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Journal of Entomology and Zoology Studies 2015; 3(5): 32-37 E-ISSN: 2320-7078 P-ISSN: 2349-6800 JEZS 2015; 3(5): 32-37 © 2015 JEZS Received: 17-07-2015 Accepted: 18-08-2015 AR Gaikwad Department of Zoology, Mudhoji College, Phaltan. SS Shende Department of Zoology, Mudhoji College, Phaltan. KS Kamble Department of Zoology, Mudhoji College, Phaltan.

Correspondence: AR Gaikwad Department of Zoology, Mudhoji College, Phaltan.

Survey of butterfly species diversity and abundance

in Phaltan region, district Satara, Maharashtra

AR Gaikwad, SS Shende, KS Kamble Abstract The butterflies have great economic importance as pollinator and bio-indicate of environment. A field survey was conducted to observe the butterfly fauna and their abundance from Phaltan region by random observation during July 2013 to November 2013. The study area is located in rain shadow area of Satara district of Maharashtra and part of Western Ghats. The area having different crop pattern and various kinds of plants along with diversity of weed plants. As many as 37 species of butterflies belonging to 26 genera and 6 families were recorded from study area. There may be many more butterflies in herbs and grassland areas of this region. Among these families, Lycaenidae was the most dominant family represented by 13 species followed by Nymphalidae with 7 species and Hesperiidae with 6 species. Some beautiful butterflies includes, rose Mormon (Papilio polymnestor), crimson rose (Colitis eucharis), common Mormon (Pachliopta hector), common Jezebel (Delias eucharis), plain orange tip (Papilio polytes), small grass yellow (Eurema brigitta), double –branched crow (Euploea sylvester) are most abundant. The present study consist of recording of butterflies of Phaltan region, which may provide basic data for study of insect biodiversity of this area. Keywords: Butterfly species, abundances, Lycaenidae, Nymphalidae, Phaltan region Maharashtra. 1. Introduction Butterflies are generally regarded as one of the best taxonomically studied group of insect. Butterflies are day flyer and a colorful insect belonging to the Order Lepidoptera. These insects plays an important role in ecosystem as plant pollinator in food chain as herbivores [1].They are also good indicators of habitat changes and climate variations [2]. Some of their larval forms are agricultural pests. The Indian subcontinent hosts about 1504 species of butterflies [3] of which Western Ghats hosts about 334 species [4].In the present past, several researchers have studied butterflies from some districts and conservation areas of Maharashtra. The study area experiences semi-arid climate. April, May and June are the hottest months with maximum temperature of 40° centigrade. Temperature gradually reduces in December and January with minimum temperature 12° centigrade. Phaltan receives much less rainfall & has been declared drought– prone place. Nira Right Bank Canal (NRBC) flows through Phaltan making it a partially green town. The area having different crop pattern and various kinds of plants along with diversity of weed plants. Unfortunately developmental activities and resulting habitat fragmentation create threats to the survival of butterflies’ worldwide [5, 6, 7, 8] and Phaltan region is not an exception to this. The present study was started to survey and abundance of different butterflies from Phaltan region. Since there was no known published data of butterflies in this region. 2. Materials &Methods 1. Study area: Phaltan Tehsil covering the part of the Nira river basin is one of the economically prosperous Tehsil of Satara district in southern Maharashtra. It lies between 17058’ North to 1805’North latitude and 74020’ East to 74040’East longitude. This area is bounded by the Nira River in the north side. The region attains 750 metres height (M.S.L.) with northward slopping land drained mainly by the Banganga River, a right bank tributary of the Nira River. 2. Data Collection: The selected sites were surveyed from July 2013 to November 2013 to observe the butterflies. The period of study is short hence random observation were carried out. The timing of observations were morning and evening twice a week. For observation

 

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Pollard Walk method [9, 10] was followed for observing butterflies that is walking along the fixed paths while recording these species. For more specification the photographs of butterflies were taken with digital camera. Camera used was Sony with 16.2mega pixels and 30x optical zoom. Flash was mostly kept off to capture natural color of butterflies. The butterflies were identified by using field guides by11 and Butterflies of Western Ghats. Standard guides and

references which are available such as [2] aided identification, classification and nomenclature of butterflies. Butterflies were categorized into four groups based on their occurrence during the period of study. Accordingly those species observed 80-100% of the survey days were categorized as Very common (V), 60-80% as Common( C), 40-60% as Occasional(O) and 20- 40% as Rare (R).

Fig 1: Geographical location of study area

3. Results and Discussion A total of 37 species of butterflies belonging to 26 genera and 6 families were observed from four field station of Phaltan region. Of these, Lycaenidae was the largest family represented by 11genera and 13 species (35.13%) followed by Nymphalidae with 2 genera and 7 species(18.92%), Hesperiidae with 6 genera and 6 species (16.20%), Pieridae with 4 genera and 6 species (16.20%), Papilionidae with 1 genera and 3 species (8.10%) and least was Danaidae family with 2 genera and 2 species (5.4%).The list of butterflies collected or observed during the study period was represented with the family, common name and scientific names in the

Table No. 1. The butterflies were categorized into four groups (Table no. 2) such as: very common -4 species (10.8%), common-25 species (67.6%), occasional-3 species (8.1%) and rear-5 species (13.5%). Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 given protection to 452 species of butterfly in three Schedules. Among the 37 species of butterflies recorded, Hypolimnas misippus, Eurema andersoni and Hypolimnas bolina species were included in schedule II-part II, while Delias eucharis was included in Schedule I-Part IV of the act [12]. Lycaenidae and Nymphalidae families of butterflies are very common in these areas. Some beautiful butterflies includes,

 

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rose Mormon (Papilio polymnestor), crimson rose (Colitis eucharis), common Mormon (Pachliopta hector), common Jezebel (Delias eucharis), plain orange tip (Papilio polytes), small grass yellow (Eurema briaitta), double –branched crow (Euploea sulvester) are most abundant. Butterfly diversity in India varies in different parts Like Visakhapatnam (68species)

[13], Nagarjunasagar Tiger Reserve (89 species) [14], Amravati (52 species) [15], Pune (103 species) [16], Metropolitan Delhi (86 species) [17], Nilgiri (Blue) Mountains (300 species) [18] and

Southern Andhra Pradesh (84 species) [19]. Butterflies are indicators of environment and ecosystem health as any slight changes in the ecosystem affect their populations drastically. Hence, this new record will definitely attract butterfly and nature lovers to carry out further study in this area. It will become possible to explore more data and more conservation and development strategies will be used to maintain and enhance the fauna and flora diversity of Phaltan.

Table 1: showing different families and species of butterflies observed from Phaltan region.

Sr. No. Common Name Scientific Name Relative Abundance I Family – Hesperiidae 1. Fulvous Pied Flat Pseudocoladenia dan C 2 Indian Palm Bob or Palm Bob Suastus gremius C 3 Palm Redeye or the Banana Skipper Erionota thorax R 4 The Common Bush Hopper Ampittia dioscorides C 5 Conjoined Swift Pelopidas conjuncta C 6 Common Small Flat Sarangesa dasahara C II Family – Lycaenidae 1 The Dark Broken-band Oak blue Arhopala atrax C 2 Common Lime blue Prosotas nora R 3 Transparent Six-line Blue Nacaduba kurava O 4 Common Cerulean Jamides celeno C 5 Plains Cupid Chilades pandava C 6 Gram Blue Euchrysops cnejus C 7 Grass Jewel Chilades trochylus C 8 Tiny Grass Blue Zizula hylax O 9 The Lesser Grass Blue Zizina otis C 10 The Dark Grass Blue Zizeeria knysna R 11 Malayan Owl Megisba malaya V 12 The Common Hedge Blue Acytolepis pusp C 13 Bright Babul Blue Azanus ubaldus C III Family – Nymphalidae 1 Danaid Egg fly Hypolimnas misippus R 2 The Great Egg fly Hypolimnas bolina C 3 Blue Pansy Junonia orithya C 4 Lemon Pansy Junonia lemonias V 5 Chocolate Pansy or Chocolate Soldier Junonia iphita C 6 Yellow Pansy Junonia hierta C 7 Peacock Pansy Junonia almana C

IV Family – Danaidae 1 Blue Tiger Tirumala limniace V 2 Glassy Tiger Parantica aglea C V Family – Papilionidae 1 Rose Mormon Papilio polymnestor C 2 Common Mormon Papilio polytes C 3 Lime butterfly Papilio demoleus R

VI Family – Pieridae 1 Common Jezebel Delias eucharis C 2 Psyche Leptosia nina C 3 Small Grass Yellow Eurema brigata V 4 One spot grass yellow Eurema andersoni O 5 Three Spot Grass Yellow Eurema blanda C 6 Yellow Orange Tip Ixias pyrene C

Abbreviations: V- Very common, C- Common, O –Occasional and R –Rear

Table 2: Status of Butterflies observed from Phaltan region.

Sr. No. Status No. of species % of species 1 Very common 04 10.8 2 Common 25 67.6 3 Occasional 03 8.1 4 Rare 05 13.5

Total 37 100.0

Table 3: Distribution of genera and species of Butterflies in respective families from Phaltan region.

Sr. No. Family No. of Genera No. of Species 1 Hesperiidae 06 06 2 Lycaenidae 11 13 3 Nymphalidae 02 07 4 Danaidae 02 02 5 Papilionidae 01 03 6 Pieridae 04 06

Total 06 26 37

 

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Fig 2: Distribution of genera of butterflies

Fig 3: Distribution of species of butterflies in respective families

Fig 4: Status of butterflies observed from Phaltan region

Plate No – 1

Common Rose Butterfly Larva Common 5 Ring Common Sailor

Common 3 Ring Plain Tiger Stripted Pierrot

 

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Malabar Banded Swallowtail Common Evening Brow Large Grass Yellow

Plate No -2

Lemon Pansy Yellow Pansy Danaid Eggfly

Common Emigrant Tiny Grass Blue Chocolate Pansy

Tawny Coster Large Orange Tip Bluepansy

Malayan Owl Oak Hook-Watsonalla Small Orange Tip

 

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4. Acknowledgement Authors are thankful to the Acting Principal and Head of the Zoology Department, Mudhoji College, Phaltan for providing facilities. 5. References 1. Tiple AD, Deshmukh VP, Dennis RLH. Factors

influencing nectar plant resource visits by butterflies on a university campus: implications for conservation. Nota Lepidopteralogica 2006; 28: 213–224.

2. Kunte K. Butterflies of peninsular India (India: A Lifescape). Hyderabad: Universities press (India) Limited. 2000, 272.

3. Tiple AD. Butterflies of Vidarbha region Maharashtra, India; a review with and implication for conservation. Journal of Threatened Taxa. 2011; 3(1):1469–1477.

4. D’Abreu EA. The Central Provinces Butterfly List. Records of the Nagpur Museum Number VII, Government Printing City Press, 1931, 39.

5. Tiple AD, Khurad AM. Butterfly species diversity, habitats and seasonal distribution in and around Nagpur City, central India. World Journal of Zoology. 2009; 4(3): 153–162.

6. Rathcke BJ. Habitat fragmentation and plant pollinator. Current Science, 1993, 65(3).

7. Asher J, Warren M, Fox R, Harding PAUL, Jeffcoate G, Jeffcoate Stephen N. The millennium atlas of butterflies in Britain and Ireland. Oxford University Press. 2001.

8. Hardy PB, Dennis RL. The impact of urban development on butterflies within a city region. Biodiversity and Conservation, 1999; 8(9):1261-1279.

9. Pollard E. A method for assessing changes in the abundance of butterflies. Biological Conservation, 1977; 12:15–153.

10. Pollard E, Yates TJ. Monitoring Butterflies for ecology and Conservation. London: Chapman and Hall, London. 1993, 274.

11. Gunathilagaraj K, Perumal TNA, K Jayaram, Ganesh Kumar M. Some Indian Butterflies. Udhagamandalam: Nilgiri Wild Life and Environment Association. 1998; 274.

12. Gupta IJ, Mondal DK. Red Data Book, Part II, Butterflies of India, Zoological Survey of India, Kolkata, 2005, 535.

13. Solman Raju AJ. Nector host plants of some butterfly species at Visakhapatnam Science and culture, 2004; 70:187-190.

14. Rao KT, Yadav BE, Raju MP, Javed SMM, Krishna ISR. On a collection of centipedes from Nagarjunasagar-Srisailam Tiger Reserve, Andhra Pradesh. Zoos' Print Journal. 2004; 19(11):1691-1692

15. Tiple AD, Khurad AM, Dennis RLH. Butterfly diversity in relation to a human-impact gradient on an Indian university campus. Nota Lepidopteralogica, 2007; 30(1):179–188.

16. Kunte K. Seasonal patterns in butterfly abundance and species diversity in four tropical habitats in Northern Western Ghats. Journal of Bioscience. 1997; 2(5):593-603.

17. Larsen TB. The butterflies of Delhi, Indian annotated checklist. Experian, 2002; 9:459-479.

18. Larsen TB. The butterflies of the Nilgiri mountains of the Southern India (Lepidoptera: Rhopalocera). Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society. 1988; 85(1):26-43.

19. Prasanna Kumar V, HP Meerabai B, Venkata Ramanna SP. Pattern of butterflies diversity in three tropical habitats of the Eastern Ghats in Southern Andhra Pradesh. Discovery life, 2013; 4(11):10-15.