Red Pierrot

Appearance

The butterfly has a wing span of 3 to 3.5 cm. The upper side of its wings are black except for a large orange portion of the lower edge of the hind wing.

On the underside, the forewing is white with black spots more toward the margin. The hind wing is very striking, it is white with black spots toward the base and the margin has a wide band of orange with white spots. There is a lot of variation found in the blacks spots on the hind wings.:''For a key to the terms used see Lepidopteran glossary''

Males and females. Upperside: black or brownish black, in fresh specimens in certain lights with a dull purplish flush. Fore wing: uniform, with a very slender thread-like edging of white to the costa. Hindwing: a large conspicuous orange-red patch on the posterior terminal half of the wing between the dorsum and vein 7; this patch does not extend quite to the termen but leaves a narrow edging of the black ground-colour which is produced inwards in short conical projections in interspaces 2 to 5. Cilia of both fore and hind wings chequered with black and white alternately. Underside: silvery white. Forewing: a quadrate spot on the discocellulars, a broad transverse discal band and the terminal third of the wing jet-black; the discal band is irregular, dislocated on vein 3, the posterior portion shifted inwards and joined onto the black area on the posterior terminal third of the wing by projections of black on the dorsum, along veins 3 and between veins 4 and 5; the black area on terminal third of the wing encloses a transverse postdiscal series of small round and a subterminal transversely near series of spots of the white ground-colour. Hind wing: two spots near base, a subbasal transverse series of three spots, a medial similar series of four somewhat elongate spots and a transverse short postdiscal bar between veins 4 and 6, jet-black ; terminal third of the wing above vein 7 jet-black, below that vein deep orange-red, the whole area medially traversed by a transverse curved series of round spots of the white ground-colour and margined outwardly by a series of transverse, very short and very slender lines of the same in the interspaces; anticiliary line black. Cilia of both fore and hind wings chequered as on the upperside; a short filamentous tail at apex of vein 2 black, tipped white. Antennae, head, thorax and abdomen black, shafts of the antennae ringed with white ; beneath: palpi, thorax and abdomen while.—Bingham, C. T., 1907

Status

They are widely distributed in peninsular India, and have been recorded from many localities in Maharashtra, Karnataka, Punjab, and Odisha. They are also found in the hilly regions of northeastern India and northern Myanmar. Studies suggest that they may be on the way to colonizing the foothills of the Himalayas due to changes in the habitat.

Habitat

They are found in semi-arid plains, degraded patches of evergreen patches, and semi-evergreen forest, gardens, hill stations and forests--in fact, wherever its food plant, ''Kalanchoe'', is abundant. It is found from the plains up to 8000 feet.

Food

The larval host plants are ''Kalanchoe laciniata'' and ''K. pinnata'' of the family ''Crassulaceae'' ; the latter host being a common garden plant. Adult butterflies have sometimes been seen to visit lichens. Studies suggest that they collect phenolic substances by scraping lichens.

Evolution

It is not a common butterfly, but near its food plant, ''Kalanchoe'', it is found in abundance and is gregarious in all its stages.