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Idea Jasonia
The Ceylon tree nymph (''Idea iasonia'') is a species of nymphalid butterfly in the subfamily Danainae. It is endemic to Sri Lanka. First described by John Westwood in 1848, the Ceylon tree nymph can be found in both wet and dry zones of Sri Lanka. It is the largest member of the family Danaidae in that country. It is listed as a near threatened species in the IUCN Red List. Taxonomy The species was first described by English entomologist John O. Westwood in 1848, as ''Hestia iasonia''. For several years it was considered to be only an island race of '' I. lynceus'', a species found in eastern Asia. However the two species have differences in their wing shapes and in the male genitalia. It is of the genus ''Idea'', and belongs to the subfamily Danainae of the family Nymphalidae. Its binomial name is ''Idea iasonia''. Description The Ceylon tree nymph has a wingspan of 110–155 mm, making it the largest member of the family Danaidae in Sri Lanka. Both its wings have si ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Robert Templeton
Robert Templeton (12 December 1802 – 2 June 1892) was a naturalist, artist, and entomologist, and was born at Cranmore House, Belfast, Ireland. Life and work Robert Templeton was the son of John Templeton, and was educated in Belfast Academical Institution, which was in part his father's creation. In 1821 he left Ireland for Edinburgh, Scotland to study medicine and following graduation practised in the University hospital. In the same year he became a Member of the Belfast Natural History Society. In 1833 (6 May) he was commissioned as Assistant Surgeon in the Royal Artillery, initially stationed at the Royal Artillery Barracks, Woolwich, close to London, England. In 1834, Templeton was stationed to Mauritius and in 1835 to Rio de Janeiro and Recife. From Rio (1835) he took ship to Colombo, Ceylon, ''via'' the Cape of Good Hope and in this year became a Corresponding Member of the Zoological Society of London. A brief sojourn in Ceylon was followed by a stay in Mal ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sri Lanka Lowland Rain Forests
The Sri Lanka lowland rain forests represents Sri Lanka's Tropical rainforests below in elevation in the southwestern part of the island. The year-around warm, wet climate together with thousands years of isolation from mainland India have resulted in the evolution of numerous plants and animal species that can only be found in rain forests in Sri Lanka. The thick forest canopy is made up of over 150 species of trees, some of the emergent layer reaching as high as . The lowland rain forests accounts for 2.14 percent of Sri Lanka's land area. This ecoregion is the home of the jungle shrew, a small endemic mammal of Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka has the highest density of amphibian species worldwide. Many of these, including 250 species of tree frogs, live in these rain forests. Forest cover The lowland rain forests cover in total and accounts for 2.14 percent of Sri Lanka's land area. Wet monsoon forests receive of annual rainfall and are situated belove of altitude. Kanneliya, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Butterflies Of Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka is home to 245 species of butterflies with 23 of these being endemic to the island. Of the 245 species, 76, are listed as threatened nationally, while Ceylon Rose is designated as critically endangered. General description The majority of species are found in the foothills (up to elevation). A much smaller number of species are found above , while 20 species of butterfly are restricted to the low lying dry zone (below elevation). The number of butterflies peaks in two seasons during the year. The first of these is during the Southwestern monsoon in the months of March to April. The second is during the Northeastern monsoon which continues from September to October. Within Sri Lanka, thlatest revision of lepidopteransdescribed 1903 species with 58 families of butterflies and moths. Out of these 1903 species, 208 species are butterflies and 1695 species are moths. The family-wise number of butterfly species are : History of studies on butterflies The first s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Idea (butterfly)
''Idea'' is a genus of butterflies known as tree nymphs or paper butterflies. The member species are concentrated around South-East Asia. See ''Sevenia'' for the genus of African tree nymphs. Species Listed alphabetically: at Markku Savela's ''Lepidoptera and Some Other Life Forms'' *'' I. agamarschana'' (C. & R. Felder, – Andaman tree-nymph *'' I. blanchardi'' Marchal, 1845 – black-trimmed rice paper *'' [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sinharaja Forest Reserve
Sinharaja Forest Reserve is a forest reserve and a biodiversity hotspot in Sri Lanka. It is of international significance and has been designated a Biosphere Reserve and World Heritage Site by UNESCO. According to International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), Sinharaja is the country's last viable area of primary tropical rainforest. More than 60% of the trees are endemic and many of them are considered rare. 50% of Sri Lankan's endemics species of animals (especially butterfly, amphibians, birds, snakes and fish species). It is home to 95% endemic birds. The hilly virgin rainforest, part of the Sri Lanka lowland rain forests ecoregion, was saved from the worst of commercial logging by its inaccessibility, and was designated a World Biosphere Reserve in 1978 and a World Heritage Site in 1988. Because of the dense vegetation, wildlife is not as easily seen as at dry-zone national parks such as Yala. There are about 3 elephants, and 15 or so leopards. The most common l ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lionel De Nicéville
Charles Lionel Augustus de Nicéville (1852 in Bristol – 3 December 1901 in Calcutta from malaria) was a curator at the Indian Museum in Calcutta (now Kolkata). He studied the butterflies of the Indian Subcontinent and wrote a three volume monograph on the butterflies of India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Burma and Sri Lanka. He also studied the mantids of the Oriental region. Biography Born in a noble Huguenot family, his father was a physician. He was educated at St. John's College at Hurstpierpoint near Brighton.Rao, BR Subba (1998) ''History of entomology in India''. Institution of Agricultural Technologist, Bangalore. Leaving England for India in 1870, de Nicéville became a clerk in a government office (Calcutta Small Cause Court) but from at least 1881, devoted all of his spare time to entomology. He worked with most 'Indian' entomologists of the day but especially with Henry John Elwes, Taylor, Wood–Mason, Martin and Marshall. At this time, he made several trips to Sikkim. In ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hair-pencil
Hair-pencils and coremata are pheromone signaling structures present in lepidopteran males. Males use hair-pencils in courtship behaviors with females. The pheromones they excrete serve as both aphrodisiacs and tranquilizers to females as well as repellents to conspecific males.Hillier, N., & Vickers, N. (2004). The Role of Heliothine Hair-pencil Compounds in Female Heliothis virescens (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) Behavior and Mate Acceptance. ''Chemical Senses'', 6 (29), 499-511. Hair-pencil glands are stored inside the male until courtship begins, at which point they are forced out of the body by sclerotized levers present on the abdomen.Birch, M. C., & Poppy, G. M. (1990). Scents and Eversible Scent Structures of Male Moths. ''Annual review of Entomology'' (35), 25-58. Coremata (the singular form being corema) are very similar structures. Their exact definition is confused by early descriptions but they are more specifically defined as the internal, glandular, eversible structures ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pheromones
A pheromone () is a secreted or excreted chemical factor that triggers a social response in members of the same species. Pheromones are chemicals capable of acting like hormones outside the body of the secreting individual, to affect the behavior of the receiving individuals. There are ''alarm pheromones'', ''food trail pheromones'', ''sex pheromones'', and many others that affect behavior or physiology. Pheromones are used by many organisms, from basic unicellular prokaryotes to complex multicellular eukaryotes. Their use among insects has been particularly well documented. In addition, some vertebrates, plants and ciliates communicate by using pheromones. The ecological functions and evolution of pheromones are a major topic of research in the field of chemical ecology. Background The portmanteau word "pheromone" was coined by Peter Karlson and Martin Lüscher in 1959, based on the Greek φερω ''pheroo'' ('I carry') and ὁρμων ''hormon'' ('stimulating'). Pheromones ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mating
In biology, mating is the pairing of either opposite-sex or hermaphroditic organisms for the purposes of sexual reproduction. ''Fertilization'' is the fusion of two gametes. ''Copulation'' is the union of the sex organs of two sexually reproducing animals for insemination and subsequent internal fertilization. Mating may also lead to external fertilization, as seen in amphibians, fishes and plants. For most species, mating is between two individuals of opposite sexes. However, for some hermaphroditic species, copulation is not required because the parent organism is capable of self-fertilization (autogamy); for example, banana slugs. The term ''mating'' is also applied to related processes in bacteria, archaea and viruses. Mating in these cases involves the pairing of individuals, accompanied by the pairing of their homologous chromosomes and then exchange of genomic information leading to formation of recombinant progeny (see mating systems). Animals For animals, mating ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sri Lanka Dry-zone Dry Evergreen Forests
The Sri Lanka dry-zone dry evergreen forests are a tropical dry broadleaf forest ecoregion of the island of Sri Lanka. Geography The ecoregion covers an area of , about 75%, of the island of Sri Lanka, with the exception of the islands' southwestern corner and Central Highlands, home to the Sri Lanka lowland rain forests and Sri Lanka montane rain forests ecoregions, respectively, and the northern Jaffna Peninsula, which is part of the Deccan thorn scrub forests ecoregion. The topography is generally low, and the landscape is dotted with isolated inselbergs. The highest of these inselbergs is Ritigala (766 meters), which lies north of the Central Highlands. Climate The ecoregion receives 1500–2000 mm of rainfall annually. Most rain falls during the December-to-March northeast monsoon season, and it is mostly dry the rest of the year. Flora The ecoregion has several plant communities. * Mixed dry evergreen forest is the most widespread plant community. ''Manilkara h ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Endemism
Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsewhere. For example, the Cape sugarbird is found exclusively in southwestern South Africa and is therefore said to be ''endemic'' to that particular part of the world. An endemic species can be also be referred to as an ''endemism'' or in scientific literature as an ''endemite''. For example '' Cytisus aeolicus'' is an endemite of the Italian flora. '' Adzharia renschi'' was once believed to be an endemite of the Caucasus, but it was later discovered to be a non-indigenous species from South America belonging to a different genus. The extreme opposite of an endemic species is one with a cosmopolitan distribution, having a global or widespread range. A rare alternative term for a species that is endemic is "precinctive", which applies to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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