The migration of butterflies ahead of monsoon from Eastern ghats to Western Ghats has begun.
Nature enthusiasts said butterflies would migrate from Western Ghats to Eastern Ghats and its plains ahead of Southwest monsoon between April and June, and before Northeast monsoon, butterflies would migrate from Eastern Ghats to Western Ghats, between September and November.
However, enthusiasts noticed a change in usual migration pattern as butterflies were noticed to carry out migration earlier in the month of July and it ended by first week of August.
M. Elavarasan, a butterfly enthusiast, said, “the migration to Western Ghats generally occurs in between September and October but it happened earlier last year. This year a congregation of butterfly species like Common Crow, Double-Branded Crow, Blue Tigers, Emigrants and Lime were noticed in foothills of Yercaud, Kalvarayan Hills and Palamalai hills.”
N. Murugesh, a bird and butterfly enthusiast, said that migration of butterflies has also been reported from ranges in Erode and Thiruvanamalai ahead of usual period. Widespread rain during the month of July could have been the reason, he said. Nature enthusiasts appealed to motorists to drive carefully as butterflies get hit by speeding vehicles.