Butterfly Park Pune (Published Article)

The monsoon is such a beautiful time of the year, when verdure covers every tiny inch of ground. We are greeted with the sight of green grass everywhere often freshly washed with rain, many times with some drops still nestling on the blades. Wildflowers bloom in abundance and there are butterflies everywhere. Nowhere though, is such a plethora of butterflies to be found in Pune, as in the Butterfly Park in Aranyeshwar. This exquisite garden is a retreat that has been designed aesthetically, keeping both beauty and serenity in mind. Close to Aranyeshwar Mandir, as well as the beautiful Vasantrao Eknath Bagul Nullah Park, this garden covers about an acre of ground and has two netted enclosures. A curving red earth path adds a touch of contrast to the verdant flora. The park is bordered on the right by tall silver oak trees, while a large shady neem stands at its centre. Among the many scattered benches one in particular, waits invitingly under the neem, before which grows an absolute floral feast. Sitting on this bench one can enjoy the magnificent hues of a variety of flowers rich in nectar, while watching the butterflies fly among them. In the trees above, the birds sing and call, and the very air breathes of tranquility.

The park contains a diversity of plants which are used for both nectar and feeding. Its two enclosures contain a veritable tropical jungle, meandering paths and even a small wooden bridge. Bright red flowers like the bird of paradise peep through the lush foliage of a wide assortment of plants. Butterflies flutter and flit everywhere, settling for split seconds on some flower only to fly off again. Many of the flowers favoured by butterflies like the attractive pink cosmos, the purple verbena, different coloured zinnias, ixora, (Flame of the woods, Jungle geranium), bright gold marigolds, pentas (Egyptian star cluster), asclepias(milk weeds), porterweed, multi coloured lantana etc, bloom here in vivid profusion. Porterweed has several small, blue flowers borne on green, quill-like spikes. The flowers last for just one day.

Despite the wide variety of flora the butterflies sometimes seem more partial to the lantana in all its glorious hues, over the other flowers. The lantana flowers range from deep red and yellow to the prettiest pale pastel shades. The pastel ones are larger than the normal lantana we often find, growing as wild hedges on the roadsides. There is a large assortment of feeding plants found here too, like the ashok, nerium (oleander), the sweetly fragrant michelia champaka, calotropis (rui), bryophyllum, passion flower, white and red hibiscus (shoe flower), butterfly weed etc.

A duranta plant also blooms here with its tiny blue flowers. Duranta is popularly called honey drops or golden dewdrop because of its golden yellow berries hanging in thick clusters. Though very attractive to butterflies, like some other plants, parts of the duranta are toxic as are those of nerium and lantana, and it is better to keep children away from them.

There are ambitious plans for the park, it is scheduled to have 500 to 700 varieties of butterflies, but right now there are only a few varieties like the Common Crow which is easy to identify with its black colour, marked with white. It usually glides around in leisurely flight. The swift flying, Tailed Jay, with apple green marks on a black background, barely ever stays still and is another butterfly that is present in large numbers. The yellow, orange, black and white Striped Tiger is another beautiful butterfly. Common Jezebels with their yellow and orange backs with prominent black veins, flit swiftly among the flowers, barely stopping, as do the busy Common Jays with their pretty blue marks on black. Another is the light yellow Lemon Emigrant or Common Emigrant, so called because it flies fast, covering long distances, in straight, powerful flight. Some other butterflies also found here are the Common Mormon, the Common Rose, Common Castor, Lime Butterfly, Lemon Pansy, Tawny Coster, etc. Strategically placed boards provide information that help visitors learn easily.

Though the monsoons are a good time to see butterflies, they rest when it is actually raining and then it is rare to see one in flight. The rains make the red earth path in the garden quite slippery, though; they bring their own beauty, as the trees wear a bright, glossy, washed look. Crystal droplets drip off the leaves and flowers or delicately hang from them. As the drops of water fall on the undergrowth, the grasses and leaves move suddenly, giving the appearance of flitting butterflies. The luxuriant plant life in the enclosures, during the rain, gives one a feeling of being in the thick undergrowth of some dense rainforest.