Tawny Coster Butterfly

Tawny Coster (Acraea violae) is a medium sized reddish brown butterfly found in the heavy rainfall areas of south India. The wingspan is about 4 to 5cm.

Black spots and small markings are seen on the upperparts of the body. A marginal band (black in colour) that presents on the upper side has small white spots, while the band on the underside is much wider and carries large white spots. Tawny Coster flies very slowly and flaps its wings irregularly. It is fond of flowers of land-caltrops, lantana, Chinese chaste tree, tall chaste tree and monk's pepper tree.