First record of migration of dark cerulean butterfly, Jamides bochus stoll, 1782 (Lepidoptera: Lycaenidae) from Malabar wildlife Sanctuary, Kerala, Southern Western Ghats

Dark Cerulean Jamides bochus (Stoll) is a widely distributed species reported from India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bhutan, and Bangladesh (Khehimkar, 2008). This butterfly is also seen almost all over India, except the Northeast (Kunte, 2000). The butterflies were also previously reported to migrate in Nilgiris (Larsen, 1987); its migration was reported from the east of the Kotagiri hills in the late 1950s. Migration of this butterfly is also reported from the Vaguvare region of Eravikulam National Park (Palot, 2012). Wiliams (1938) in his report ‘Migration of butterflies in India’ did not mention this species, a study on migratory butterflies of Western Ghats by Palot (2010) also did not mention this butterfly. There has been no previous report of migration of Dark Cerulean Jamides bochus (Stoll) from Malabar wildlife sanctuary and this short communication reports the first record of migration of J. bochus from the region.