Journal of Threatened Taxa | www.threatenedtaxa.org | 26 November 2021 | 13(13): 20090–20097

 

ISSN 0974-7907 (Online) | ISSN 0974-7893 (Print) 

https://doi.org/10.11609/jott.6434.13.13.20090-20097

#6434 | Received 18 July 2020 | Final received 13 September 2021 | Finally accepted 13 October 2021

 

 

 

Butterflies of Amrabad Tiger Reserve, Telangana, India

 

Deepa Jaiswal 1, B. Bharath 2, M. Karuthapandi 3, Shrikant Jadhav 4, S. Prabakaran 5 & S. Rehanuma Sulthana 6

 

1–6 Freshwater Biology Regional Centre, Zoological Survey of India, Hyderguda, Attapur, Hyderabad, Telangana 500048, India.

1 deepajzsi@gmail.com, 2 bhupathibharath23@gmail.com, 3 kpandi83@gmail.com (corresponding author),

4 shrikantjadhavzsi@gmail.com, 5 prabakaranzsi@yahoo.co.in, 6 rehansiddhu@gmail.com

 

 

 

Editor: George Mathew, Alappuzha, Kerala, India.       Date of publication: 26 November 2021 (online & print)

 

Citation: Jaiswal, D., B. Bharath, M. Karuthapandi, S. Jadhav, S. Prabakaran & S.R. Sulthana (2021). Butterflies of Amrabad Tiger Reserve, Telangana, India.  Journal of Threatened Taxa 13(13): 20090–20097. https://doi.org/10.11609/jott.6434.13.13.20090-20097

 

Copyright: © Jaiswal et al. 2021. 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 very grateful to the Director, Zoological Survey of India, Kolkata for the constant encouragement and support. We are thankful to the PCCF(H), Forest Department, Telangana, Conservator of forest, District forest officer, field director and range officers of Amrabad Tiger Reserve for their extended support and necessary permission for access of the reserve. We are also thank Mr. C. Shiva Shankar for his support during field survey. 

 

 

 

Abstract: The butterfly diversity of Amrabad Tiger Reserve was assessed from March 2018 to February 2021. A total of 106 species belonging to the families Nymphalidae (36 species), Lycaenidae (30 species), Pieridae (18 species), Hesperiidae (14 species), and Papilionidae (8 species) were recorded. Of these, 12 species belonged to the Schedules I, II & IV of the Indian Wildlife Protection Act, and four were common in this region.

 

Keywords: Butterfly diversity, Hesperiidae, Lycaenidae, Nymphalidae, Papilionidae, Pieridae, status.

 

 

 

Telangana state having a wide range of ecosystems is rich in its biodiversity (Khartade et al. 2019). Approximately, 26,900 km2 area constituting 24% of the total area are under forest. There are 12 protected areas, which consists of seven wildlife sanctuaries, three national parks and two tiger reserves. Amrabad Tiger Reserve is located in the northern part of Nallamala Hills, Eastern Ghats and on the banks of river Krishna. It has an area of 2,611.39km2 with deciduous forest harbouring a wide variety of flora and fauna. It was previously a part of Nagarjunasagar Srisailam Tiger Reserve (NSTR), Andhra Pradesh. After bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh, the area of NSTR falling under the newly formed Telangana state was designated as Amrabad Tiger Reserve.

A total of 2,450 faunal species have been reported so far from the state of Telangana (Chandra et al. 2021), including 165 species of butterflies (Sailu et al. 2021). Earlier studies from adjacent habitats of the Eastern Ghats by Rao et al. (2004) reported 89 butterfly species from NSTR, Andhra Pradesh; Raju et al. (2003) reported 68 species from Visakhapatnam; Venkataramana (2010) reported 70 species from Visakhapatnam, Ananthagiri and Ratnagiri hills of Eastern Ghats; Ramamurty et al. (2013) reported 78 species from Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh; and Goswami et al. (2018) recorded 102 species of butterflies from northern Eastern Ghats of Andhra Pradesh. In this study, an attempt has been made to document the butterfly diversity of Amrabad Tiger Reserve, Telangana.

 

Materials and Methods

Sampling of butterflies was made in 20 different sampling stations on a seasonal basis to cover different stretches of the tiger reserve. Observations were made by transact method from 0700–0900 h at least to cover 5 km of every sampling station, and randomised sampling from 9-11am and 4-6pm during the years 2018-2021 (Table 1, Figure 1). Butterflies were observed using Nikon binoculars and photographed by Nikon D500 DSLR camera. Collections were made with the help of a sweep net, samples were dry preserved and deposited in the museum collections of Zoological Survey of India, Freshwater Biology Regional Centre, Hyderabad. Species classification and nomenclature were after Kunte (2000), Kehimkar (2008), and Bhakare & Ogale (2018).

 

Results and Discussion

A total of 106 species of butterflies belonging to 68 genera, five families (Table 2, Image 1–106) were recorded from the Amrabad Tiger Reserve. Of these, specimens of 85 species have been collected and preserved. The remaining species were only photographed. Among the various families recorded, Nymphalidae with 36 species and 22 genera, showed high diversity followed by Lycaenidae (30 species) (Figure 2). Among these, 12 species belonged to the schedules I, II & IV of the Indian Wildlife Protection Act (1972). Four species namely, viz., Dark Glass Blue Zizeeria karsandra, Peacock Pansy Junonia almana, Yellow Pansy Junonia hierta, and Small Grass Yellow Eurema brigitta were common, and assessed as ‘Least Concern’ as per IUCN Red List.

The maximum number of species was observed from Umamaheswaram temple with 35 species, followed by Saleshwaram with 25 species, Pichakuntla cheruvu and Billakal with 21 species each. Most of the species are common, and seven were observed rarely, such as Caprona ransonnettii from Mallelatheertham waterfalls, Neptis jumbah from Domalapenta grassland, Lethe europa, Phaedym columella, Spindasis schistacea from Saleshwaram, Polyura agrarian from Umamaheswaram, Colotis fausta from Pichakuntla cheruvu, Appias libythea from Ambagiri and Kamanpenda.

The 165 species of butterflies have been recorded from Telangana, and the species recorded in this study represent 64% of those reported from the state. Eighty-nine species were reported from NSTR and of these 20 were not observed in the present study. The present study documented 34 new additions to the list of butterfly species of Amrabad Tiger Reserve. Butterflies recorded in this study showed 69% similarity with species recorded in Rao et al. (2004), 50% with Goswami et al. (2018), 68% with Raju et al. (2003), and 62% with Venkataramana (2010). It shows that the northern and southern Eastern Ghats species distribution are approximately 45% dissimilar, it could be due to variation in habitat, host plant and climatic conditions.

The family Nymphalidae are dominant in the tropical region because most of them are polyphagous in nature and thus able to survive in all habitats. Additionally, many species of this family are strong, active fliers able to search for resources in large areas (Easwaran & Pramod 2005; Krishnakumar et al. 2008). The high proportion of nymphalidae observed might also be due to the availability of a variety of host plants in Amrabad Tiger Reserve. The predominance of Nymphalidae over other butterfly groups in the Western Ghats has earlier been reported by (Kunte 1997; Easwaran & Pramod 2005). Amrabad Tiger Reserve has mixed vegetation supporting rich species diversity. The increase in butterfly diversity may be due to favourable climatic conditions, availability of more number of host plants and vegetation cover of herbs, shrubs and trees for nectaring of butterflies (Tiple 2009). Since, the Amrabad Tiger Reserve hosts the scheduled and least concern species, conservation measures to ensure habitat protection in the tiger reserve are essential. However, further studies on ecology, threats and conservation of butterfly needs to be focused.

 

 

Table 1. Sampling locations of Amrabad Tiger Reserve, Telangana.

 

Locality

Longitude (E)

Latitude (N)

1

Achampet

78.7377

16.3930

2

Ambagiri

78.5792

16.2678

3

Thirumalapur

78.8775

16.3554

4

Billakal

78.6369

16.2678

5

Domalapenta Grass land

78.8264

16.1831

6

Farhabad view point

78.6714

16.2561

7

Kamanpenda

78.8391

16.2958

8

Loddimallanna waterfalls

78.7203

16.3061

9

Maddimadugu

79.1551

16.3115

10

Mallela Theertham Waterfalls

78.8558

16.2672

11

Mannanuru Guest house

78.7583

16.3758

12

Octopus view point

78.8800

16.1415

13

Pichakuntla cheruvu

78.6889

16.2506

14

Pond near Ambagiri

78.5792

16.2675

15

Rangapoor

78.7375

16.3939

16

Saleshwaram

78.6392

16.1689

17

Umamaheswaram Temple

78.7267

16.3728

18

Vatavarlapally forest

78.7881

16.2350

19

Vatavarlapally pond

78.7614

16.2514

20

Yellur

78.4217

16.1153

 

 

Table 2 List of Butterfly species recorded from Amrabad Tiger Reserve, Telangana.

 

 

Scientific name

Common name

IUCN Status

WPA Status

 

Hesperiidae

 

 

 

1

Borbo cinnara (Wallace, 1866)

Rice Swift

 

 

2

Caltoris kumara (Moore, 1878)

Blank Swift

 

 

3

Caprona agama  (Moore, 1858)

Spotted Angle

 

 

4

Caprona ransonnettii (R.Felder, 1868)

Golden Angle

 

 

5

Hasora chromus  (Cramer, 1780 )

Common Banded Awl

 

 

6

Matapa aria (Moore, 1866)

Common Red Eye

 

 

7

Lambrix salsala (Moore, 1866)

Chestnut Bob

 

 

8

Parnara ganga  Evans, 1937

Continental Swift

 

 

9

Pelopidas mathias (Fabricius, 1798)

Small-Branded Swift

 

 

10

Pelopidas subochracea (Moore, 1878)

Large Banded Swift

 

 

11

Spialia galba (Fabricius, 1793)

Indian Skipper

 

 

12

Suastus gremius (Fabricius, 1798)

Indian Palm Bob

 

 

13

Telicota bambusae (Moore, 1878)

Dark Palm Dart

 

 

14

Udaspes folus (Cramer, 1775)

Grass Demon

 

 

 

Lycaenidae

 

 

 

15

Azanus jesous (Guérin-Méneville, 1849)

African Babul Blue

 

 

16

Azanus ubaldus (Stoll, 1782)

Bright Babul Blue

 

 

17

Azanus uranus Butler, 1886

Dull Babul Blue

 

 

18

Caleta decidia (Hewitson, 1876)

Angled Pierrot

 

 

19

Castalius rosimon (Fabricius, 1775)

Common Pierrot

 

Schedule I Species

20

Catochrysops panormus (C.Felder, 1860)

Silver Forget-Me-Not

 

 

21

Catochrysops strabo (Fabricius, 1793)

Forget-Me-Not

 

 

22

Chilades lajus (Stoll, 1780)

Indian Lime blue

 

 

23

Chilades pandava (Horsfield, 1829)

Plains Cupid

 

 

24

Chilades parrhasius (Fabricius, 1793)

Small Cupid

 

 

25

Curetis thetis (Drury, 1773)

Indian Sunbeam

 

 

26

Euchrysops  cnejus (Fabricius, 1798)

Gram Blue

 

Schedule II Species

27

Everes lacturuns (Godart, 1824)

Indian Cupid

 

 

28

Freyeria putli (Kollar, 1844)

Small Grass Jewel

 

 

29

Jamides bochus (Stoll, 1782)

Dark Cerulean

 

 

30

Jamides  celeno (Cramer 1775)

Common Cerulean

 

 

31

Lampides boeticus (Linnaeus, 1767)

Pea Blue

 

Schedule II Species

32

Leptotes plinius (Fabricius, 1793)

Zebra Blue

 

 

33

Prosotas dubiosa indica (Evans, 1925)

Tailless Line Blue

 

 

34

Prosotas nora (C.Felder, 1860)

Common Line Blue

 

 

35

Rathinda amor (Fabricius, 1775)

Monkey Puzzle

 

 

36

Spindasis ictis (Hewitson, 1865)

Common Shot Silverline

 

 

37

Spindasis schistacea (Moore, 1881)

Plumbeous Silverline

 

 

38

Spindasis vulcanus (Fabricius, 1775)

Common Silverline

 

 

39

Talicada nyseus (Guérin-Méneville, 1843)

Red Pierrot

 

 

40

Tarucus nara (Kollar, 1848)

Striped Pierrot

 

 

41

Virachola isocrates (Fabricius, 1793)

Common Guava blue

 

 

42

Zizeeria karsandra (Moore, 1865)

Dark Grass Blue

Least Concern

 

43

Zizina otis (Fabricius, 1787)

Lesser Grass Blue

 

 

44

Zizula hylax (Fabricius, 1775)

Tiny Grass Blue

 

 

 

Nymphalidae

 

 

 

45

Acraca terpsicore (Linnaeus, 1758)

Tawny Coster

 

 

46

Ariadne merione (Cramer, 1777)

Common Castor

 

 

47

Ariadne ariadne (Linnaeus, 1763)

Angled Castor

 

 

48

Byblia ilithyia (Drury, 1773)

Joker

 

 

49

Charaxes solon (Fabricius, 1793)

Black Rajah

 

Schedule II Species

50

Danaus chrysippus (Linnaeus, 1758)

Plain Tiger

 

 

51

Danaus genutia (Cramer, 1779)

Striped Tiger

 

 

52

Euploea core (Cramer, 1780)

Common Crow

 

 

53

Euploea sylvester (Fabricius, 1793)

Double-Branded Crow

 

 

54

Euthalia aconthea (Cramer, 1777)

Common Baron

 

Schedule II Species

55

Hypolimnas bolina (Linnaeus, 1758)

Great Eggfly

 

 

56

Hypolimnas misippus (Linnaeus, 1764)

Danaid Eggfly

 

Schedule I Species

57

Junonia almana (Linnaeus, 1758)

Peacock Pansy

Least Concern

 

58

Junonia atlites (Linnaeus, 1763)

Gray Pansy

 

 

59

Junonia hierta (Fabricius, 1798)

Yellow Pansy

Least Concern

 

60

Junonia iphita (Cramer, 1779)

Chocolate pansy

 

 

61

Junonia lemonias (Linnaeus, 1758)

Lemon Pansy

 

 

62

Junonia orithya (Linnaeus, 1758)

Blue Pansy

 

 

63

Lethe europa (Fabricius, 1775)

Bamboo Tree Brown

 

 

65

Melanitis leda (Linnaeus, 1758)

Common Evening Brown

 

 

66

Moduza procris (Cramer, 1777)

Commander

 

 

67

Mycalesis mineus (Linnaeus, 1758)

Dark Banded Bush Brown

 

Schedule II Species

67

Mycalesis perseus (Fabricius, 1775)

Common Bushbrown

 

 

68

Neptis hylas (Linnaeus, 1758)

Common Sailer

 

 

69

Neptis jumbah Moore, 1858

Chestnut Streaked Sailer

 

Schedule I Species

70

Phaedyma columella (Cramer, 1780)

Short Banded Sailer

 

 

71

Parantica aglea (Stoll, 1782)

Glassy Tiger

 

 

72

Phalantha phalantha (Drury, 1773)

Common Leopard

 

 

73

Polyura agraria (Swinhoe, 1887)

Anomalous Nawab

 

 

74

Polyura athamas (Drury, 1773)

Common Nawab

 

Schedule II Species

75

Symphaedra nais (Forster, 1771)

Baronet

 

 

76

Tirumala limniace (Cramer, 1775)

Blue Tiger

 

 

77

Tirumala septentrionis (Butler, 1874)

Dark Blue tiger

 

 

78

Vanessa cardui (Linnaeus, 1758)

Painted Lady

 

 

79

Ypthima asterope (Klug, 1832)

Common Three-Ring

 

 

80

Ypthima baldus (Fabricius,1775)

Common Five Ring

 

 

 

Pieridae

 

 

 

81

Appias albina (Boisoduval, 1836)

Common Albatross

 

 

82

Appias libythea (Fabricius, 1775)

Striped Albatros

 

Schedule IV Species

83

Belenois aurota (Fabricius, 1793)

Pioneer

 

 

84

Catopsilia pyranthe (Linnaeus, 1758)

Mottled Emigrant

 

 

85

Catospilia pomona (Fabricius, 1775)

Common Emigrant

 

 

86

Cepora nerissa (Fabricius, 1775)

Common Gull

 

Schedule II Species

87

Colotis aurora (Cramer, 1780)

Plain Orange Tip

 

 

88

Colotis danae (Fabricius, 1775)

Crimson Tip

 

 

89

Colotis etrida (Boisoduval, 1836)

Little Orange Tip

 

 

90

Colotis fausta (Olivier, 1804)

Large Salmon Arab

 

 

91

Delias eucharis (Drury, 1773)

Common Jezebel

 

 

92

Eurema brigitta (Stoll, 1780)

Small Grass Yellow

Least Concern

 

93

Eurema hecabe (Linnaeus, 1758)

Common Grass Yellow

 

 

94

Eurema laeta (Boisduval, 1836)

Spotless Grass Yellow

 

 

95

Leptosia nina (Fabricius, 1793)

Psyche

 

 

96

Ixias marianne (Cramer, 1779)

White Orange Tip

 

 

97

Ixias pyrene (Linnaeus, 1764)

Yellow Orange Tip

 

 

98

Pareronia hippia (Fabricius, 1787)

Common Wanderer

 

 

 

Papilionidae

 

 

 

99

Graphium  agamemnon  (Linnaeus, 1758)

Tailed Jay

 

 

100

Graphium doson (C&R Felder, 1864)

Common Jay

 

 

101

Graphium nomius (Esper, 1799)

Spot Swordtail

 

 

102

Pachliopta aristolochiae (Fabricius, 1775)

Common Rose

 

 

103

Pachliopta hector (Linnaeus, 1758)

Crimson Rose

 

Schedule I Species

104

Papilio demoleus  Linnaeus, 1758

Lime Butterfly

 

 

105

Papilio polytes  Linnaeus, 1758

Common Mormon

 

 

106

Papilio crino Fabricius, 1793

Common Banded Peacock

 

 

WPA—Wildlife Protection Act | IUCN—International Union for Conservation of Nature.

 

 

For figures & images - - click here

 

 

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