Taractrocera ceramas (Hewitson, 1868) - Tawny-spotted Grass Dart

Subspecies in India

No subspecies are listed under this species (further notes under Taxonomic Information).

Taxonomic Information

Widespread variation in spotting pattern seen in this species has erroneously been described in the past as subspecies. "Three subspecies names are commonly listed in literature: Taractrocera ceramas media Evans, 1934, Taractrocera ceramas nicevillei Watson, 1893, and Taractrocera ceramas oberthueri Elwes & Edwards, 1897 (Evans 1949). We treat them as infrasubspecific variation as there is no geographic separation between these presumed subspecies. We treat the NE Indian and N. Myanmarese taxon as a distinct species, Taractrocera atropunctata Watson, 1896 based on differences in the male genitalia." (Nitin et al. 2018).

This species is also known as the Tamil Grass Dart.

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 Pradesh
Arunachal Pradesh
Assam
Bihar
Chandigarh
Chhattisgarh
Dadra & Nagar Haveli UT
Daman & Diu UT
Delhi
Goa2
Gujarat
Haryana
Himachal Pradesh
Jammu and Kashmir UT
Jharkhand
Karnataka2632223442
Kerala121197259141011
Ladakh UT
Lakshadweep
Madhya Pradesh
Maharashtra26203911
Manipur
Meghalaya
Mizoram
Nagaland
Odisha
Puducherry UT
Punjab
Rajasthan
Sikkim
Tamil Nadu1
Tripura
Uttar Pradesh
Uttarakhand
West Bengal
Total123641111102854301211

Axonopus compressus, Imperata cylindrica, Miscanthus sinensis, Oplismenus compositus, Oryza sativa (Poaceae).

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(4): 11495–11550.

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

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.

Page citation

Kunte, K., and Saji K. 2024. Taractrocera ceramas (Hewitson, 1868) – Tawny-spotted Grass Dart. 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/taractrocera-ceramas, accessed 2024/11/10.