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Plain tiger [Danaus chrysippus]

Flora & Fauna

This butterfly is also known as the African queen or African monarch. According to Wikipedia, “The plain tiger is believed to be one of the first butterflies depicted in art. A 3500-year-old ancient Egyptian fresco in Luxor features the oldest known illustration of this species.” According to Wikipedia, “Members of this genus are leathery, tough to kill and fake death. Since they are unpleasant to smell and taste, they are soon released by the predators, recover and fly off soon thereafter.” The butterfly is known to sequester toxins from plants such as those from the Milkweed family. This serves as a defense mechanism against predators.

Collection:
Nature Collection
Photograph ID:
001/0383/0009
Album ID:
Photographer:
Mymoon Moghul was born and brought up in the IIT Madras campus. She did her schooling at Kendriya Vidyalaya, IIT Madras. Mymoon Moghul graduated from Quaid-e-Millat Govt. College for Women, Chennai with a degree in zoology. Following this, she completed her post-graduation in Library and Information Science and Psychology. In 2001, Mymoon attained a doctorate in the field of scientometrics. She has been working as a library professional since 1986. Since 1993, she has been working at the CSIR-Structural Engineering Research Centre, Chennai. She is a passionate wildlife photographer.

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