Ceylon Rose

The Ceylon Rose butterfly, can only be found in the south-western tropical rain forests of Sri Lanka. Ceylon roses fly low in the morning and high in the afternoon. They most likely lay their yellow-brown eggs underneath the Aristolochiaceae’s leaves. These eggs will hatch into purple-black caterpillars. They are not found in many areas, although they are pretty numerous in the areas they are found in.

The Ceylon rose is critically endangered mainly because of habitat destruction. As the population of humans expands, the dense forests where this butterfly lives have been destroyed for both timber and agriculture. The Sinharaja Forest Reserve has been declared a reserve, creating a stronghold for this butterfly, although illegal logging has already taken its toll on this forest and only half of the forest is undisturbed. Many other reserves that have been created are not in the area where this butterfly is not found.