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Project Noah Nature School
Catapaecilma major
Males are invariably encountered singly, either perching on foliage, or imbibing moisture from the ground. They always rest with the wings held erect. Females are normally only seen in flight, when searching for oviposition sites.
forest patch, near a rubber plantation
"When I first came to this estate in 1889, this butterfly was plentiful on one field of tea. An adjoining chena was then cleared, and it entirely disappeared, and I never saw another specimen till August, 1915, when I took a male near Haldummulla kaddies. I have since obtained two more specimens from Haldummulla. I have never come across it in my travels, and the native collectors have never brought me a specimen, so it must be very rare, or local " - (Ormiston W., 1924) "This butterfly very occasional caught by a few of the Ceylonese catchers in Kandy, from September to March along the road to Kurunegala near Galagedara" (Woodhouse L.G.O., 1950) "Today the one of the rarest butterflies in the country, and among the few specimens in collections, very few are in perfect conditions. I saw it every year between 1952 and 1956 in a certain spot in the Uduwattakelle, but on subsequent visits have failed to see it" (d' Abrera B., 1998)
Spotted on Jan 3, 2015
Submitted on Jan 3, 2015
27 Comments (1–25)
Soo beautiful!
Patterns on it are pure Sri Lankan. Water and oil colours with collage. What a 3-D picture! Just beauty! Congrats on SOTD!
Congrats on the SOTD! Keep it up aiya!
Amazing subject and flawless photography!
Great spotting Nuwan,congrats on the SOTD and thanks for sharing
Great spotting! What a beautiful butterfly!
What a lovely creature! Looks like it is wearing furry boots!
AWESOME capture Nuwan.... Congrats
A great spotting - rare and beautiful ! I hope no one is after them for collections. Thanks for sharing this beauty Nuwan and Congratulations !!
Great find Nuwan!!! Congrats!!
Fantastic!
Cool butterfly, congrats Nuwan!
Congrats Nuwan....well deserved
Congrats Nuwan! It is a gorgeous shot!
Congrats and Happy New Year Nuwan!
Congratulations!!!:) Beautiful spotting
Thank you very much for SOTD, Yasser!
@Leana, induru malli, Viv, Sukanya, staccyh & Desmond.E.S.O - Thanks a lot!
Happy New Year Everyone!!!
Congrats, on SOTD Nuwan!
Congrats on sotd! :)
Congratulations, Nuwan.
Great spotting Nuwan .. congratulations on the SOTD!
Nuwan, you have earned your first Spotting of the Day for 2015 with this beautiful butterfly! I'm sure it will be the first of many again this year and we can't wait to see what you share next. Congrats again and here's to a wild and wonderful New Year!
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So beautiful; so fragile little creatures. We should protect each and every bit of LIFE. A perfect spot Nuwan aiya.
Beautiful!
Thank you Maria!
Thank you Marta!