The Green Guru Workshop

We had begun the "Green Guru " concept in an attempt to get the school teachers to know a little more about butterflies . We hoped that they would be able to incorporate it in the nature trails that they conduct for the students and that in turn would get the young minds curious and interested .This initiative supported by Department of Science , Technology & Environment is aimed at training and creating resource persons on “butterflies and their role in their ecosystem “ . Primarily targeted at teachers, this has found enthusiastic participation from young enthusiasts , amateurs as well as people engaged in eco tourism. It has evolved from being just that to being an interactive forum on all aspects of butterflies - we had a macro photography workshop conducted by Indian Foundation of Butterflies under Hemant Ogale and Gaurav Agavekar last December . Also with so many experts visiting us , it may be a good idea  to organise their lectures to coincide with their visits.

Meanwhile under what we had started with , Butterfly Conservatory Of Goa is organising the last of the series of 5 workshops of “ Green Guru “ on November 4 , 2012  . The workshop will be between 9:00 am to 3:00 pm and the venue will be :
Butterfly Conservatory Of Goa
Rajnagar , Pisgal , Priol , Ponda , Goa 403404.

Workshop fees : Rs.500 . Includes workshop resource fees , entry to conservatory ,Lunch & refreshments and stationary.



The program covers aspects like on how to make short nature trails interesting , fun facts of insects, identifying butterflies , macro photography and butterfly gardening.

Entries limited to 20  and by first come , first serve basis . Please call Rohit ( 9822125474 ) or Dr Jyoti ( 9822895474 or 2985174 ) / email : butterflyconservatoryofgoa@gmail.com for more details and registration.



 It is getting evolved over the last one year with  enthusiastic part

Date with Butterflies on Sunday , February 6 , 2011

Did you know? A butterfly tastes its food with help of its feet. Tigers, Jezebel, Sergeants, Peacocks , Commanders, Nawabs, Sailors, Barons, Rajahs are the names of butterflies. That a caterpillar weaves itself into a cocoon before it becomes a Butterfly. Also that butterflies are never attracted to Rose flowers and that some butterflies feed on alcohol.

More such startling facts about the winged beauties would be revealed to you, if you agree to have a date with Butterflies, a BCOG programme happening on February 6 , 2011 at the Butterfly Conservatory Of Goa , Rajnagar , Pisgal Priol Ponda , Goa. Our country is a host for more that 1,501 species of butterflies and an Biodiveristy hot spot like Goa is blessed to have 250 species. It is a rare person who would not be attracted by the delicate beauty of butterflies. And to help you spot these jewels and learn more about their nature and habits, the Butterfly Conservatory of Goa ( BCOG ) has been arranging a fun filled day called as ' Date with Butterflies '. The half-day programme begins with butterfly watching nature trail at the Conservatory. This is then followed by interactive sessions on Indian Butterflies and butterfly photography, Copycats in Butterflies, Wonders of Early Stages of Butterflies, Tips on gardening for butterflies.
Nature lovers should ensure they don't miss this opportunity. Entry is Rs.150 per person.The last date of registration: Feb 4 , 2011For registration, email your entries to butterflyconservatoryofgoa@gmail.com or call on 9822125474 ( Rohit ) / 9822895474 ( Jyoti ) .

Nature Appreciation Trail - 2

A perfect family outing for those inclined to spend Sunday with nature ! :

Wild flowers ; Interesting shrubs ; Fascinating Butterflies ; Beautiful Birds ! A small trail and some witty chatter - an opportunity to learn about and appreciate nature at its best.

An event meant for the whole family between 9:00 am to 12:30 pm beginning at the Butterfly Conservatory of Goa ( www.bcogoa.org ), Ponda followed by a short trek to the Bhutkhambh Plateau.

Call us on 9822125474 ( Rohit ) / 9822895474 ( Jyoti ) / 9049853484 ( Prasad ) for more details .


Spot registrations also open. Entry Rs.150 per person – entire proceeds will be donated to BCOG to purchase plants.
www.bcogoa.org

Nature Appreciation Trail on January 26 , 2011

A perfect family outing for those inclined to spend January 26th holiday in scenic outdoors :

Wild flowers ; Interesting shrubs ; Fascinating Butterflies ; Beautiful Birds ! A small trail and some witty chatter - an opportunity to learn about and appreciate nature at its best.

An event meant for the whole family between 9:00 am to 12:30 pm begining at the Butterfly Conservatory of Goa ( http://www.bcogoa.org/ ), Ponda followed by a short trek to the Bhutkhambh Plateau. Call us on 9822125474 ( Rohit ) / 9822895474 ( Jyoti ) for more details .


Spot registrations also open. Entry Rs.150 per person – entire proceeds will be donated to BCOG to purchase plants.

Woes of naming the plants

Watakakakaka...can't figure out where the kakas end , just like in banananana. Getting the name to stop at the right place is a lot easier than identifying the plant in the wild. I am equipped with pretty decent photos of the host plants of butterflies along with their :

1. Common name

2. The vernacular name

3.The botanical name

4. Classification details

5. Fairly good description of what it flowers like , seeds like , fruits like, smells like or tastes like.

But it is God given talent to actually identify them - thats something that's hopelessly missing with me . Why ? I can't even place people's faces even if I saw them everyday. And these are green leaves , all looking similiar.

I need a botanist . A good one ! We had the good fortune of two of them visiting us . One was the page ( pronounced paa-gay ) family - Nuvendu was damn good ! The other was Nandan Kalbag . Wish we had atleast one of such treasures in Goa !

Meanwhile it is a painful trial and error . The wrong plants would invariablely sprout leaves instantly and the correct ones would shrivel and dry. And the ambitious butterfly breeding program takes a few steps behind.

Some of the success stories :

Southern Birdwings on some aristolochia plant ( maybe tagala or indica )

Tamil lacewings on passion fruit creeper

Giant Redeyes and palm fly on yellow palm

Common Mime on cinnamon

Blue Mormon on lemon and orange shrubs

Blue Tiger Moth on the freshwater mangrove

Monkey puzzle on Ixora

Red Pierrots on kalanchoe and bryophyllum

Baron on mango

Tawny Costers on passion flower

Common Mormons on curry leaves ( Murraya indica )

Yamfly on smilax

Lascar on zizypus.....and sailors on God knows what

We re-open !!

It has been a furious monsoon ! Started in May , it still continues well into its 6th month . While we welcome the extra dose of water , it has wreaked havoc in the conservatory. Almost a month late , we have finally reopened the park on November 9th . It was raining that day as well , but we were committed to welcoming the first batch of tourists from Thomak Cook . And so we did ! Thankfully the rains stopped for a wee bit , but the butterflies were still hiding .

The week end was awesome though . And the visitors for Saturday and Sunday were treated to a feast of butterflies. The Redspot Duke has made his reappearance .

The Southern Birdwing Pupae in on the verge of emerging out .

And the Red Pierrots are all over the place .

Yes ! We are open and ready for action ! Come and join us !!

Spreading Wings !

The Butterfly family just got bigger ! We welcome Animesh and Jigisha in our fold . With them comes not only an additional 2500 sqm to expand the conservatory ,but more importantly the marketing brains of Animesh. A successful biz wizard and with an international footprint, he would be bringing the much needed commercial viability to our efforts.