Euphorbia pulcherrima (Poinsettia) - Sikkim Flora

Scientific classification

Kingdom:       Plantae

Family:           Euphorbiaceae

Genus:            Euphorbia

Species:           E. pulcherrima

Binomial name: Euphorbia pulcherrima Willd. ex Klotzsch

Other Names:  Poinsettia, Christmas plant, lobster flower and the flame-leaf flower

Lalupate (Nepali)

Special feature:  The colored bracts—which are most often flaming red but can be orange, pale green, cream, pink, white, or marbled—are often mistaken for flower petals because of their groupings and colors, but are actually leaves. (Wikipedia)

Poinsettias received their name in the United States in honor of Joel Roberts Poinsett, who introduced the plant into the country in 1828. Poinsett was a botanist, physician and the first United States Ambassador to Mexico. He sent cuttings of the plant he had discovered in Southern Mexico to his home in Charleston, South Carolina. The word Poinsettia is traditionally capitalized because it is named after a person. December 12th is Poinsettia Day, which marks the death of Joel Roberts Poinsett in 1851. (extension.illinois.edu/)

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Garrulax ocellatus (Spotted laughingthrush) - Sikkim Bird

Scientific classification

Kingdom:       Animalia

Phylum:          Chordata

Class:             Aves

Order:            Passeriformes

Family:           Leiothrichidae

Genus:            Garrulax (disputed)

Species:          G. ocellatus

Binomial name: Garrulax ocellatus (Vigors, 1831)

Other Names: 

Special feature:  The spotted laughingthrush (Garrulax ocellatus) is a bird species in the Leiothrichidae family. In the proposed rearrangement of the laughingthrushes, it is sometimes placed in the genus Ianthocincla, as I. ocellata. It is found in Bhutan, China, India, Myanmar, and Nepal. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist montane forests. (Wikipedia)

Polyura eudamippus (Great nawab) - Sikkim Butterfly

Scientific classification

Kingdom:             Animalia

Phylum:               Arthropoda

Class:                    Insecta

Order:                  Lepidoptera

Family:                 Nymphalidae

Genus:                  Polyura

Species:                 P. eudamippus

Binomial name:    Polyura eudamippus (Doubleday, 1843)

Other Names:  great nawab

Special feature:   This species can be found in northeastern India (Sikkim, Assam), Bhutan, and Burma, also in China, Taiwan, Malaysia, and Indochina. (Wikipedia)

Polyura athama (Common Nawab) - Sikkim Butterfly

Scientific classification

Kingdom:             Animalia

Phylum:               Arthropoda

Class:                    Insecta

Order:                  Lepidoptera

Family:                 Nymphalidae

Genus:                  Polyura

Species:                 P. athamas

Binomial name:    Polyura athamas (Drury) 1773

Other Names:  common nawab

Special feature:  

Poritia hewitsoni (Common Gem - male) - Sikkim Butterfly

Scientific classification

Kingdom:             Animalia

Phylum:               Arthropoda

Class:                    Insecta

Order:                  Lepidoptera

Family:                 Lycaenidae

Genus:                  Poritia

Species:                 P. hewitsoni

Binomial name:    Poritia hewitsoni (Moore, 1865)

Other Names:  Common Gem

Special feature:  The members (species) of this genus are found in the Indomalaya ecozone extending from Afghanistan through the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia to lowland southern China, and through Indonesia as far as Java, Bali, and Borneo, east of which lies the Wallace line, the ecozone boundary named after Alfred Russel Wallace which separates Indomalaya from Australasia. Indomalaya also includes the Philippines, lowland Taiwan, and Japan's Ryukyu Islands. (Wikipedia)

Ourapteryx picticaudata

Orange oak-leaf (Kallima inachus) - Sikkim Butterfly

Scientific Classification

Kingdom:                     Animalia

Phylum:                        Arthropoda

Class:                            Insecta

Order:                           Lepidoptera

Family:                          Nymphalidae

Genus:                           Kallima

Species:                         K. inachus

Binomial name:            Kallima inachus (Doyère, 1840)

Other Names:  Orange oak-leaf or Dead leaf

Special feature:  With wings closed, it closely resembles a dry leaf with dark veins and is a spectacular and commonly cited example of camouflage.

Erebus ephesperis - Sikkim Moth

Scientific Classification

Kingdom:            Animalia

Phylum:               Arthropoda

Class:                    Insecta

Order:                  Lepidoptera

Family:                 Erebidae

Subfamily:           Erebinae

Tribe:                   Erebini

Genus:                  Erebus

Species:                 E. ephesperis

Binomial name:    Erebus ephesperis (Hübner, 1827)

Other Names:

Special feature:  It has a wingspan of about 9 cm.

Sikkim Ornithological Society starts awareness tour to Sikkim’s schools

Visits Kabi GSSS and Tingda PS

Sikkim Biodiversity news

02.09.15: Sikkim Ornithological Society starts an awareness of Sikkim’s nature by visiting schools of Sikkim. The organization is set to visit at-least 500 schools from primary level to Senior Secondary schools in the program. The team of SOS today made its first visit to Kabi School and Tingda PS.

 Nosang Muringla Limboo, President of SOS with his presentation of Butterfly chart

With Headmaster and Teacher of Tingda 

The Team met the students and teachers of the school and briefed about the volunteer work to present a chart of Birds and Butterflies of Sikkim (complied by the SOS team a decade's work) for each school throughout the state. Motive behind the program was to interact with the young minds of Sikkim and to make them aware of their own natural wealth and help conserve it.

Appias

Appias forms a part of a genus of family Pieridae (whites) found in Southern Asia and Australia. They are also commonly called puffins or albatrosses.

“Off the recorded Appias species, 10 species occurs in Indian Subcontinent i.e. albina, libythea, paulina, lyncida, nero, indra, melania, lalage, wardii and olferna. Apart from A.nero i.e bright orange coloured, all the Appias species found in India are white on the upper wing surface, with the apex and outer margins of the forewings marked to a greater or lesser extent with black, according to species. Females of the "white" species have a dull brownish-white ground colour, heavily suffused with dark brown around the margins and in the fw discal cell. The undersides vary considerably - e.g. albina is pure white; indra is greyish, heavily mottled with brown; and the underside hindwings of lyncida are bright yellow with broad chocolate margins”. (learnaboutbutterflies.com)