1. Small to Large size butterflies. Most are not brightly coloured
2. Forelegs modified in to brushes and are not suited for walking
3. Sex marks appear on the wings of most males,
- either as patches on the hindwing
- or one or two brands on the forewing
- or with sex brand patches on either fore or hind wing.
- in some Euploea males the dorsum of forewing bowed and in females it is straight
4. Most danaidae males have one or two pair of anal hair of pencils
5. Most of the members are model of 'mimetic' butterfly species of other families.
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Picture 02. - Appias sp aggregate on wet soil for mud sipping / mud puddling.Picture was taken at the riverbank of Kluganga - Pallegama (Knuckels range). |
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6. Poisonance and left alone by birds and other natural predators. Caterpillars feed on milkweeds store glycosides which make these species poisonous and emetic to many parasitoids and predators.
7. Danaids are extremly tuff and hard to kill
8. Take part in migration
9. Food plants belong to Asclepiadaceae, Apocynaceae, and Moraceae.
Family Danaidae in Sri Lanka
There are 12 species in Sri Lanka with two endemic species
Table. Number of Species from each genus
| Genus |
Group |
Number of Species |
Endemic |
| Euploea |
Crows |
4 |
|
| Danaus |
Tigers |
2 |
|
| Idea |
Tree Nymph |
1 |
1 |
| Ideopsis |
Tigers |
1 |
|
| Tirumala |
Tigers |
2 |
|
| Parantica |
Tigers |
2 |
1 |
Species Account
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