For more than twelve years ANM Aminur Rahman, a bird and wildlife breeding and veterinary specialist at Gazipur Agricultural University, searched Lawachhara, Satchhari, Rema-Kalenga, Adampur, Kaptai and Hazarikhil for one butterfly. He finally found it at Madhabkunda in Barlekha, Moulvibazar, and tells the story in Prothom Alo.
On 15 December 2023 his guide, Rasel Debbarma, pointed it out at Madhabkunda, but it flew off before he could press the shutter. He went back on 28 November 2025. Returning to Porikunda before noon, his companion Iqbal Babu called out that the butterfly was sitting on the ground. The restless insect took three minutes to photograph; that day he recorded ten butterfly species new to him.
The butterfly is the Common Map, or Mapwing, endangered in Bangladesh, known locally as "mohi simanta" and in West Bengal as "kagoji". A member of the Nymphalidae, its scientific name is Cyrestis thyodamas. The fine lines across its wings resemble the latitude, longitude and boundary lines of a map, hence the name. It also occurs across South and Southeast Asia and in Japan.
It is medium-sized, with a wingspan of 50 to 60 mm. The semi-transparent white wings carry irregular, wavy dark brown or black lines lengthwise and small orange-and-black eyespots near the edges. The male's underside is pale white; the female's is pale yellowish with black veins.
It lives in cool, humid, shady forest: near waterfalls, rocky streams and damp trails in the mixed evergreen forests of Sylhet and Chattogram divisions. It flies slowly, gliding like a kite, settles near water and takes little interest in flowers.
It can breed all year. The female lays a single dome-shaped egg on the underside of leaves of banyan, fig, peepal and related trees. The caterpillar hatches in 3 to 5 days, moults five times over 12 to 18 days and pupates; the adult emerges 7 to 10 days later and lives 2 to 4 weeks. Depending on temperature and climate, the whole cycle takes 6 to 10 weeks.
Photo: Vinayaraj / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Source: Prothom Alo
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