Behaviour of some selected butterflies and its influence on nutritional and medicinal values of host plants

Abstract

An attempt was made to investigate entitled “Behaviour of some selected butterflies and its influence on nutritional and medicinal values of host plants” in both field and laboratory conditions. To establish Butterfly Research Park through butterfly colonization, the developmental process and survival rate of butterfly related host plants and nectar plants were examined. The dynamism of butterfly population in relation to nectar plants and behavioural patterns of butterfly, viz. foraging, mating, egg laying, resting, searching and puddling in relation to population dynamics were observed. The effect of abiotic and biotic factors on the butterfly abundance, species richness, species diversity in the forest ecosystems were also studied and recorded. To study the biology of Danaus chrysippus butterfly in relation to larval host plants and adult nectar plants, ovipositional behavior, length variation, feeding potential and weight of excreta of different larval stages of D. chrysippus were observed in both field and laboratory experiments. The utilization of nectar plants by visits of D. chrysippus as nutritional requirements for their development were also recorded during the experimentation. To study biotic interaction between Pachliopta aristolochiae butterfly and its related host plants, successive development of the host plants, Aristolochia indica and A. tagala, egg laying strategy, host plant utilization by larvae as nutritional sources and pupation strategy were examined in the field. Length variation, feeding potentiality of larvae and weight of larval excreta were analyzed in laboratory experiment. Different behavioural strategies of P. aristolochiae butterfly, viz. foraging, mating, egg laying, resting, searching and puddling in relation to population fluctuation were also studied and recorded in the experimental field. To detect the medicinal values of butterfly related host plants through butterfly behavioural activities, different partitionates of leaves extract of the host plant, Aristolochia tagala i.e. Tert-butyl-1-hydroxytoluene (BHT), Ascorbic acid (AA), Methanolic extract (ME), Petroleum ether (PE), Carbon tetrachloride soluble (CTE), Chloroform soluble (CHE) and Aqueous soluble partitionate (AQE) were analyzed for free radical scavenging activity (antioxidant), brine shrimp lethal bioassay (toxicity) and antimicrobial activity. Here, tertbutyl-1-hydroxytoluene (BHT) and ascorbic acid (ASA) were used as reference standard.