25- inch Atlas butterfly wows Kodaikanal residents

On the scenic hill station locale of Kodaikanal, Nature seems to be at its best, even as the rest of the State is grappling with serious issues like the coronavirus pandemic. The tourist hotspot has been known to be a home to a wide variety of flora and fauna and has an impressive bio-diversity of birds, insects and animals.

Dinamani reports that the residents of a village Vilpatti in Kodaikanal surroundings saw a new variety of butterfly, a huge one with a distinct look and identity of its own. It was spotted in the house of a villager and attracted curious onlookers. The villagers saw it staying stationary at one place, unusual for a flying insect which is known for its colourful wings and movements. A few of them recounted that they had seen this kind of butterflies at the local Observatory and on the approach roads to the famed Kodaikanal lake.

Knowledgeable sources reveal that this kind of butterfly is called 'Atlas' butterfly and are among the large sized ones. They live only for short periods of time, it was made known.