Travancore evening brown  (Parantirrhoea marshalli)

This crepuscular butterfly has weak and erratic flight and spends long periods at rest (1), flying only during dull weather and drizzly days (2). It lays small clutches of tiny, spherical eggs (3). From these eggs hatch the spindle-shaped, slightly hairy larvae (1). The larva is usually observed feeding during the night time on the leaves of reed species, particularly the reed Ochlandra travancorica, which grows near forest streams (3). The larva grows more and more clumsy and when it is time for pupation it rests and stops feeding for more than a day, and wanders around for some time in search of a suitable site for pupation. It settles upside-down along the midrib of the leaf, and thus the smooth, short, stout pupa is formed on the underside of the leaf in the open. The pupation is completed in about a day. Occasionally the pupa may fall to ground where it is left to the mercy of nature for survival (3).