Journal of Threatened
Taxa | www.threatenedtaxa.org | 26 April 2026 | 18(4): 28724–28728
ISSN 0974-7907 (Online) | ISSN 0974-7893 (Print)
https://doi.org/10.11609/jott.10345.18.4.28724-28728
#10345 | Received 31 December 2025 | Final received 09 February 2026|
Finally accepted 21 March 2026
First national record of Yellow
Owl Butterfly Neorina hilda
Westwood, 1851 (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae: Satyrinae) for Nepal
Red Panda Network, 539 Dashrath Chand Marg, PO Box 6507, Baluwatar,
Kathmandu, 44600 Nepal.
nishan.limbu@redpandanetwork.org
Editor: Aijaz Ahmad Qureshi, Islamic University of
Science & Technology, Awantipora, India. Date of publication: 26 April 2026
(online & print)
Citation: Limbu,
N. (2026).
First national record of Yellow Owl Butterfly Neorina
hilda Westwood, 1851 (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae: Satyrinae) for
Nepal. Journal of Threatened Taxa 18(4): 28724–28728. https://doi.org/10.11609/jott.10345.18.4.28724-28728
Copyright: © Limbu 2026. Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. JoTT allows unrestricted use, reproduction, and
distribution of this article in any medium by providing adequate credit to the
author(s) and the source of publication.
Funding: This study received no external funding.
Competing interests: The author declares no competing interests.
Acknowledgements: I extend my heartfelt gratitude to Mr. Mahendra S. Limbu for his invaluable support in the taxonomic identification and to Butterfly Watchers Nepal, particularly Ms. Arpana Khanal, for confirming species’ identification. I also acknowledge the dedicated contributions of colleagues from the Red Panda Network, Red Panda
Network Nepal, Deurali Bhitri Community Forest, and Himali Conservation Forum. Special thanks are extended to Dr. Damber Bista, PhD, Mr. Sonam Tashi Lama, and Mr. Sanej P. Suwal for their constructive review of the manuscript.
Abstract: The present finding reports the
first national record of Neorina hilda Westwood, 1851 (Nymphalidae:
Satyrinae), commonly known as the Yellow Owl
Butterfly from Nepal. A single adult individual was observed and photographed
at Taplejung District (27.363° N, 87.724° E), eastern Nepal, on 29 July
2025. This species was recorded in an upper temperate mixed broad-leaved evergreen
forest at an elevation of 2,625 m. Previously known from northeastern India and
extending through Myanmar to southeastern Asia, this finding expands the
current known geographical range of the species to the west. This record has
important implications for butterfly conservation planning and habitat
connectivity assessments in the eastern Himalaya where a detailed assessment is
recommended.
Keywords: Butterfly diversity, community forest, eastern
Himalaya, ecological connectivity, forest habitat, Habre
center, habitat protection, Kangchenjunga landscape, range extension, threats.
The Yellow Owl Neorina hilda
Westwood, 1851 is a rare Satyrinae butterfly
belonging to the Nymphalidae family, distributed
across the eastern Himalaya and southeastern Asia. This elusive species is
currently protected under Schedule II of India’s Wildlife (Protection)
Amendment Act, 2022, reflecting its conservation significance. The N. hilda is a distinctive butterfly species of eastern
Himalayan broadleaf and cool temperate sub-alpine forests (Chettri 2015), often
observed flying along forest paths and resting on the ground, tree trunks, and
bare hillsides.
The genus Neorina,
commonly known as “owl” butterflies, was proposed by Westwood in 1850 and
comprises five distinct species: crishna (Westwood,
1851), lowii (Doubleday, 1849), patria (Leech,
1891), neosinica (Lee, 1985), and hilda (Westwood, 1851). The species exhibits a
robust body structure with distinct morphological features that facilitate
identification. Neorina hilda
can be distinguished from others by its characteristic broad yellow discal bands and specific ocellar
patterns (Evans 1932; Wynter-Blyth 1957; Mani 1986).
N. hilda is patchily distributed across
an altitudinal range of 2,100–2,700 m (7,000–9,000 ft) corresponding to the
temperate broadleaf forest ecoregion of the eastern Himalaya (Kunte et al. 2024). This ecoregion supports rich butterfly
diversity, with species richness peaking at mid-elevations due to favourable climate and vegetation (Dewan et al. 2024). The
forests occurring at elevations of 2,600–3,000 m in the eastern Himalayan
region are classified as broadleaf-evergreen forests (Negi et al. 2024) and are
dominated by Quercus lamellosa (oak), Castanea species (chestnut), Rhododendron
spp., Magnolia spp., and various laurel species, providing better canopy
cover and vegetation structure for N. hilda.
This note aims to report the
first national record of Neorina hilda in Nepal, expanding its known geographical range
and highlighting its conservation implications for the eastern Himalayan
region.
Materials and Methods
The Himalayan Habre
Center (Habre Center) is located on a hilltop
(27.363° N, 87.724° E) along the Pathibhara trail in Deurali-Bhitri Community Forest in Taplejung
District, Nepal (Image 1). It borders the forest-edge areas of the adjacent Yamabung and Sayapatri-Pokhari
community forests. These forests are dominated by Rhododendron spp., Magnolia
spp., and various broad-leaved trees collectively forming an upper temperate
mixed broad-leaved forest zone.
This finding is based on
opportunistic observation while walking around the Habre
Center on a sunny day, 29 July 2025, at 1144 h (NPT time zone). Photographs and
video were captured using a Sony camera (model ZV-1F) equipped with a 2.0/7.6
mm lens, and identified based on its distinct
morphological and taxonomic characteristics by comparing against the
illustrated checklist of Nepal butterflies (Smith 2006; van der Poel & Smetacek 2022). Expert consultation was also conducted to
validate the identification (M.S. Limbu & S.P. Suwal,
pers. comm. July 2025).
Results
A single individual of Neorina hilda, having
a partially damaged hindwing, was observed gliding along the forest margin near
the Habre Center before landing on a stone (Images 4
& 5).
The size of an adult N. hilda ranges 96–104 mm (Bingham 1905). Morphologically,
N. hilda shares similar characteristics with N.
patria (White Owl), particularly in having a well-defined subapical ocellus
equal in size to that of N. patria. N. hilda
differs significantly by lacking a tail at v3 and possessing a broad yellow
discal band at the upper side of the forewing (Image
5), which is white in N. patria (Leech 1893). Neorina
hilda can be distinguished from its other species
with the same genus by its distinct pale-yellow bands and by the presence of a
large, black, white-centered ocellus with a proximal yellow outline,
accompanied by two smaller, blue-spotted subanal ocelli (Images 4 & 5).
While Lethe Europa superficially resembles N. hilda,
it can be readily distinguished by its white (rather than yellow) forewing discal band, which is also narrower. Other Lethe
species, including L. confusa, L. verma, and L. rohria,
possess distinctive white forewing discal bands but
are considerably smaller in size compared to N. hilda.
Thaumantis diores (Amathusini) closely resembles N. hilda
in general appearance and size; however, it lacks the characteristic broad discal band entirely, making differentiation
straightforward Wynter-Blyth 1957; (Leech 1893; Evans 1932; Mani 1986). Hence,
this recording of N. hilda cannot be confused
with any other species.
After clear identification, the
species was confirmed as a new record for Nepal by examining existing
literature, including the annotated checklist of Nepal’s butterflies, which
previously listed 695 species (Smith 2006; van der Poel & Smetacek 2022; van der Poel 2024). This new record brings
the total to 696 species.
Discussion
One individual of N. hilda recorded in Taplejung,
eastern Nepal, indicates a low population density of the species in the area.
Its hindwing was partially damaged, suggesting a possible predatory encounter,
most likely with birds, which are known predators of butterflies in forest-edge
habitats. The observation site was also situated at the forest edge
characterized by strong wind currents and frequent bird gliding activity, which
may increase predation pressure.
During the observation, N. hilda repeatedly visited three times on the recently
cemented stone surface, displaying mud-puddling behaviour
(Image 4). This is a well-documented phenomenon in Satyrinae,
where individuals extract essential nutrients such as sodium from inorganic
substrates. This behaviour is consistent with reports
of butterflies seeking sodium and other nutrients from moist, earthy surfaces.
Such behaviour is ecologically significant as it
supplements their diet and supports physiological functions like reproduction
and flight (Lamie et al. 2025). After each foraging
attempt, it returned to the surface before eventually flying off into the
surrounding forest.
Neorina hilda is documented from the Moruo area, southeastern Tibet (Evans 1932), Myanmar (Shizuya et al. 2005), Yunnan Province, China (Lo & Bi
2019), Bhutan (Singh et al. 2015), and from northeastern India (Kunte et al. 2024; Lepcha &
Thapa 2025). Whereas the new occurrence record from Nepal further expands its
easternmost distribution range of the species (Image 1), and
indicates the possibility of this species further west. Besides, the finding
highlights the importance of the eastern Himalayan broad-leafed forest as
habitat of this species.
The forest in the region is
experiencing a high threat due to rapid developmental projects such as roads,
dams, and human settlements, resulting in significant loss of forest cover. The
recent controversy on cable car construction to Pathibhara
Temple at the summit is ongoing, while hundreds of ecologically important
trees, such as rhododendron, have already been wiped out. This has undoubtedly
disrupted the habitat for many faunal species, including the threatened Red
Panda Ailurus fulgens,
Clouded Leopard Neofelis nebulosa, Chinese Pangolin Manis pentadactyla,
and Himalayan Black Bear Ursus thibetanus. Little known is the fact that there have
been records of species only recorded in Taplejung
District and nowhere else in Nepal, such as Single Silverstripe
Lethe ramadeva (de Nicéville,
1887) and the Freak Calinaga buddha
(Moore, 1857) (Tamang & Panthee 2021; Tamang
& Motoki 2022).
Given the site’s transitional
nature between human-modified and forested zones, further assessment could
unveil seasonal occurrence, population stability, and habitat
specificity of N. hilda in this region. This
record also underscores the need for systematic monitoring and ecological
studies to determine its conservation status, especially in light of potential
threats from habitat disturbance and climate variability. Given the protected
status of this species in India, its occurrence in eastern Nepal also
highlights the need for regional collaboration in butterfly conservation.
Additionally, the extension of the known range to eastern Nepal clearly
indicates butterfly-rich habitat around the areas requiring an immediate need
of detailed ecological studies focusing on the butterfly diversity.
Conclusion
This study reports the first
national record of Neorina hilda in Nepal, specifically from Taplejung
District. The finding expands the known geographical distribution of this rare
and protected butterfly species, contributing to Nepal’s butterfly discovery,
which now stands at 696 species. The confirmation of this species in the Deurali-Bhitri Community Forest suggests the potential
ecological connectivity with the adjoining forest habitats in India. As only a
single individual was observed, further systematic monitoring and ecological
studies are crucial to assess population status, seasonal occurrence, and
habitat choices in the Kangchenjunga Landscape in eastern Nepal. This finding
also suggests the need for a detailed study on the butterfly distribution and
diversity in the region with protection and management of the forested areas as
well as mud-puddling sites.
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IMAGES - - CLICK HERE FOR FULL PDF
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