The Hindu : Front Page : Colourful peregrination: some facts and patterns

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Feb 11, 2007
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Colourful peregrination: some facts and patterns

Chennai: Butterfly migrations are thought to occur as a means of dispersal of some species.

Among the better-documented migrations is that of the `painted lady,' which is found to migrate in the Himalayas in a north-westerly direction and also in the Western Ghats.

A rapid expansion of the population could be one of the reasons for butterfly migrations. `Painted lady' migrations are attributed by some scholars to a reduction in the food supply due to a massive population increase and the ensuing search for new sources.

Other butterflies such as Peablue and Albatrosses may be migrating in the Palni Hills due to `genetic programming' and not lack of food. Seasonal migration of `cabbage white' butterflies of the Himalayas has been recorded.

They move to the plains in winter to raise a brood and return in spring.

Many conservation biologists stress the need for greater study of the phenomenon, as butterflies are nectar-feeding insects that play a vital role in pollination and therefore in agriculture in many places.

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