I photographed this beauty at the Cotigao Wildlife sanctuary. From my understanding the host plant for this small butterfly is Bryophyllum pinnatum. And this is definitely where I found the little butterfly perched pretty!

Luckily for me the striking butterfly was happy to sit unmoving on the leaves and I managed a few shots of it before it took off and disappeared into some bushes.

Rahul Alvares butterfly trip

Females lay eggs on the underside of the Bryophyllum’s succulent leaves and she indiscriminately selects both young and old leaves since the Bryophyllum’s leaves are succulent during all their stages. The caterpillar burrows into the leaf as soon as it hatches and spends its entire life between the epidermal layers of the leaf.

It tunnel’s through the leaf in a winding but organized manner so as to ensure that it consumes the entire leaf. So essentially the caterpillar is only seen when it is changing leaves or when it comes to the surface to pupate.

The adult has a wingspan of only about 3 cm.

Rahul Alvares