
Family:         Rutaceae
Genus:         Murraya
Species:      M. koenigii


MY OBSERVATIONS

23-9-1989 – Caterpillar observed in murraya plant having 5cm in length shriked
24-9-1989 – The shrinked caterpillar transformed into pupa
05-101989 – Emerged out as a butterfly

EMERGING OUT IN THE MORNING BETWEEN 7.30 AND 8.00 ON THE 11TH DAY FROM THE NEXT DAY OF PUPATION

Tuesday, November 16, 2010

Praying mantis egg

MY OBSERVATIONS

15-11-2010 - Seen in the bark of a large tree.



On close observation it is seen that the egg was eaten by ants. So it is collected.
The egg case is dissected.

Inside the egg there is some decayed body of the young ones




Friday, November 12, 2010

Green glittering bugs


Colour : Glittering  yellowish green with black spots
HOST PLANT


Species:            Jatropha podagrica
Kingdom:          Plantae
Division:            Magnoliophyta
Class:                Magnoliopsida
Order:                Euphorbiales
Family:               Euphorbiaceae
Genus:               Jatropha
It is native to the tropical Americas (Origin : Guatemala) but it is propagated as an ornamental plant in many parts of the world. The plant bears bright red coral-like flowers throughout the year. The plant contains the toxic curcin (a phytotoxin (toxalbumin), found mainly in the seeds and   also in the fruit and sap.), making it poisonous.
Fruit: is  small capsule-like, round; about 2.5 -  4 cm (1-1.5inches) in diameter.  These are green and fleshy when immature,becoming dark  brown when ripe and splitting to release 2 or 3  black seeds 

MY OBSERVATIONS
        8-11-2010   -  Seen only in Jatropha podagrica plant.
       Very near to this plant there is Jatropha multifida plant also.
                                                Jatropha multifida
        But this bug is only seen in podagrica  plant
       Also the bug is seen  in fruits
       Bugs in different stages are seen

Monday, November 1, 2010

Blue Tiger Moth (Dysphania percota)

MY OBSERVATIONS

 24-07-1990 - Akkulam, Thiruvananthapuram

CATERPILLAR
Orange in colour with dark blue patches
Black spots in the blue patches
Usually stands in the twig using the suckers in the hind portion

Caterpillar will clasp with its front legs and draw up the hind end, then clasp with the hind end (prolegs) and reach out for a new front attachment

HOST PLANT
           Carallia brachiata “Vallabham” in Malayalam
FAMILY          Rhizophoraceae
Species          Carallia brachiata


PUPA
           Pupating by rolling the leaf in the afternoon
           The leaves are pasted with webs brown in colour
           Orange in colour
3 cm length, 1 cm width in the middle
Face looks like monkey


ADULT
Emerging at night around 10.00 PM
            It is a day flying moth



GENERAL


    Kingdom:       Animalia
Phylum:          Arthropoda
Class:            Insecta
Order:            Lepidoptera
Family:           Geometridae
Subfamily:     Geometrinae
Tribe:             Dysphaniini
Genus:           Dysphania
    Species:       D. percota


Natural Death of moth


After a heavy rain yesterday(6-10-2010), this moth was found dead in a drainage in Palode, Kerala

Popular Posts