Common Gull

Description:

These butterflies like to settle in swarms and it takes part in huge migrations and In the low country this species, in the company of other pierids and some papilionids, may be commonly encountered at seepage, damp sand and mud puddles on very hot and dry days. It has a flight which is moderately fast flying in a zigzag path with a continuous flapping of its wings and keeps relatively low to the ground. Its flight is also distinctive, crisp and vigorous with a constant flapping of wings. Its flight has a flicking sound which is heard when it’s extra busy in its short ascents and descents, trying to muscle in amongst its fellows congregated around a mud puddle. It moves through dense scrub quite well, though it often goes around thickets or simply flies over them, keeping a uniform distance between itself and the foliage. When it settles to nectar in its wanderings, it keeps its wings slightly open and often hangs on the flower or sits at an incline. It is often found in the company of other 'Whites' such as the Yellow and White Orange Tips, the Pioneer and the Striped Albatross, which all share the same habitat. Like them, it is attracted to wet gravel or the edges of drying up pools on river beds, especially during hot weather. Worn-out individuals of The Pioneer look similar in flight with this particular species. However, once settled, it is not difficult to tell them apart.

Habitat:

It is a common species, widely distributed almost in the whole island and an insect of the scrub jungles of the intermediate, dry and arid zones. But it mostly prefers open spaces in the Low country zone and is found up to 1500 feet in elevation. It is commonest during the pre-monsoon period and is sometimes seen in the hills during migrations. At those times these butterflies can be even encountered at elevations of over 6 000 feet. Although it joins migratory flights, it is not a nuclear species.

Notes:

The larval host plants are Capparis spp.; such as Capparis zeylanica and Capparis sepiara.