Ariadne merione (Cramer, [1777]) - Common Castor

Subspecies in India

(1) Ariadne merione merione (Cramer, [1777]) – Dakhan Common Castor
(2) Ariadne merione tapestrina (Moore, 1884) – Intricate Common Castor

Conservation and Special status

This species is not legally protected in India under any schedules of WildLife (Protection) Act, 1972.

Photo Gallery and Species Biology

StateJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecNo date
Andaman and Nicobar Islands UT
Andhra Pradesh11124121
Arunachal Pradesh1111
Assam11132
Bihar
Chandigarh11
Chhattisgarh21121446
Dadra & Nagar Haveli UT
Daman & Diu UT
Delhi4241395
Goa
Gujarat217
Haryana
Himachal Pradesh1
Jammu and Kashmir UT11
Jharkhand
Karnataka157582101986121419
Kerala1244310137
Ladakh UT
Lakshadweep
Madhya Pradesh1111221
Maharashtra8533292128443919
Manipur1
Meghalaya
Mizoram1
Nagaland111
Odisha
Puducherry UT
Punjab21
Rajasthan1
Sikkim11111
Tamil Nadu21123
Tripura13116
Uttar Pradesh117643
Uttarakhand31912441
West Bengal9345113107
Total381626291817505091889465

Ricinus communis, Tragia hispida, Tragia involucrata, Tragia plukenetii, Tragia praetervisa (Euphorbiaceae). Recently, Tragia praetervisa has been recorded as a new larval host plant by Nitin Kawthankar from Pal, Vengurla Taluka, Sindhudurg District, Maharashtra.

Key Reference: Nitin, R., V. C. Balakrishnan, P. V. Churi, S. Kalesh, S. Prakash, and K. Kunte. 2018. Larval host plants of the butterflies of the Western Ghats, India. Journal of Threatened Taxa, 10:11495–11550.

For the complete list of larval host plants of Indian butterflies, see the page on larval host plants.

Page citation

Saji K., H. Ogale, V. Jathar, T. Bhagwat, M. Konwar, N. Ravikanthachari, S. Debnath, N. Kawthankar, and K. Kunte 2023. Ariadne merione (Cramer, [1777]) – Common Castor. In Kunte, K., S. Sondhi, and P. Roy (Chief Editors). Butterflies of India, v. 4.12. Published by the Indian Foundation for Butterflies. URL: https://www.ifoundbutterflies.org/ariadne-merione, accessed 2023/12/01.