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EDITOR IN CHIEF- ABDULLAH BIN SALIM AL SHUEILI

Rare butterfly, the Blue Tiger, back in Oman after 37 years

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The Blue Tiger Butterfly, known for its migration in many countries in the Indian subcontinent, has returned to the Sultanate after 37 years.


Researchers have spotted the Blue Tiger, known as Tirumala limniace, during July and August 2020, on four separate occasions in Manah, Al Wafi, Wadi Bani Awf and Wadi Bani Kharus.


According to a scientific paper, the individual butterflies appeared fresh, with the exception of one of the females from Manah  which, although notably worn, clearly exhibits the phenotype of subspecies Tirumala limniace exoticus.


“The Tirumala limniace, is recorded from Oman for the second time. This Oriental Region milkweed butterfly was observed at four separate locations to the south and west of Muscat during late July and August 2020”, says a report quoting a research that appeared in the April issue of ResearchGate.


The research report uploaded by Ali Al Abduallah Jahdhami deals with the geographical range and infra-specific taxonomy of this butterfly and also assesses its potential larval host-plants with respect to the Oman flora.


According to the report, which has comments on its taxonomy, host plants and local dispersal by Al Jahdhami, Ali Khalfan al Wahahibi, Ali Ahmed Al Raeesi and Richard, all the locations at which Blue Tigers were seen were agricultural sites, traditional plantations of date palms.


“The only previous record for Oman, from Masirah Island in August 1983, has been associated with a tropical cyclone thought to have blown migrating Tirumala limniace and other insects off course from the Gujarat region of north-west India,” the report reveals.


In most years, Oman is affected by storms and monsoon rains coming from India and Pakistan during May to August. In 2020 a strong storm that apparently originated in the Arabian Sea off the west coast of India seriously affected Dhofar at the end of May.


Butterfly experts say the whole life cycle of Tirumala limniace exoticus in the Eastern Ghats, south India, takes as little as 21-28 days.


Adults of this species in India often live for more than 60 days. So, it is possible that, if Tirumala limniace exoticus somehow reached Oman from India in June or even early July 2020 in sufficient numbers to breed locally, then the butterflies now reported for July 23 to August 4 could be the result.


Those reported on August 21 could also have bred locally from earlier arrivals, or were perhaps transported by the storm of August 8.


The report reveals that none of the records were by a regular visitor to any of the sites (it was not possible to visit these areas before July due to coronavirus restrictions) —  but all live locally to the respective sites and specialise in insect photography, and they did not observe any Blue Tigers before July.


“Although this does not rule out the possibility of earlier arrival and local breeding, it perhaps makes it less likely. Even so, it has been pointed out to us that the most northerly section of the Hajar Mountains, in the United Arab Emirates, received exceptional winter rains during 2019–2020,” the report adds.


To translocate migrating Tirumala from India or Pakistan, winds have to be sufficiently strong to deflect the butterflies from their chosen path.


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