CDS (II) 2023 General Knowledge · Question 107 of 120

Correct — D, Blue Pansy. Jammu and Kashmir named the Blue Pansy, Junonia orithya, as its official butterfly in 2023, the declaration being reported in June that year — a few months before this paper was set. It is a small, common nymphalid with orange-ringed eyespots and, in the male, a velvety dark forewing base carrying a blue patch; the species ranges very widely, from sub-Saharan Africa across South and South-East Asia to Australia, and it is a familiar sight in open, sunny ground across India. Each of the other three names is a real state butterfly, just of a different state, which is what makes the question worth learning as a set rather than a single fact.

• (a)Noble's Helen — A swallowtail of the Papilio genus and not the Jammu and Kashmir declaration. The state chose the Blue Pansy.
• (b)Kaisar-i-Hind — The obvious pull, because the name means 'Emperor of India' and sounds official. Kaisar-i-Hind, Teinopalpus imperialis, is the state butterfly of Arunachal Pradesh, declared in 2020.
• (c)Blue Duke — The Blue Duke, Bassarona durga, is Sikkim's state butterfly, not Jammu and Kashmir's.

Indian states have been adopting official state symbols — bird, animal, tree, flower — for decades, but the state butterfly is a recent addition. Maharashtra was the first to declare one, choosing the Blue Mormon, Papilio polymnestor, in June 2015; other states followed. The declarations are made by the state government, usually on the recommendation of its wildlife board, and they are meant to draw attention to insect conservation, which normally gets far less public support than tigers and elephants do.

The item is a straight recall question with one well-designed decoy. Kaisar-i-Hind is by far the most famous butterfly name on the list, it carries an imperial Indian title, and it is a genuinely rare and protected species — everything about it invites a candidate to pick it for a state declaration. It is a state butterfly, but of Arunachal Pradesh. The way to hold all four apart is to learn them as a table of state-and-species rather than as isolated names, because the examiner draws from that same table each time. Note also that the answer here is the commonest species of the four; a declaration does not have to honour a rarity.

• Jammu and Kashmir declared the Blue Pansy, Junonia orithya, as its official butterfly in 2023.
• Maharashtra was the first Indian state to declare a state butterfly, choosing the Blue Mormon in June 2015.
• Arunachal Pradesh declared the Kaisar-i-Hind, Teinopalpus imperialis, in 2020; Sikkim's is the Blue Duke, Bassarona durga.
• The Blue Pansy male has a velvety dark forewing base with a blue patch and orange-ringed eyespots.
• The species ranges from sub-Saharan Africa through South and South-East Asia to Australia.

• Picking Kaisar-i-Hind because the name sounds official — it belongs to Arunachal Pradesh.
• Assuming a state butterfly must be a rare species; the Blue Pansy is common and widespread.
• Confusing the Blue Mormon of Maharashtra, the first such declaration, with later ones.

As a state-to-symbol match, or as a single question tied to a declaration made in the year before the exam.

• practice — not a real PYQ

  Which Indian state was the first to declare a State Butterfly?

  • (a)Kerala
  • (b)Maharashtra
  • (c)Karnataka
  • (d)Sikkim

  Answer(b) Maharashtra — it named the Blue Mormon, Papilio polymnestor, in June 2015.

• practice — not a real PYQ

  The Kaisar-i-Hind butterfly, Teinopalpus imperialis, is the state butterfly of

  • (a)Jammu and Kashmir
  • (b)Sikkim
  • (c)Arunachal Pradesh
  • (d)Meghalaya

  Answer(c) Arunachal Pradesh — declared in 2020; Sikkim's is the Blue Duke and Jammu and Kashmir's the Blue Pansy.