Southern Birdwing (Troides minos) is the largest butterfly in the country with a wingspan of 140-190mm. Mohan said, “As the forest campus is just 36.5 hectares, it is difficult to handle this butterfly. They need host plants like red hibiscus, balsam and creepers such as eeshwaraballi (Aristolochia indica) to survive. We need to increase our forest cover and have many such plants.”

Schoolchildren attended the fest and were taken on a butterfly walk. Holding a larvae in his hands, Lohith Kumar, a class 4 student from Janak Vidyalaya, was not scared, instead said, “I see these things in the garden at my house.”