Southern duffer butterfly recorded in Upper Nilgiris slopes after over 30 years

The rare butterfly is endemic to the Western Ghats and Sri Lanka; its first record in the Nilgiris was in 1888

A rarely-seen species of butterfly, Discophora lepida, known commonly as the southern duffer, was recorded in the higher elevations of the Nilgiris, after more than three decades, by researchers recently.

The butterfly, endemic to the Western Ghats and Sri Lanka, is protected under the Wildlife Protection Act, and was recorded in Coonoor. The record of the butterfly was published in the Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society.