Common Tiger

A Common Tiger photographed in Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka

The Common Tiger is a member of the danainae family of butterflies and is found throughout Sri Lanka, India, Burma and extending to South East Asia and Australia. These butterflies look very similar to the Monarch butterfly found in the Americas.  More images and info after the jump.

A Common Tiger photographed in Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka

The Common Tiger has a wingspan of around 75 - 95mm and both sexes have tawny wings with veins marked with broad black bands. Females of this species have a pouch on their hind wings while males have a prominent black and white spot on the underside of their hind wings. In drier areas the tawny part of the butterflies hindwing is paler in colour and resembles a White Tiger.

A Common Tiger photographed in Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka

This butterfly can usually be found in scrub jungles, fallowland and dry and moist deciduous forests, referring areas with moderate to heavy rainfall. The Common Tiger is a strong flier and it never flies rapidly or high. However it has stronger and faster strokes than the Plain Tiger.

A Common Tiger photographed in Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka

Members of this family are leathery, tough to kill and fake death. They are unpleasant to smell and taste and, as a result, they are soon released by the predators. They also gather toxins from some of the plants they feed on. In order to advertise their unpalatability, they are brightly coloured and have bold markings.

These images were captured with a Canon 7D and the 100-400mm lens.

Glassy Tiger

The Glassy Tiger is a common butterfly found at an altitude of up to 5000 feet, over most of the island. More info on the butterfly and the image inside.

Click here for techs.

With a wingspan of 65-80mm it is the slowest of the Danaids. It spends much of its time between 5 and 10 feet and rarely flies up into the canopy. It is the most shade loving of all the Danaids and is frequently seen nectaring on flowers in the undergrowth. It has a chemical defense that protects it against predators. When handled, it plays dead and emits a foul smelling substance. The sexes are similar.

The male has scent patches on the hind wing. The pouch shaped patch on vein 1 is larger than the pouch on vein 2. Both are more swollen and visible on the underside than on the upper side. The markings on the Glassy Tiger are uniformly grey. It is also the smallest butterfly in the group.

The Glassy Tiger is similar to the Blue Tiger, Dark Blue Tiger, Female Dark Wanderer and the Common Mime.

The fact that it is slow in flight probably helped me when it came to capturing the image above. I followed it as it settled on a number of different flowers until I finally got the shot I was after. I used the 100-400mm lens for this and therefore I didn't have to get too close to it. I came across this butterfly in the middle of the afternoon which is probably the worst time to photograph Butterflies. The best time to photograph them is early morning before they "warm up" in the sun and become more active. Make sure that your shadow does not fall on the subject when you approach it as that tends to disturb them.

I've got more shots of this butterfly at http://devwijewardane.blogspot.com/2010/04/glassy-tiger.html