Common Evening Brown or Melantis leda

Butterflies in the order Lepidoptera belonging to one of the super families of Hesperioidea and Papilionoidea. These insects are remarkable for their striking colours and beautiful patterns on their wings.

Common Evening Brown or Melantis leda belongs to the Satyrinae sub family of Nymphalidae family of butterflies. This butterfly is commonly found all over India, except in the arid northwest region.

The upper side of the butterfly is normally dull dark brown. The forewing has 2 black ocelli (mimicking eye spots) with white pupils. The hind wings have 3 ocelli, a little more prominent. The underside is paler, densely covered with transverse dark brown stripes.

This butterfly is more active at dawn and just before dusk. It is also seen that they enter houses at night times. Evening Browns are weak fliers. Though they visit flowers, they are fonder of over ripe fruits, tree sap and toddy. Sometimes, a good number of them can be seen around tapped palm trees.

Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Malaysia, the Philippines, Mauritius, Madagascar, Korea, Japan, Africa, Australia, Southern Arabia and the Bismarck Islands are some other places where Common evening Browns are found.