Akila Weerakoon
Research Scientist/SLWCS

The work on the Butterfly Sanctuary is progressing well. Seventy five percent of the invasive Ipil Ipil (Leucaena leucocephala) has been removed and the balance 25 percent will be removed by the end of April.

A pond has been dug and it’s now in the process of having the banks shaped and filled with natural mud to make it waterproof.

The first batch of host plants has been planted. The selection, procurement and planting of the second batch of host plants are in the planning stages.

Fifty percent of the footpaths had also being completed. This is taking a bit longer since we are making sure these paths do not intrude into butterfly habitats. The footpaths are laid in a manner to provide the least intrusive access to observe butterflies without disturbing them. An irrigation system to keep the sanctuary irrigated during the dry season is being installed and will be also completed by the end of April.

Documenting of species both plants and butterflies is ongoing. We are very excited to record another additional butterfly species, the Dark Wanderer (Pareronia ceylanica ceylanica) belonging to the family Pieridae now present in the Butterfly Sanctuary. This brings our current list of recorded butterflies to 18 species since we started work on the Butterfly Sanctuary.

We have identified twenty four species of host plants but this not a complete list by any means. The identifying of existing host plants as well planting new host plant species is ongoing. This is a current list of host plants that are in the sanctuary that have been identified.

• Chick Weed (Ageratum conyzoides)
• Siam Weed (Chromolaena odorata)
• Yellow Bauhinia (Commelina benghalensis)
• Benghal Dayflower (Commelina benghalensis)
• Touch-me-not (Mimosa pudica)
• Nees (Dipteracanthus prostrates)
• Wild-Sage (Lantana camara)
• Wild Hibiscus (Hibiscus furcatus)
• American Mint (Hyptis suaveolens)
• Wild Indigo (Tephrosia purpurea)
• Common Wireweed (Sida acuta)
• Smooth Rattle Box (Crotalaria pallid)
• Indian Marshweed (Hewittia sublobata)
• Jackal Jujube (Ziziphus oenoplia)
• Coat Buttons (Tridax procumbens)
• Mexican clover (Richardia brasiliensis)
• Musk Basil (Basilicum polystachyon)
• Charcoal Tree (Trema orientalis)
• Indian Snow Berry (Flueggea leucopyrus)
• Nodeweed (Synedrella nodiflora)
• Tiny Flower Hibiscus (Hibiscus micranthus)
• Coinwort Indigo (Indigofera nummulariifolia)
• Ceylon Caper (Capparis zeylanica)
• Dwarf Morning Glory (Evolvulus alsinoides)

We would like to say a sincere thank you to Spa Ceylon for supporting the Butterfly Conservation Project, Dr. Michael and Nancy van der Poorten for their invaluable advice, knowledge and guidance and to our volunteers for their support to our wildlife research and conservation efforts.

Dr. George Michael van der Poorten and Nancy van der Poorten have two recent publications on the butterflies of Sri Lanka which we highly recommend:

The Butterfly Fauna of Sri Lanka (2016)
Field Guide to the Butterflies of Sri Lanka (2018)

The books are available at all leading bookshops in Colombo and online at: http://lepodonbooks.com/

Please stay alert for further updates on the progress of our Sri Lanka Butterfly Conservation Project.

Big, rumbling thanks to our Corporate Partners for their kind support and to everyone who has donated and supported our wildlife conservation efforts!
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Photo Credits:

Akila Weerakoon/SLWCS
Ravi Corea/SLWCS
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