“It was sometime in 2015 while on a trek inside Siruvani that I first sighted this tawny butterfly,” recalls Sharan Venkatesh of the Rhopalocera and Odonata Association, a group formed to observe, record, and discuss butterflies in the mountains of Rajapalayam. “There were about half a dozen of them, mud-puddling near a brook. I mistook them for the common Plain Tiger and later learnt that it was a species called Tamil Yeoman,” he adds. “I was intrigued by the name. A few months later, I sighted the species again in Rajapalayam. There were hundreds swarming around the Ayyanar falls and some came and sat on my camera bag. It was the first week of June and the soil was moist from the monsoon drizzle. The sun was shining bright and it was the perfect time for butterflies.”

Tamil Nadu became the fifth State to declare a State butterfly and Tamil Yeoman bagged the distinction. “The medium-sized butterfly may not be considered very beautiful, but has many special attributes because of which it was chosen,” says Mohan Prasad of Coimbatore-based Act for Butterflies, an initiative that strives to educate people about the importance of butterflies and their conservation.

“One reason is the name. There are about five butterflies endemic to the Western Ghat that bear the prefix ‘Tamil’ in their names. But this particular species scored high as it is found in abundance across most parts of the State. Secondly, the word ‘yeoman’ is translated in Tamil as ‘maravan’, meaning warrior, which again gave the species an edge over the others,” says Mohan, who has documented over 312 butterfly species in the State. He has come out with a book on them in which he has also mapped 32 hotspots in Tamil Nadu where butterflies can be sighted in hundreds through the year.

“Another speciality of Tamil Yeoman is that the species, although endemic to the Western Ghats, can also be sighted in small numbers in the Eastern Ghats and in open country. Except for coastal areas, there are chances of sighting it in all other landscapes,” says Mohan. In 2014, the group of butterfly enthusiasts found the species even in Pachamalai in Tiruchi district, Kolli Hills in Namakkal, Yercaud in Salem and Sirumalai in Dindigul.

Tamil Nadu is the only State to choose a member of the Nymphalidae family, members of which are not considered attractive and colourful. Maharashtra (Blue Mormon), Kerala (Malabar Banded Peacock), Uttarakhand (Common Peacock) and Karnataka (Southern Birdwing), have chosen from Swallow Tails, which are usually big and beautiful with bold patterns. “Maharashtra’s State butterfly Blue Mormon is also considered a pest for some food plants. Tamil Yeoman however, feeds only on wild plants found in the Western Ghats,” adds Mohan.