Larval Host Plant

Celaenorrhinus leucocera – Common Spotted Flat
Hypolimnas bolina – Great Eggfly
Hypolimnas misippus – Danaid Eggfly
Junonia iphita – Chocolate Pansy

Other notes

Natural History: A perennial spreading herb native to India, often cultivated in gardens for its attractive flowers. The flowers are funnel-shaped and white, yellow or purple in colour (Flowers of India, 2022).

Notes: This plant has been recorded as a new larval host for Hypolimnas bolina – Great Eggfly by Priyanka Kumari from Mumbai, Maharashtra in 2020.

References:

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(4): 11495–11550. [DOI]

Mohite, K., U. Pawar, A. Mamlayya, N. Desai and V. Kakulte. 2022. Development of Junonia iphita cramer (Nyphalidae: Lepidoptera) on new larval food plant Asystasia gangetica (L.) T. anderson. International Journal of Entomology Research, 7(3): 115-117. [link]

Robinson, G.S., P.R. Ackery, I. Kitching, G.W. Beccaloni, and L.M. Hernández. (2023). HOSTS - a Database of the World's Lepidopteran Hostplants. Natural History Museum. [DOI]

Flowers of India (2023): Ganges Primrose. Accessed on: 31 Jul 2023. [URL]

WFO (2023): Asystasia gangetica (L.) T.Anderson. Accessed on: 31 Jul 2023. [URL]

Page citation

Kumari, P. and N. Kawthankar. 2025. Asystasia gangetica (L.) T. Anderson – Ganges Primrose. 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/asystasia-gangetica, accessed 2025/05/21.