The Goa governments decision to notify theMalabar tree nymphas the state butterfly highlights the urgent need to protect the states forest stretches, the natural habitat of this threatened species.
Endemic to the southern Western Ghats, the Malabar tree nymph falls under the near threatened category in the international Union for Conservation of Nature () list.
It is mostly found in habitats where water gradually drains out from moist hilly Soil, stagnates and flows slowly in shallow streams passing through cool, undisturbed and moist forests.
In Goa, this butterfly has been documented in moist forests as well as the Myristica swamp vegetation in Sattari, Sanguem and Dharbandora and in Canaconas protected forest areas.
This butterfly is known to often glide above tree canopies and fly lower in forest openings every now and then. Its flight movements have earned it the name, paper kite.