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Young World
Young naturalist
SANGEETH KURIAN
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He says he likes tigers but butterflies are his passion.
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Colourful: Each one is distinct.
Mohammed Swalih has a passion for collecting information on butterflies. Quiz him on anything about his winged companions, this standard VI student of M.G.M. Public Central School, Akkulam, will come up with the answer in a flash.
Some of the butterfly families in which he is knowledgeable are Swallow Tails, Skippers, Yellow and White and Blues.
While most of us might be aware that butterflies have a very short life span, though some species in their adult stage can live from a week to nearly a year, Swalih explains that each butterfly has its own distinctive host plant when it comes to laying eggs. For instance grass is the host plant for Common Sivering while Common Palmfly prefers coconut trees and palms, he says.
Informative
Swalih’s fund of knowledge on the enchanting world of butterflies was on display here at the Government Lower Primary School Karichara, Kaniyapuram last week.
He kept his young audience comprising over 80 children in the age group 10-12 years from five different L.P. Schools in the locality, in rapt attention with his half-an-hour lecture on the life-cycle, migration and activities of butterflies including mud puddling.
Mud-puddling is a phenomenon which involves the aggregation of butterflies on wet soil. In some cases even the sweat on human skin can be attractive to butterflies.
In India this phenomenon is usually seen during the post-monsoon season.
Swalih says his interest in butterflies was instilled by his brother Mohammed Safeer, a plus two student, who has an impressive collection of medicinal plants to his credit.
“My brother always carries a camera with him wherever he goes so that he take pictures of interesting butterflies,” said Swalih who has over 100 photographs on butterflies.
So what is Swalih’s ambition in life? “I want to become a zoologist,” he replies promptly and adds “I love tigers.”
Swalih’s talk on butterflies during the two-day camp at Karichara was arguably the highlight of the event, which also included a number of cultural and literary events such as group discussions, personality development programmes, spoken English classes, poetry, cleanliness and music sessions. Veteran freedom fighter, K.E. Mammen, inaugurated the camp.
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