Kerala is home to 330 varieties of butterflies and 37 of them are native to this region.

Lemon Pansy (Precis lemonias) is the most common of the six pansies in India. It is distributed in South India, central India and the Himalayan region. They are more abundant in forests.

The upper side of Lemon Pansy is dark greyish brown. The forewings have black lines, yellowish brown spots and two red ocelli, of which the lower one is larger and prominent. The hind wings have a large apical red ocellus enclosing two minute white spots and a smaller black spot. Wingspan is 45-60mm.

Lemon Pansies are very bold butterflies and are highly territorial in nature. They fly quickly and strongly without much fluttering of the wings. They are generally seen resting on the ground. They visit flowers of Aztec Marigold, Lantana, Bachelor’s Button, Lindley Butterfly bush, Ceylon Carissa, and Coreopsis Tinctoria. Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Malaysia, Indonesia, China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and the Philippines are some other places where Lemon Pansies are found.

Courtesy: http://birdwingtours.com/