TIRUVANNAMALAI: Jawadhu Hills have once again become the sweet spot of nature enthusiasts and local tribesmen as butterflies have begun to swarm the area of late. Thanks to the weather conditions the butterflies have touched down on the woods in the hills, marking their migration from the Western Ghats to the Eastern Ghats.
“During the monsoon, these butterflies migrate from damp places to where they can find more flowering trees and plants,” says NV Harish, a Tiruvannamalai-based nature enthusiast. Since Kerala and Karnataka have been experiencing showers, the winged beauties have made a long flight to reach the Eastern Ghats, he notes, while adding, “It is their biannual migration.” Butterflies from the families of Blue, Tiger, Common Crow, Common Banded Peacock and Lime Butterfly, are seen in the slopes of the Jawadhu Hills.
Zebra Blue, Grass Blue and Pea Blue varieties belong to the Blue family of butterflies, whereas Plain Tiger, Striped Tiger and Blue Tiger come from the Tiger family. Emerald Green which belongs to the Common Banded Peacock type is a treat to one’s eyes, says Harish. Since the flowering season is better in the hills, they migrate in large colonies looking for greener pastures.
As many as 87 types of butterflies are normally spotted in the Jawadhu Hills. An official from the Forest Department notes that these butterflies constantly migrate between the western and eastern ghats. “They are in constant pursuit of better host plants,” he points out.
“Thou spark of life, that wavest wings of gold!
Thou songless wanderer mid the songful birds!
With nature’s secrets in thy tints unrolled
Through gorgeous cipher, past the reach of words”
- An extract from the poem titled “Ode to a Butterfly” by Thomas Wentworth Higginson