Journal of Threatened Taxa |
www.threatenedtaxa.org | 26 December 2020 | 12(17): 17347–17360
ISSN 0974-7907 (Online) | ISSN 0974-7893
(Print)
doi: https://doi.org/10.11609/jott.5142.12.17.17347-17360
#5142 | Received 02 June 2019 | Final
received 25 September 2020 | Finally accepted 20 November 2020
Butterflies (Lepidoptera: Rhopalocera) of the undivided Midnapore District, West
Bengal, India: a preliminary report
Anirban Mahata
1, Niladri Prasad Mishra 2 & Sharat Kumar Palita 3
1,3 Department of Biodiversity and
Conservation of Natural Resources, Central University of Odisha, Koraput,
Odisha 764021, India.
2 PG Department of Zoology, Tamralipta Mahavidyalaya, Tamluk, Purba Medinipur,
West Bengal 721636, India.
1 anirbanmahata1608@gmail.com, 2
prasadmishra.niladri@gmail.com, 3 skpalita@gmail.com
(corresponding author)
Editor: Jatishwor Singh Irungbam,
Biology Centre CAS, Branišovská, Czech Republic. Date
of publication: 26 December 2020 (online & print)
Citation: Mahata,
A., N.P. Mishra & S.K. Palita (2020). Butterflies (Lepidoptera: Rhopalocera) of the undivided Midnapore District, West
Bengal, India: a preliminary report. Journal of Threatened Taxa 12(17): 17347–17360. https://doi.org/10.11609/jott.5142.12.17.17347-17360
Copyright: © Mahata et al. 2020. 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: None.
Competing interests: The authors
declare no competing interests.
Acknowledgements: The authors are thankful to the
Head, Department of Biodiversity and Conservation of Natural Resources, Central
University of Odisha, Koraput, Odisha for support and encouragement.
Abstract: A butterfly study in the
biodiversity rich biogeography transition zone of the undivided Midnapore
District of West Bengal was carried out from March 2014 to March 2017. A total of 98 species of butterflies under
five families, 19 subfamilies, and 70 genera were documented by the study. Maximum species diversity was found in Nymphalidae family with 31 species (31.63%), followed by Lycaenidae 24 species (24.48%), Hesperiidae-17 (17.34%), Pieridae 16 (16.32%), and the least by Papilionidae
10 (10.28%). Among the families, the
highest common species (n=10) was recorded under the family Nymphalidae
and maximum rare species (n=4) under the family Lycaenidae. Highest species richness has been recorded in
post-monsoon season (97 species) followed by monsoon (78 species), winter (66
species), and pre-monsoon (47 species).
During the study, five species of butterflies (Castalius
rosimon, Neptis
jumbah, Discophora
sondaica, Lethe europa,
and Papilio clytia)
under Schedule-I, three species (Euchrysops
cnejus, Mahathala
ameria, and Cepora
nerissa) under Schedule-II and three species (Baoris farri, Hyarotis adrastus,
and Euploea core) under Schedule-IV were
legally protected under the Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972. A good species to genera ratio (1.4: 1) along
with 10 newly recorded species and their range extension provide information
for better understanding of the ecology and distribution pattern of the
butterfly fauna. The information of the
study will thus help to develop conservation strategies for management of the
unique bio-geographical transitional zone.
Keywords: Checklist, new records, species
diversity, seasonality, biogeography transition zone.
Butterflies are highly sensitive
to changes in the environment (Landres et al. 1988; Simberloff 1988), act as ecological indicators (New 1991;
Pollard & Yates 1993; Thomas 2005; Bonebrake et
al. 2010), and serve as surrogate species for floral and faunal diversity
(Ehrlich & Raven 1964) by improving community structure. Further, they are primary consumers in forest
ecosystems (Rosenberg et al. 1986) and their diversity increases with an
increase in habitat scale and vegetation structure complex (Price 1975). Therefore, the conservation of butterflies is
necessary to understand their natural history and ecology for the maintenance
of ecosystem health.
Transition zones are defined as
the boundaries between biogeographical regions, which represent areas of biotic
overlap, and being favoured by ecological and historical changes allow a
combination of taxa belonging to various biotic components (Morrone
2004). As the boundaries between these
regions are areas of high biotic interaction (Ruggiero & Ezcurra 2003), with increased richness and abundance as
well as unique ecotonal species (Odum 1953), they
deserve special attention. The undivided
Midnapore District of West Bengal which lies in the transition zone of three
distinct biogeographic regions of India (Deccan Peninsula: Chotta-Nagpur
biotic province, Gangetic Plains: Lower Gangetic Plain biotic province, and
Coast: Eastern Coastal biotic province) makes it a perfect habitat for species
diversity (Payra et al. 2017; Samanta
et al. 2017; Paria et al. 2018; Biswas et al.
2019) and acts as a connecting path of species distribution and migration from
Western Ghats zone to northeastern zone (Abdulali 1949; Ali 1949; Hora 1949). Dry peninsular Sal forest and dry deciduous
scrub vegetation along with different orchard plantation and agriculture
practices in this region act as refuges for butterflies (Mahata
et al. 2019).
Limited studies have been carried
out on butterfly fauna in the undivided Midnapore District, and previous
records from the region include the report of 112 species from the coastal area
of Purba Medinipur (Payra et al. 2017) and 82 species from Midnapore
Municipality area of West Midnapore District (Biswas et al. 2019) and remaining
part was untouched. The present study
aims to document butterflies in the undivided Midnapore district and prepare a
checklist along with habitat ecology and management status for undertaking
proper conservation action in near future.
Materials and Methods
Study sites
The study was conducted at
undivided Midnapore district (22.953°–21.610° N & 88.211°–86.564° E) of
West Bengal, India. The undivided
Midnapore district is now divided into three districts (Purba
Medinipur, Paschim Medinipur,
and Jhargram) and covers an area of 14,081km2. Of which 2,971km2 is under forest
cover contributing 3.35% of the total geographical area of the state (FSI
2017). This region covers northern dry
mixed deciduous forest of Chotta-Nagpur Plateau
ecozone, Eastern Highlands moist deciduous forests of the eastern part of
Eastern Ghats along with dry peninsular Sal Forest, and deciduous scrub forest
of Lower Gangetic Plain and saltwater mixed forest (Champion & Seth 1968;
Figure 1). The topography of this region
is highly variable from undulating southwestern region to Gangetic Plains and
wetlands towards the eastern side. This
undivided Midnapore District is characterized by a variety of soil ranging from
lateritic red soil towards the western region, alluvial along the rivers and
sandy saline soil in the coastal belt.
The average temperature in this region lies in between 10°C and 39°C
with average annual precipitation of 1,752mm (Anonymous 2011a, b). The climate is characterized by tropical hot
summer, cold winter, abundant rainfall and humidity in monsoon. Floods are quite regular in monsoon
(Anonymous 2011a,b). A total of 20
different sites have been surveyed on the basis of different vegetation
patterns to document the butterfly fauna.
Elevations of these sites vary between 2–90 m (Table 1).
Data collection
The study was carried out over a
period of three years during March 2014 to March 2017 in four distinct seasons:
pre-monsoon (March to May), monsoon (June to August), post-monsoon (September
to November), and winter (December to February). We adopted opportunistic sampling methods by
walking through trails and recorded the species visually by using close
focusing binocular (Olympus WP II, Olympus Corporation, Japan). Butterfly sampling was carried out only in
good weather conditions (>10°C, <18 miles/hour wind speed and no rain)
from 09.00 to 13.00 h. Butterflies were
identified in the field with the help of field guides (Wynter-Blyth 1957; Kunte 2000; Kehimkar 2008). Butterflies which could not be identified in
flight, were caught with butterfly-net, identified and then released
safely. Photograph of the documented
species was taken during the survey with the help of a DSLR camera (Nikon D5300
with Nikon 70–300 mm lens, Nikon Corporation, Japan) for further
confirmations. Taxonomy and species
names of butterflies were followed after Varshney & Smetacek
(2015). A checklist of butterfly fauna
was prepared along with their legal protection status. The status of a butterfly was decided based
on the frequency of sighting of the butterfly during the total study
period. Status of the butterfly was
categorized under five categories: rare (R), not rare (NR), not common (NC),
common (C), and very common (C).
Butterflies having <20 % sightings were marked as rare butterflies,
20–40 % not rare, 40–60 % not common, 60–80 % common, and >80% very common (Payra et al. 2017; Samanta et al.
2017).
Results and
Discussion
A total of 98 species of
butterflies under five families, 19 subfamilies and 70 genera were documented
from the study area (Table 2, Image 1, 2, 3, 4 & 5). Maximum species richness was observed in the
family Nymphalidae with 31 species (31.63%), followed
by Lycaenidae 24 species (24.48%), Hesperiidae 17 species (17.34%), Pieridae
16 species (16.32%), and least by Papilionidae 10
species (10.20%) (Table 2). The Nymphalidae family was very common in occurrence (10
species) whereas the maximum number of rare species were found in the Lycaenidae family (four species) (Table 2, Figure 3). Highest species richness was recorded in post-monsoon
season (97 species), followed by monsoon (78 species), winter (66 species) and
pre-monsoon (47 species) (Figure 4).
Among the species recorded, 11 species are under schedule category of
Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act 1972.
Under Schedule-I, there are five species (Castalius
rosimon, Neptis
jumbah, Discophora
sondaica, Lethe europa,
and Papilio clytia),
under Schedule-II, three species (Euchrysops
cnejus, Mahathala
ameria, and Cepora
nerissa) and under Schedule-IV three species (Baoris farri, Hyarotis adrastus, and
Euploea core) (Table 2). Five species are placed under Least Concern
(LC) category and the rest 93 species are not assessed (IUCN 2020) (Table 2,
Image 1, 2, 3, 4 & 5).
Among the recorded 17 species of Hesperiidae (Image 1), Ampittia
dioscorides was very common, whereas Badamia exclamationis and
Matapa aria were rare. Baoris farri and Pelopidas subochracea
were recorded for the first time from the region. Among 24 species of Lycaenidae
family (Image 2), Arhopala atrax, Iraota timoleon, Mahathala
ameria, Rathinda
amor, and Virachola
isocrates were found to be rare. Zizina otis and Arhopala atrax were recorded for the first time from this
region. Iraota
timoleon and Rathinda
amor were recorded only during post monsoon
period. Out of 31 species recoded under Nymphalidae (Image 3), Ariadne ariadne,
A. merione, Danaus chrysippus, Danaus genutia,
Euploea core, Acraea violae, Phalanta phalantha, Junonia almana, J. iphita,
and J. lemonias were very common
whereas Tirumala septentrionis and Discophora sondaica
were rare and T. septentrionis, Phaedyma columella, and Ypthima
baldus were recorded for the first time from this
region. Among 10 species under Papilionidae family (Image 4), Papilio
demoleus was very common, whereas Papilio crino was
rare and Graphium nomius
was newly recorded from this region. Out
of 16 species under Pieridae family (Image 5), Delias eucharis was very common and two
species (Eurema laeta
and E. sari) were recorded for the first time from undivided
Midnapore region (Table 2, 3).
In our study, the presence of Symphaedra nais, Danaus melanippus indicusand and Ypthima baldus
showed the species range extension from central India towards eastern
India. Our study also recorded several
Eastern Ghats species such as Pseudozizeeria
maha, Junonia
orithya, Catopsilia
pyranthe, Cepora
nerissa, Spindasis
vulcanus, Papilio
demoleus, Arhopala
atrax, Tarucus
nara, Papilio
hector, and Graphium nomius. The
study further revealed the presence of Papilio
crino known from northeastern
India as as well as species such as Colotis amata, Catopsilia pomona, Catopsilia pyranthe,
Cepora nerissa,
Danaus chrysippus, Tirumala limniace, Zizeeria karsandra, and Catochrysops
strabo known from northwestern
India (Kehimkar 2008). This species checklist represents the species
distribution information for better understanding the butterfly fauna and
making conservation strategies for similar biogeographical ecozones.
Conclusion
The present study provides a
checklist of butterfly fauna in a biogeographically transitional region of
undivided Midnapore District; the first attempt at a relatively larger scale
documentation of butterflies of this region.
A record of 98 species of butterfly along with good species to genera
ratio (1.4: 1) indicates good butterfly diversity in the region. Presence of 11 legally protected species
under the Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 and 10 newly recorded species
from this region draws attention towards the conservation priorities of this
flagship species. The present
comprehensive checklist of the butterfly fauna along with their habitat types
and seasonality provide information for better understanding the ecology and
distribution pattern of the butterfly fauna so that it can help to develop
specific conservation measures for this unique biogeographical transitional
zone.
Table 1.
Location and Habitat conditions of the study sites.
|
Site No. |
Site name |
GPS
Location |
Elevation
(m) |
Habitat type |
Vegetation type (dominant) |
Management status |
|
1 |
Gopegarh Eco-park (S1) |
22.419°N 87.283°E |
52.43 |
Managed park surrounded by
natural vegetation |
Non-native flowering plants and
Anacardium occidentale |
Managed by park authority, no
grazing |
|
2 |
Gurguripal Eco-park (S2) |
22.430°N 87.215°E |
48.77 |
Degraded park with natural
vegetation |
Shorea robusta and Eucalyptus tereticornis |
Moderately anthropogenic
activity, no grazing |
|
3 |
VU Campus, Midnapore (S3) |
22.432°N 87.299°E |
58.22 |
Natural vegetation surrounded
by Non-native flowering plants |
Anacardium occidentale and Eucalyptus tereticornis |
Least management, no grazing |
|
4 |
Pathra (S4) |
22.412°N 87.418°E |
33.18 |
Natural rural vegetation with
agriculture field |
Eucalyptus tereticornis,
Bambusa spp. |
Grazing along with high human
interference |
|
5 |
Amlachati Vesaj Udyan (S5) |
22.377°N 87.039°E |
89 |
Managed herbal garden
surrounded by sal forest. |
Medicinal plants and Shorea robusta |
Highly managed, no grazing |
|
6 |
Jhargram Mini Zoo (S6) |
22.449°N 87.020°E |
81.38 |
Managed mini zoo in sal forest |
Shorea robusta |
Managed, no grazing |
|
7 |
Chilkigarh (S7) |
22.451°N 86.881°E |
73.85 |
Rural area |
Shorea robusta |
Moderate grazing with
anthropogenic activity |
|
8 |
Jhilli Pakhiralaya (S8) |
22.179°N 86.729°E |
66.45 |
Forest area along marshy water
body |
Shorea robusta |
No management, moderate grazing
with anthropogenic activity |
|
9 |
Kodopal fruit garden (S9) |
22.151°N 87.075°E |
35.66 |
Fruit orchards along with
ornamental flowering plant |
Mangifera indica, Psidium guajava, Citrus spp.,
Zizyphus vulgaris |
Managed. No grazing and
anthropogenic activity |
|
10 |
Banantika (S10) |
22.363°N 87.113°E |
79.55 |
Fruit orchards |
Mangifera indica, Psidium guajava, Phyllanthus
emblica |
Poorly managed. grazing and
anthropogenic activities limited |
|
11 |
Haldia (S11) |
22.059°N 88.077°E |
07.32 |
Park Garden |
Ornamental flowering plants |
Managed park |
|
12 |
Mahishadal (S12) |
22.178°N 87.988°E |
06.10 |
Shrub land with natural fruit
orchards |
Mangifera indica |
Rural area, No management |
|
13 |
Nandakumar (S13) |
22.192°N 87.928°E |
04.87 |
Shrub land beside rail tracks |
Lantana camara |
No management |
|
14 |
Tamluk (S14) |
22.302°N 87.927°E |
06.10 |
Natural Vegetation |
Ornamental flowering plants |
Urban area, no management |
|
15 |
Kolaghat (S15) |
22.439°N 87.887°E |
09.45 |
Shrub land and agriculture land |
Hibiscus rosa-sinensis, Tabernaemontana divaricate |
Rural area, less grazing and
anthropogenic activity |
|
16 |
Moyna (S16) |
22.273°N 87.775°E |
04.57 |
Bogs and Marshy area |
Grass and Eucalyptus tereticornis |
Rural area, less grazing and
anthropogenic activity |
|
17 |
Khirai (S17) |
22.375°N 87.694°E |
06.10 |
Riverside agriculture land |
Oryza sativa, Tagetes spp. |
Rural area, less grazing and
anthropogenic activity |
|
18 |
Geonkhali (S18) |
22.195°N 88.057°E |
02.13 |
Riverside Park |
Natural shrub and ornamental
flower |
Rural park, less management |
|
19 |
Contai (S19) |
21.782°N 87.742°E |
07.32 |
Shrub land and agricultural
fields |
Lantana Camara and Oryza
sativa |
Rural area, less grazing and
anthropogenic activity |
|
20 |
Narghat (S20) |
22.137°N 87.892°E |
06.10 |
Riverside semi urban park |
Casuarina equisetifolia |
Semi urban area, less grazing
and anthropogenic activity |
Anthropogenic Activities (AA) are
based upon number of human encounters and grazing seen during 30 minutes
transect walk.
Least: 0–1 time, moderately AA:
3–4 times, highly AA: 8–10 times encounter
Table 2. Checklist of butterfly
fauna recorded in the study.
|
|
Scientific name |
Common name |
Status |
Flight period |
IUCN/IW(P)A |
|
Family Hesperiidae |
|||||
|
Subfamily Coeliadinae |
|||||
|
1 |
Badamia exclamationis (Fabricius,
1775) |
Brown Awl |
R |
2, 3 |
NE |
|
2 |
Hasora chromus (Cramer, [1780]) |
Common
Banded Awl |
NR |
1, 2, 3,4 |
NE |
|
Subfamily Hesperiinae |
|||||
|
3 |
Suastus gremius (Fabricius, 1798) |
Indian Palm
Bob |
C |
1,3 |
NE |
|
4 |
Ampittia dioscorides (Fabricius, 1793) |
Bush Hopper |
VC |
3,4 |
NE |
|
5 |
Baoris farri (Moore, 1878)* |
Paintbrush
Swift |
NC |
2,3,4 |
NE/ Sch IV |
|
6 |
Borbo cinnara (Wallace, 1866) |
Rice Swift |
NC |
2,3,4 |
NE |
|
7 |
Erionota thrax (Linnaeus, 1767) |
Palm Redeye |
NR |
2,3 |
NE |
|
8 |
Hyarotis adrastus (Stoll, [1780]) |
Tree
Flitter |
NC |
1,3 |
NE/ Sch IV |
|
9 |
Iambrix salsala (Moore, [1866]) |
Chestnut
Bob |
C |
1, 2, 3, 4 |
NE |
|
10 |
Matapa aria (Moore, [1866]) |
Common
Redeye |
R |
1, 4 |
NE |
|
11 |
Parnara guttatus (Bremer & Grey, [1852]) |
Straight
Swift |
NC |
2,3,4 |
NE |
|
12 |
Pelopidas subochracea (Moore, 1878)* |
Moore’s
Swift |
C |
1,2,3,4 |
NE |
|
13 |
Pelopidas thrax (Huebner, [1821]) |
Small
Branded Swift |
C |
2,3,4 |
NE |
|
14 |
Telicota colon (Fabricius, 1775) |
Common Palm
Dart |
NC |
2,3,4 |
NE |
|
15 |
Telicota bambusae (Moore, 1878) |
Dark Palm
Dart |
C |
3,4 |
NE |
|
16 |
Udaspes folus (Cramer, [1775]) |
Grass Demon |
NC |
2,3,4 |
NE |
|
Subfamily Pyrginae |
|||||
|
17 |
Spialia galba (Fabricius, 1793) |
Indian
Skipper |
C |
1,2,3,4 |
NE |
|
Family Lycaenidae |
|||||
|
Subfamily Curetinae |
|||||
|
18 |
Curetis thetis (Drury,1773) |
Indian
Sunbeam |
C |
3,4 |
NE |
|
Subfamily Lycaeninae |
|||||
|
19 |
Pseudozizeeria maha (Kollar, [1844]) |
Pale Grass
Blue |
VC |
1,2,3,4 |
NE |
|
20 |
Zizina otis (Fabricius, 1787)* |
Lesser
Grass Blue |
VC |
1,2,3,4 |
NE |
|
Subfamily Miletinae |
|||||
|
21 |
Spalgis epius (Westwood, 1852) |
Common Apefly |
NR |
2, 3 |
NE |
|
|
Subfamily Polyommatinae |
|
|
|
NE |
|
22 |
Anthene emolus (Godart, 1824) |
Common
Ciliate Blue |
C |
2,3,4 |
NE |
|
23 |
Castalius rosimon (Fabricius, 1775) |
Common
Pierrot |
VC |
1, 2, 3 |
NE/ Sch I
(Part IV) |
|
24 |
Catochrysops strabo (Fabricius, 1793) |
Forgetmenot |
C |
1,2,3,4 |
NE |
|
25 |
Chilades lajus (Stoll, [1780]) |
Lime Blue |
C |
2,3,4 |
NE |
|
26 |
Euchrysops cnejus (Fabricius,1798) |
Gram Blue |
NR |
2,3,4 |
NE/ Sch II (Part II) |
|
27 |
Jamides bochus (Stoll, [1782]) |
Dark
Cerulean |
C |
1,2,3,4 |
NE |
|
28 |
Jamides celeno (Cramer, [1775]) |
Common
Cerulean |
C |
3,4 |
NE |
|
29 |
Luthrodes pandava (Horsfield, [1829]) |
Plains
Cupid |
VC |
1.2.3.4 |
NE |
|
30 |
Neopithecops zalmora (Butler, 1870) |
Quaker |
VC |
2,3,4 |
NE |
|
31 |
Prosotas dubiosa (Semper, [1879]) |
Tailless Lineblue |
C |
1,2,3 |
NE |
|
32 |
Tarucus nara (Kollar, 1848) |
Striped/
Rounded Pierrot |
C |
2,3,4 |
NE |
|
33 |
Zizeeria karsandra (Moore, 1865) |
Dark Grass
Blue |
C |
1,2,3,4 |
NE |
|
34 |
Zizula hylax (Fabricius, 1775) |
Tiny Grass
Blue |
VC |
1,2,3,4 |
NE |
|
Subfamily Theclinae |
|||||
|
35 |
Arhopala atrax (Hewitson, 1862)* |
Indian Oakblue |
R |
2,3 |
NE |
|
36 |
Iraota timoleon (Stoll, [1790]) |
Silverstreak Blue |
R |
3 |
NE |
|
37 |
Mahathala ameria (Hewitson, 1862) |
Falcate Oakblue |
R |
3 |
NE/ Sch II (Part II) |
|
38 |
Rapala manea (Hewitson, 1863) |
Slate Flash |
NR |
2,3 |
NE |
|
39 |
Rathinda amor (Fabricius, 1775) |
Monkey
Puzzle |
R |
3 |
NE |
|
40 |
Spindasis vulcanus (Fabricius, 1775) |
Common
Silverline |
NC |
2, 3 |
NE |
|
41 |
Virachola isocrates (Fabricius, 1793) |
Common
Guava Blue |
R |
1, 3, 4 |
NE |
|
Family Nymphalidae |
|||||
|
Subfamily Biblidinae |
|||||
|
42 |
Ariadne (Linnaeus,
1763) |
Angled
Castor |
VC |
1, 2,3,4 |
NE |
|
43 |
Ariadne merione (Cramer, [1777]) |
Common
Castor |
VC |
1, 2,3, 4 |
NE |
|
|
Subfamily Danainae |
|
|
|
NE |
|
44 |
Danaus chrysippus (Linnaeus, 1758) |
Plain Tiger |
VC |
1,2,3,4 |
NE |
|
45 |
Danaus genutia (Cramer, [1779]) |
Common
Tiger/ Striped Tiger |
VC |
1,2,3,4 |
NE |
|
46 |
Danaus melanippus indicus (Fruhstorfer, 1899) |
White Tiger |
C |
2,3,4 |
NE |
|
47 |
Euploea core (Cramer, [1780]) |
Common Crow |
VC |
1, 2,3, 4 |
LC/Sch IV |
|
48 |
Euploea klugii kollari (C. & R. Felder, 1865) |
King Crow |
C |
3,4 |
NE |
|
49 |
Tirumala limniace (Cramer, [1775]) |
Blue Tiger |
NC |
1, 2, 3 |
NE |
|
50 |
Tirumala septentrionis (Butler, 1874)* |
Dark Blue
Tiger |
R |
2,3 |
NE |
|
Subfamily Acraeinae |
|||||
|
51 |
Acraea violae (Fabricius,
1793) |
Tawny Coster |
VC |
1, 2, 3,4 |
NE |
|
Subfamily Heliconiinae |
|||||
|
52 |
Phalanta phalantha (Drury, [1773]) |
Common
Leopard |
VC |
1, 2,3, 4 |
NE |
|
Subfamily Limenitinae |
|||||
|
53 |
Euthalia aconthea (Cramer, [1777]) |
Common
Baron |
NR |
2, 3 |
NE |
|
54 |
Moduza procris (Cramer, [1777]) |
Commander |
C |
2, 3 |
NE |
|
55 |
Neptis hylas (Linnaeus, 1758) |
Common Sailer |
C |
2, 3, 4 |
NE |
|
56 |
Neptis jumbah Moore, [1858] |
Chestnut-streaked
Sailer |
NR |
2, 3 |
NE/ Sch I (Part IV) |
|
57 |
Phaedyma columella (Cramer, [1780])* |
Short-banded
Sailer |
NC |
2,3,4 |
NE |
|
58 |
Symphaedra nais (Forster, 1771) |
Baronet |
C |
1, 2, 3 |
NE |
|
Subfamily Morphinae |
|||||
|
59 |
Discophora sondaica Boisduval, 1836 |
Common
Duffer |
R |
3 |
NE/ Sch I (Part IV) |
|
Subfamily Nymphalinae |
|||||
|
60 |
Hypolimnas bolina (Linnaeus, 1758) |
Great Eggfly |
c |
1,2,3,4 |
NE |
|
61 |
Junonia almana (Linnaeus, 1758) |
Peacock
Pansy |
VC |
2,3,4 |
LC |
|
62 |
Junonia atlites (Linnaeus, 1763) |
Grey Pansy |
c |
2,3,4 |
NE |
|
63 |
Junonia hierta (Fabricius, 1798) |
Yellow
Pansy |
NC |
2,3 |
LC |
|
64 |
Junonia iphita (Cramer, [1779]) |
Chocolate
Pansy |
VC |
1, 2, 3, 4 |
NE |
|
65 |
Junonia lemonias (Linnaeus, 1758) |
Lemon Pansy |
VC |
1,2,3,4 |
NE |
|
66 |
Junonia orithya (Linnaeus, 1758) |
Blue Pansy |
NR |
2, 3 |
NE |
|
Subfamily Satyrinae |
|||||
|
67 |
Elymnias hypermnestra (Linnaeus, 1763) |
Common Palmfly |
NR |
2, 3, 4 |
NE |
|
68 |
Lethe europa (Fabricius,
1775) |
Bamboo Treebrown |
NR |
3,4 |
NE/Sch I (Part IV) |
|
69 |
Melanitis leda (Linnaeus, 1758) |
Common
Evening Brown |
C |
1, 2, 3, 4 |
NE |
|
70 |
Mycalesis perseus (Fabricius, 1775) |
Common Bush
Brown |
NR |
2,3,4 |
NE |
|
71 |
Ypthima baldus (Fabricius, 1775)* |
Common Fivering |
NR |
2, 3, 4 |
NE |
|
72 |
Ypthima huebneri Kirby, 1871 |
Common Fourring |
C |
1,2,3,4 |
NE |
|
Family Papilionidae |
|||||
|
Subfamily Papilioninae |
|||||
|
73 |
Graphium agamemnon (Linnaeus, 1758) |
Tailed Jay |
C |
1,2,3 |
NE |
|
74 |
Graphium doson (C. & R. Felder, 1864) |
Common Jay |
C |
1, 2, 3 |
NE |
|
75 |
Graphium nomius (Esper, 1799)* |
Spot
Swordtail |
C |
1,2,3 |
NE |
|
76 |
Pachliopta aristolochiae (Fabricius,
1775) |
Common Rose |
C |
1, 2, 3, 4 |
NE |
|
77 |
Papilio clytia Linnaeus, 1758 |
Common Mime |
C |
2, 3 |
NE/Sch I (Part IV) |
|
78 |
Papilio crino Fabricius, 1793 |
Common
Banded Peacock |
R |
3, 4 |
NE |
|
79 |
Papilio demoleus Linnaeus, 1758 |
Lime
Butterfly |
VC |
1,2,3,4 |
NE |
|
80 |
Papilio hector (Linnaeus, 1758) |
Crimson
Rose |
NR |
1,2,3,4 |
NE |
|
81 |
Papilio polymnestor Cramer, [1775] |
Blue Mormon |
NC |
2,3,4 |
NE |
|
82 |
Papilio polytes Linnaeus, 1758 |
Common
Mormon |
C |
2, 3, 4 |
NE |
|
Family Pieridae |
|||||
|
Subfamily Coliadinae |
|||||
|
83 |
Catopsilia pomona (Fabricius, 1775) |
Common
Emigrant |
C |
1, 2, 3, 4 |
NE |
|
84 |
Catopsilia pyranthe (Linnaeus, 1758) |
Mottled
Emigrant |
VC |
1,2,3,4 |
NE |
|
85 |
Eurema andersoni Moore, 1886 |
One-spot
Grass Yellow |
C |
1,2,3,4 |
LC |
|
86 |
Eurema blanda (Boisduval, 1836) |
Three-spot
Grass Yellow |
VC |
1,2,3,4 |
NE |
|
87 |
Eurema brigitta (Stoll, [1780]) |
Small Grass
Yellow |
VC |
1,2,3,4 |
LC |
|
88 |
Eurema hecabe (Linnaeus, 1758) |
Common
Grass Yellow |
C |
2, 3, 4 |
NE |
|
89 |
Eurema laeta (Boisduval, 1836)* |
Spotless
Grass Yellow |
C |
1,2,3,4 |
NE |
|
90 |
Eurema sari (Horsfield)* |
Chocolate
Grass Yellow |
C |
2, 3, 4 |
NE |
|
Subfamily Pirinae |
|||||
|
91 |
Appias libythea olferna (Swinhoe, 1890) |
Striped
Albatross |
NR |
2,3 |
NE |
|
92 |
Cepora nerissa (Fabricius, 1775) |
Common Gull |
C |
2, 3 |
NE/Sch II (Part II) |
|
93 |
Colotis amata (Cramer, 1775) |
Small
Salmon Arab |
NC |
1,2,4 |
NE |
|
94 |
Delias eucharis (Drury, 1773) |
Common Jezabel |
VC |
1, 2, 3, 4 |
NE |
|
95 |
Ixias pyrene (Linnaeus, 1764) |
Yellow
Orange Tip |
NC |
1,2,3 |
NE |
|
96 |
Leptosia nina (Fabricius, 1793) |
Psyche |
C |
1,2,4 |
NE |
|
97 |
Pareronia valeria (Cramer, [1776]) |
Common
Wanderer |
NR |
2,3 |
NE |
|
98 |
Pieris canidia (Linnaeus, 1768) |
Indian
Cabbage White |
NR |
2,3 |
NE |
VC—very common | C—common |
NC—not common | NR—not rare | R—rare | 1—pre-monsoon | 2—monsoon |
3—post-monsoon | 4—winter | NE—not evaluated
| LC—Least Concern | Sch—schdule.
* indicates newly recorded
species from this region
Table 3. List of newly recoded
species along with their distribution and legal protection status.
|
|
New records |
Distributiona |
Legal protectionb |
Reference |
|
Family Hesperiidae |
||||
|
1 |
Baoris farri |
West Bengal (Alipurduar, South 24 Parganas, Bankura, Purulia
district), NEI, A & N Is., SI, CI |
NE/ Sch IV |
Saji & Manoj (2020) |
|
2 |
Pelopidas subochracea |
West Bengal (northern Bengal,
southwestern Bengal), NEI, SI, CI |
NE |
Saji (2020) |
|
Family Lycaenidae |
||||
|
3 |
Zizina otis |
India |
NE |
Saji & Mahajan
(2020) |
|
4 |
Arhopala atrax |
West Bengal (Alipurduar, Bankura, Purulia district) NEI, CI, NI |
NE |
Anonymous (2020a) |
|
Family Nymphalidae |
||||
|
5 |
Tirumala septentrionis |
NEI, NI, SI, CI |
NE |
Saji et al. (2020) |
|
6 |
Phaedyma columella |
West Bengal (Alipurduar, Bardhaman
district), NEI, NI, SI, CI, A&N Is |
NE |
Churi & Bagli (2020) |
|
7 |
Ypthima baldus |
West Bengal (Northern Bengal to
southern Bengal), NEI, NI, CI, SI |
NE |
Ogale & Saji (2020) |
|
Family Papilionidae |
||||
|
8 |
Graphium nomius |
West Bengal (Bardhaman, Bankura, Purulia district), SI, CI, NEI |
NE |
Churi (2020) |
|
Family Pieridae |
||||
|
9 |
Eurema laeta |
West Bengal (Bankura, Purulia
district), SI, CI, NEI, NI |
NE |
Bhakare & Bhagwat
(2020) |
|
10 |
Eurema sari |
NEI, SI |
NE |
Anonymous (2020b) |
a Emphasis on regional distribution along with
National level distribution (NEI: Northeastern India,
NI: Northern India, SI: Southern India, CI: Central India, A&N Is: Andaman
& Nicobar island of newly recoded species in this study.
b Legal protection of newly
recorded butterfly species based on IUCN Red list (NE: Not Evaluated)/IW(P)A (Sch IV: Schedule IV).
For figures
& images - - click here
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