Butterfly (Lepidoptera: Rhopalocera) diversity of the Nilambur Valley and its environs,

Western Ghats, Kerala, India.

Naveen Prasad Alex1, 2 (Coressponding Author), Kalesh Sadasivan2,3, Karumampoyil

Sakthidas Anoop Das4,5

1. Department of Biological Sciences, University of Turku, Turku, Finland

Email – alexnaveenprasad@gmail.com

Phone number:- +358 415842826, +919048469632

ORCID ID- 0009-0000-1612-7127

Postal Adress- Anupamam, Ozhukkara, Mayanad PO, Kozhikode, Kerala, India

673008

2. Travancore Nature History Society (TNHS), MBRRA 65, Jyothis, Mathrubumi Road,
Vanchiyoor695035, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, India.
3. Greeshmam, BN439, Bapuji Nagar, Medical College P.O., Thiruvananthapuram,
Kerala, India,PIN 695011; Email: kaleshs2002in@gmail.com
4. Centre for Conservation Ecology and Department of Zoology, Muslim Educational
Society (MES) Mampad College, Kerala 676 542, India
5. Sichuan Institute Key Laboratory for Protecting Endangered Birds in the Southwest
Mountains, College of Life Sciences, Leshan Normal University, Leshan 61004,
Peoples Republic of China
Key-words: Butterflies, endemic, diversity, Checklist, Nilgiri Landscape, migration

Abbreviations: KWLS–Karimpuzha Wildlife Sanchuary, MSL–Meansea level, NARF–New

Amarambalam Reserved Forest, NNFD–Nilambur North Forest Division, NSFD–Nilambur

South Forest Division, WG–Western Ghats, WPA–Wildlife Protection Act

Abstract: This paper discusses thebutterfly diversity of Nilambur Valley, including the

Karimpuzha Wildlife Sanchuary, Nilambur North and South Forest Division, in the

Nilgirilandscape ofKerala state in Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve, Western Ghats of southern

India. Ofthe 336 species of butterflies reported from the Western Ghats and 326 species

fromKerala, we found 271 species from the study region. This includes 18 species of

Papilionidae, 26 Pieridae, 80 Nymphalidae, two Riodinidae, 78 Lycaenidae, and 67

Hesperiidae. Thirty-nine species were strict Western Ghats endemics, 21 were IUCN Red-

listed, and 62 were listed in the WPA (Wildlife Protection Act 1972 and its amendments till

2022). We also give a comparative account of the various indices between of Karimpuzha

Wildlife Sanchuary and its bufferzone. Migratory movement of butterflies in the region is

also discussed, in addition to the checklist of butterflies from this relatively understudied

region of Western Ghats.

Introduction
 Butterflies (Lepidoptera: Rhopalocera) are insects that play diverse roles and thus

contribute to the sustainability of ecosystems (Seymoure 2018). Tropical forests are rich

centers of butterfly diversity with nearly 80% of all known butterflies belonging to this

ecosystem (Bonebrake et al. 2010). Effects of global climates, forest fires, logging of trees,

deforestation for commercial plantations, forest submergence as a result of hydroelectric

projects and cattle grazing consist of major factors negatively affecting the tropical forests

(Misiukas et al. 2020). These factors have started negatively affecting butterfly populations,

with several studies demonstrating that populations decline along different tropical forests

(Theng et al. 2020; Leidner et al. 2010). Conservation of tropical biodiversity is the key to

maintaining the ecosystem balance on the Earth, and butterflies are a core part of this

ecosystem. Recording their status and diversity is the initial step in any conservation effort

(Misiukas et al. 2020).

The tropical forests of the Western Ghats are the most species-rich in South Asia, and

along with Sri Lanka being the world's eight 'hottest hotspots' of biological diversity

(Sadasivan & Sengupta, in press 2023). Western Ghats hosts around 336 species out of which

around 326 species are seen in Kerala, of which 39 species are endemic to Western Ghats

(Sadasivan & Sengupta, in press 2023). The Nilambur valley (110 14’-110 24’N & 760 19’-

760 33’E) consist of KWLS, NNFD and NSFD. The New Amrmbalam region, comprising an

area of 265.72 square kilometres in KWLS, was a reserved forest prior to declaration of

KWLS. This ecoregion in the Nilgiri landscape forms an important part of the Western Ghats,

with it being located adjacent to the Nilgris Hills and Silent Valley national park.

The region despite being known for its rich biodiversity, the studies on butterflies in this

region are very few, with notable works from the New Amarmablam Reserve Forest by

Mathew (2009) and Sharma et al (2002). These studies report 133 species of butterflies from

NARF, among which twenty-eight species were either endemic or protected species. The
studies have also reported Species richness, Dominance index, Species diversity, and

Equitability indices of insects including butterflies across different habitats within NARF.

This studies also a migratory movement of butterflies from NARF, the migratory swarms

majorly consisting of the Common Albatross (Appias (Catophaga) albino swinhoei (Moore,

1905)). These observations on migration were published as a separate report by Geroge and

Mathew (2002). A study by Palot (2010) mentions the migration of Dianane butterflies from

the region. Two other studies, one on fruit feeding community of the area (Alex and Das

2014) and other one on Lifecycle of two Hespiridae species from the region were also

reviewed (Alex et al. 2014). Literature on butterfly fauna from the adjacent landscapes like

Silent Valley and the Nilgiris reveals high diversity (Evershed 1910; WIlliams 1938; Briscoe

1952; Larsen 1978, 1987; Sadasivan et al. 2023). From the adjacent Nilgiri hills, Hampson

(1888) had 260 valid taxa, Yates (1935) included 282 species, Wynter-Blyth mentioned 290

species, and Larsen (1987, 88) had 299 species. The Silent Valley National Park also records

high diversity of butterflies, from the Western slopes of SNVP bordering with KWLS,

Mathew and Rahamathulla (1993) and Mathew (1994, 1999) reported around 100 species. A

more recent study by Sadasivan et al. (2023) reports 290 species of butterflies from SVNP

and its buffer zone. Migration of butterflies, especially Danainae and Pieridae butterflies has

been historically well-documented from the nearby Nilgiri Hills (Evershed 1910; Williams

1938; Briscoe 1952; Larsen 1978, 1987). There is also a report on Danainae migration from

adjacent Silent Valley National Park (Mathew and Rahamathulla 1993).

No other published records are available on the butterfly diversity of Nilambur Valleys.

This paper prepared in light of our decade long fieldwork provides a checklist of butterflies

of the Nilambur region and also a comparison of butterfly diversity between the KWLS and

its buffer zone. We also report observations on butterfly migrations observed from the region.

Materials and Methods

Study Region

The Nilambur valley is located in the slope of the Nilgiri hills of the Western Ghats. The

region is the catchment area of Chaliyar River and its tributaries. The region is located in the

Nilambur taluk of the Malappuram District of Kerala State and can be described as the

catchment area of Chaliyar River and its tributaries. It consists of Nilambur North Forest

Division (NNFD), Nilambur South Forest Division (NSFD) and the Karimpuzha Wildlife

Sanctuary (KWLS). NNFD (849.73 acres) is located in the northern part of the region and is

divided into three ranges: Edavanna, Nilambur and Karulayi. NSFD is located in the southern

part of the valley and is divided into two ranges Karulayi and Kalikkavu. KWLS is spread

across the central area and NSFD. KWLS declared as a wildlife sanctuary on 3 July 2020, it

covers an area of 227.97 sq km and comprises the New NARF and Vadakkekotta vested

forest, except the Manjeri colony of the Cholanaikar tribe. KWLS links the Silent Valley

National Park in Kerala and Mukurthi National Park in Tamil Nadu and thereby creates a

contiguous protective area stretch. The NNFD borders Vellarimala Hills mountain range in

the northern part of the study region. The KWLS occupies the western slope of the Nilgiri

plateau. The region is an important part of the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve along with Silent

Valley National Park (Kerala).

The study region is mostly composed of tropical moist deciduous, tropical semi

evergreen, tropical evergreen, subtropical-hill forest, subtropical savannas, montane wet

temperate forests and montane wet temperate grasslands,distributed along the altitudinal

gradient,rising from 40 m to 2554 m above msl .The region has high flora diversity, with

some rare and endangered plant species reported (Sivarajan& Mathew 1997). There are also

different monoculture and multispecies plantations along the peripheral areas, mainly

consisting of teak Tectona grandis and mahogany Swietenia mahagoni. The region also hosts

rich fauna, with 100 taxa of birds, 26 large mammals, 202 moths, 65 Coleoptera, 51
Hymenoptera and 43 freshwater fishes recorded (Mathew 2009; Sharma et al.2002; Baby et

al. 2010).

The climate of the region varies among different areas, depending on location,

topography, altitude etc. An inverse relationship between the temperature and altitude is a

notable feature of the Nilambur region. In the Valleys, the temperature often reaches 45 OC

during summer, whereas temperature in the Ghat region remains 230C. The region receives

more than 4000 mm of annual rainfall (Mathew 2009; Sharma et al. 2002). It is one of the

locations in the Western Ghats that receives high precipitation, which is distributed over two

monsoon seasons (Mathew 2009; Sharma et al. 2002).

The Nilambur region is situated in the catchment area of Chaliyar River and its major

tributaries. The Chaliyar River basin covers 6.7 per cent of the total area of Kerala River

basins. The major tributaries in Nilambur region are Cherupuzha and its tributaries, the

Karimpuzha and its tributaries, the Punnapuzha and its tributaries and Kuruvanpuzha. The

major tributaries of Chaliyar River are the Karimpuzha River and its tributaries Talipuzha,

Panapuzha, Manjakallanthodu and Arikayamthodu. There are several small waterfalls along

the course of these rivers. The Cherupuzha River originates from Mukurthi National Park in

Nilgiris district of Tamil Nadu, the river and its tributaries form the major water source for

Nilambur South Forest Division. Punnapuzha is also known as Pandiyar. While one branch of

the river originates from the Northern slopes of Mukurthi National Park, another branch

originates from Gudalur region of Tamil Nadu. Two of these branches join together in

Guladular. Maruthappuzha is a tributary merge with Punnapuzha in Edakkara region.

Punnzapunzha merges with Karmipuzha at Chaliyarmukku. Two out of three branches of the

Kuruvanpuzha originate from Kakkadampoyil region, whereas one from the slopes of

Vellarimala- NNFD border. Kuruvanpuzha merges with Chaliyar.

Fig. 1 – Map showing Nilambur Region (Available via license: CC BY 4.0)

Data Collection

The field data were collected by using the standard transect methodology (3 km in 3

hours) described in Sadasivan et al. (2023) using modified Pollard walks (Royer et al. 1998).

Covering all the habitats and elevational gradients of Nilambur region. The localities assessed

inside included Nedumgayam, Meenmutti, Appunipara, Adyanpara, Pullukuthimala,

Manacadavu, Punchakolly, Theenpara, and Nadugani, Kakkadumpoyil, Chaliyarmukku,

Elanchery, Chungathara and Kozhipara. The transact surveys were done in such a way that

each habitat was surveyed at least 10 times from 2012–2018. The details of sampling sites are

given in table 1. Butterflies were identified with visual observations and photographs taken in

field. Evans (1927 & 1949), Larsen (1987, 1988) and Gaonkar (1996) were used to confirm

the identity of the butterflies.

Table 1 - Details of sampling sites

Sl. Location Protected Vegetation Altitude(m)

No. Area
1 Nedumgayam Nilambur Tropical Moist Deciduous 352.1
Forest

2 Chaliyarmukk Nilambur Tropical Wet Evergreen 300.0

u Forest

3 Meenmutti Kaalikavu Tropical Riparian Fringing 650

Forest

5 Appunipara Kaalikavu Tropical Semi-evergreen 347.4

Forest

7 Pullukuthimal Karulai Tropical Wet Evergreen 1000

a Forest

9 Manacadavu Karulai Tropical Wet Evergreen 800

Forest

11 Punchakolly Vazhikkadavu Subtropical Broad-leaved 414.6

Hill Forest

12 Teenpara Vazhikkadavu Subtropical Broad-leaved Hill 425.5

Forest

13 Nadugani Vazhikkadavu Tropical Wet Evergreen 2,320

Forest

14 Mukkuruthi Vazhikkadavu Montane Wet Temperate 2400

Forest

15 Nadugani Vazhikkadavu Tropical Semi-evergreen 554.05

Churam Forest

16 Melekakkad Kakkadampoyil Tropical Semi-evergreen 345.6

Forest

17 Kallipara Kakkadampoyil Tropical Wet Evergreen 390.7

 Forest

18 Kozhipara Kakkadampoyil Montane Wet Temperate 2000

Forest

19 Akampadam Akampadam Subtropical Broad-leaved Hill 400

Forest

20 Adyanpara Akampadam Tropical riparian fringing 301

forest

21 Chungathara Chungathara Tropical riparian fringing 300

forest

The transect encounters (population status) are classified as very common (VC) if

they are seen in >75% of transects, common (C) if they are seen in 50 -75% of transects, not

rare (NR) if they are seen in 25 -50% of transects, rare (R) if they are seen in 5 -25%, and

very rare (VR) if they are seen in 5% of transects following Sadasivan et al. (2023).The

global conservation status as per the Red List information obtained from the IUCN website,

http://www.iucnredlist.org (IUCN 2023), and The Indian Wildlife Protection Act (WPA)

1972 and its amendments till 2022 have been consulted, to determine the legal conservation

status of the species.

The migrationof butterflies of KWLS were observed for 8 years (2012–2020). The

three major butterfly migrations were those of Danines (Euploea and Tirumala), Catopsilia,

and Appias. The butterfly counts were done as per the method described in Mathew & Biony

(2002). The observer stood about 5 meters away from the migration path of the butterflies,

and all of the butterflies that flew in one minute were counted. The counting started from the

first butterfly spotted at around 08:00 hours till 11:00 hrs.

 The Shannon-Weaver diversity index, species richness (Chao -2), and evenness index

were calculated for the KWLS and its buffer zone. The diversity indices were calculated

using PAleontologicalSTatistics software (PAST). Chao 2 is appropriate for determining the

species richness of mobile organisms such as insects (Hellman and Fowler 1999).

Results

Among the 336 species of butterflies found in Western Ghats and 326 species in

Kerala, we found 271 species of butterflies from Nilambur and its environs (Fig. 2). This

includes 18 species of Papilionidae, 26 species of Pieridae, 80 species of Nymphalidae, 2

species of Riodinidae, 78 species of Lycaenidae and 67 species of Hesperiidae (Fig. 2).

While a total of 265 species of butterflies were found in the study area, 258 species were

recorded from the Karimpuzha Wildlife Sanctuary, while an additional 7 species were

recorded from the buffer zone.

Eighteen Papilionidae species out of Out of 19 Papilionidae species found from

Kerala and Western Ghats were found in Nilambur.Twentysix species of Pieridae were

observed in the study region out of the 32 species in Kerala and 34 species in Western Ghats.

Eighty Nymphalidae species out of 97 recorded from Kerala and 100 from Western Ghats

were found in Nilambur. All two of the Riodinidae species observed in Kerala and Western

Ghats, Abisara bifasciata (suffusa Moore, 1882) and Abisara echerius prunosa (Moore,

1879) were found here. Seventy-Eight species of Lycaenidae out of 94 species in Kerala and

98 in the Western Ghats were observed here. Out of 82 species of Hesperiidae in the Western

Ghats and Kerala, 67 were found (Figure 3).

 As previous studies from the region only reports 133 species of butterflies (Mathew

2009; Sharma et al.2002), therefore this study reports a more accurate and realistic number of

butterflies for a highly ecologically diverse region like Nilambur valleys.

Fig.2–Family wise distribution of species in Western Ghats, Kerala and Nilambur region.

(WG- Western Ghats)

Fig. 3 – Family wise distribution of butterflies of Nilambur

Endemicity
 Fourty nine of the species of butterflies from the region had some sort of endemicity (Fig.

4). There are 39 species recorded to be strictly endemic to the Western Ghats among which

24 were observed from Nilambur region, 3 of them belonging to Papilionidae, 2 to Pieridae,

10 to Nymphalidae, 4 each from Lycaenidae and Hesperiidae (Table 2). Among

these, Telinga adolphei, Argynnis hybrid, Mycalesis igilia, Mycalesis orcha and Thoressa

sitala are super-endemic to the Nilgiris–Coorg landscape of Western Ghats, only seen in

montane shola habitats (Sadasivan et al. 2022).

Table 2- Family-wise list of endemic species and their known distribution (WG–Western

Ghats, PI–Peninsular India, SL– Sri Lanka, SI–South India)

Sl. Species Family Endemicity

No.

1 Troides minos (Cramer, [1779]) Papilionidae WG&SI

2 Pachliopta pandiyana (Moore, 1881) Papilionidae WG

3 Papilio liomedon Moore, [1875] Papilionidae WG

4 Papilio buddha Westwood, 1872 Papilionidae WG

5 Pachliopta hector (Linnaeus, 1758) Papilionidae PI&SL

6 Papilio dravidarum (Wood-Mason, 1880) Papilionidae SI

7 Prioneris sita (Felder & Felder, 1865) Pieridae SI&SL

8 Appias wardii (Moore, 1884) Pieridae WG

9 Pareronia ceylanica ceylanica (Felder & Pieridae WG&SL

Felder, 1865)

10 Colias nilagiriensis (Felder & Felder, Pieridae WG

1859)

11 Parantica nilgiriensis (Moore, 1877) Nymphaliade WG

12 Idea malabarica (Moore, 1877) Nymphaliade WG

13 Discophora lepida lepida (Moore, 1857) Nymphaliade SI&SL

14 Mycalesis igilia (Fruhstorfer, 1911) Nymphaliade WG

15 Mycalesis orcha (Evans, 1912) Nymphaliade WG

16 Telinga adolphei (Guérin-Méneville, Nymphaliade WG

1843)

17 Mycalesis junonia (Butler, 1868) Nymphaliade SI

18 Telinga oculus (Marshall, 1881) Nymphaliade WG

19 Lethe drypetis todara (Moore, 1881) Nymphaliade SI&SL

20 Ypthima ceylonica (Hewitson, 1865) Nymphaliade PI&SL

21 Zipaetis saitis (Hewitson, 1863) Nymphaliade WG

22 Elymnias caudata (Butler, 1871) Nymphaliade SI&SL

23 Cirrochroa thais thais (Fabricius, 1787) Nymphaliade SI&SL

24 Argynnis hybrida (Evans, 1912) Nymphaliade WG

25 Cethosia mahratta (Moore, 1872) Nymphaliade WG

26 Kallima horsfieldii (Kollar, 1844) Nymphaliade WG

27 Mycalesis subdita (Moore, 1892) Nymphaliade SI&SL

28 Celatoxia albidisca (Moore, 1884) Lycaenidae WG

29 Ionolyce helicon viola (Moore, 1877) Lycaenidae WG&SL

30 Arhopala alea alea (Hewitson, 1862) Lycaenidae WG

31 Nacaduba calauria evansi (Toxopeus, Lycaenidae WG&SL

1927)

32 Curetis siva (Evans, 1954) Lycaenidae WG

33 Tajuria maculatus (Hewitson, 1865) Lycaenidae WG

 34 Rathinda amor (Fabricius, 1775) Lycaenidae PI&SL

35 Ancema sudica (Evans, 1926) Hesperiidae WG

36 Zeltus amasa amasa (Hewitson, 1865) Hesperiidae PI&SL

37 Rapala lankana (Moore, 1879) Hesperiidae WG&SL

38 Cigaritis vulcanus (Fabricius, 1775) Hesperiidae PI&SL

39 Caltoris canaraica (Moore, 1884) Hesperiidae SI

40 Arnetta vindhiana (Moore, 1884) Hesperiidae PI

41 Caltoris canaraica (Moore, 1884) Hesperiidae SI

42 Arnetta vindhiana (Moore, 1884) Hesperiidae PI

43 Halpe hindu (Evans, 1937) Hesperiidae SI

44 Potanthus diana (Evans, 1932) Hesperiidae PI

45 Thoressa honorei (de Nicéville, 1887) Hesperiidae WG

46 Thoressa sitala (de Nicéville, 1885) Hesperiidae WG

47 Halpemorpha hyrtacus (de Nicéville, Hesperiidae WG

1897)

48 Oriens concinna (Elwes & Edwards, Hesperiidae WG

1897)

49 Celaenorrhinus ambareesa (Moore, Hesperiidae PI

1866)

Fig. 4–Species composition with respect to endemicity

IUCN List of Threatened species

Twenty-one species listed in the IUCN threatened List out of Twenty-two butterflies

listed in from Western Ghats was observed in the study region (Fig. 5). Two species, Idea

malabarica and Parantica nilgiriensis, are listed as Near Threatened, and the rest under Least

Concern. Four of the IUCN-listed species belonged to Papilionidae, 3 to Pieridae, 10 to

Nymphalidae, 3 to Lycanidae and 1 to Hesperiidae (Table 3).

Table 3 - Family wise list of species under Red List of IUCN (LC–Least Concerned,

NT–Nearly Threatend)

Sl. Species Family IUCN

No. Status

1 Troides minos (Cramer, [1779]) Papilionidae LC

2 Pachliopta pandiyana (Moore, 1881) Papilionidae LC

3 Pachliopta aristolochiae aristolochiae Papilionidae LC

(Fabricius, 1775)

4 Pachliopta hector (Linnaeus, 1758) Papilionidae LC

5 Belenois aurota aurota (Fabricius, 1793) Pieridae LC

6 Eurema brigitta rubella (Wallace, 1867) Pieridae LC

7 Eurema (Terias) andersoni shimai (Yata & Pieridae LC

Gaonkar, 1999)

8 Parantica nilgiriensis (Moore, 1877) Nymphalidae NT

9 Euploea core core (Cramer, [1780]) Nymphalidae LC

10 Idea malabarica (Moore, 1877) Nymphalidae NT

11 Melanitis leda leda (Linnaeus, 1758) Nymphalidae LC

12 Byblia ilithyia (Drury, 1773) Nymphalidae LC

13 Rohana parisatis atacinus (Fruhstorfer, 1913) Nymphalidae LC

14 Vanessa cardui (Linnaeus, 1758) Nymphalidae LC

15 Junonia hierta hierta (Fabricius, 1798) Nymphalidae LC

16 Junonia almana almana(Linnaeus, 1758) Nymphalidae LC

17 Zizula hylax hylax (Fabricius, 1775) Lycanidae LC

18 Cheritra freja butleri (Cowan, 1965) Lycanidae LC

19 Azanus jesous (Lederer, 1855) Lycanidae LC

20 Gomalia elma albofasciata (Moore, 1879) Hesperiidae LC

21 Pelopidas mathias mathias (Fabricius, 1798) Hesperiidae LC

Fig. 5 – Species composition with respect to IUCN Threatened list status

 Legal protection status

Seventyone species of butterflies are protected under the WPA 1972 in Western Ghats

and 70 in Kerala. Nilambur region had 62 species under the schedules. Five species are listed

under Schedule I, 53 Species under Schedule II, one species under Schedule IV, one species

under both Schedule I& II and one species under both II&IV. Among the butterflies listed in

WAP 1972 and its ammenments, 6 belonged to Papiliondae, another 6 from Pieridae, 17 from

Nymphalidae, 16 to Lycanidae and 2 to Hesperiidae (Table 4).

Table 4 - List of species in Nilambur valleys and its environs under WPA 1972 and its

amendments

Sl. Species Family WPA 1972 and its

No. amendments

1 Troides minos (Cramer, [1779]) Papilionidae II&IV

2 Pachliopta hector (Linnaeus, 1758) Papiliondae II

3 Pachliopta pandiyana (Moore, 1881) Papiliondae IV

4 Graphium teredon (Felder & Felder, 1865 Papiliondae II

5 Papilio clytia clytia (Linnaeus, 1758) Papiliondae II

6 Papilio liomedon (Moore, [1875]) Papiliondae I

7 Papilio buddha (Westwood, 1872) Papiliondae II

8 Appias wardii (Moore, 1884) Pieridae II

9 Appias (Hiposcritia) indra shiva Pieridae II

(Swinhoe, 1885)

10 Cepora nadina remba (Moore, 1858) Pieridae II

12 Appias lyncida latifasciata (Moore, 1881) Pieridae II

13 Appias (Catophaga) albina swinhoei Pieridae II

 (Moore, 1905)

14 Eurema (Terias) andersoni (shimai Yata Pieridae II

& Gaonkar, 1999)

15 Libythea laius lepitoides (Moore, 1903) Nymphaliade II

16 Idea malabarica (Moore, 1877) Nymphaliade II

17 Phalanta alcippe mercea (Evans, 1924) Nymphaliade II

18 Charaxes psaphon imna (Butler, 1870) Nymphaliade II

19 Charaxes solon solon (Fabricius, 1793) Nymphaliade II

20 Charaxes bharata(Felder & Felder, 1867) Nymphaliade II

21 haraxes schreiber wardii (Moore, 1896) Nymphaliade I

22 Mycalesis anaxias anaxias (Hewitson, Nymphaliade II

1862)

23 Lethe europa europa (Fabricius, 1775) Nymphaliade I&II

24 Zipaetis saitis (Hewitson, 1863) Nymphaliade II

25 Cethosia mahratta (Moore, 1872) Nymphaliade II

26 Melanitis zitenius gokala (Moore, 1857) Nymphaliade II

27 Athyma ranga karwara (Fruhstorfer, Nymphaliade II

1906)

28 Neptis jumbah nalanda (Fruhstorfer, Nymphaliade II

1908)

29 Neptis clinia kallaura (Moore, 1881) Nymphaliade II

30 Parthenos sylvia virens (Moore, 1877) Nymphaliade II

31 Tanaecia lepidea miyana (Fruhstorfer, Nymphaliade II

1913)

32 Euthalia aconthea meridionalis Nymphaliade II

 (Fruhstorfer, 1913)

33 Lasippa viraja kanara (Evans, 1924) Nymphaliade II

34 Euripus consimilis meridionalis (Wood- Nymphaliade II

Mason, 1881)

35 Hypolimnas misippus (Linnaeus, 1764) Nymphaliade II

36 Kallima horsfieldii (Kollar, 1844) Nymphaliade II

37 Dophla evelina laudabilis (Swinhoe, Nymphaliade II

1890)

38 Megisba malaya thwaitesi (Moore, 1881) Lycanidae II

39 Anthene lycaenina lycaenina (Felder, Lycanidae II

1868)

40 Ionolyce helicon viola (Moore, 1877) Lycanidae II

41 Prosotas dubiosa indica (Evans, 1925) Lycanidae II

42 Prosotas noreia hampsonii (de Nicéville, Lycanidae II

1885)

43 Nacaduba hermus sidoma (Fruhstorfer, Lycanidae II

1916)

44 Arhopala alea alea (Hewitson, 1862) Lycanidae I

45 Thaduka multicaudata kanara (Evans, Lycanidae II

1925)

46 Jamides alecto eurysaces (Fruhstorfer, Lycanidae II

1916)

47 Zinaspa todara todara (Moore, 1884) Lycanidae II

48 Pratapa deva deva (Moore, 1858) Lycanidae II

49 Tajuria cippus cippus (Fabricius, 1798) Lycanidae II

50 Tajuria melastigma (de Nicéville, 1887) Lycanidae II

 51 Hypolycaena othona othona (Hewitson, Lycanidae I

1865)

52 Catapaecilma major callone (Fruhstorfer, Lycanidae II

1915)

53 Rapala varuna lazulina (Moore, 1879) Lycanidae II

54 Horaga onyx cingalensis (Moore, 1884) Lycanidae II

55 Hypolycaena othona othona (Hewitson, Lycanidae I

1865)

56 Bindahara moorei (Fruhstorfer, 1904) Lycanidae II

57 Cigaritis lohita lazularia (Moore, 1881) Lycanidae II

58 Cigaritis elima elima (Moore, 1877) Lycanidae II

59 Acytolepis lilacea lilacea (Hampson, Lycanidae II

1889)

60 Ancema sudica (Evans, 1926) Lycanidae II

61 Bibasis sena sena (Moore, 1866) Hesperiidae II

62 Halpe hindu (Evans, 1937) Hesperiidae II

Population Status

Out of 265 butterflies of recorded, 41 were very common, 78 were common, 82 were not

rare, 44 were rare, and 15 belonged to thevery rare category (Fig.6)

Fig. 6 – Population status of butterflies of Nilmbur Valleys

Migration

Danainae and Pieridae butterfly migration has been historically well-documented from

the nearby Nilgiri Hills (Evershed 1910; Williams 1938; Briscoe 1952; Larsen 1978, 1987).

There is also a report on Danainae migration from adjacent Silent Valley National Park

(Mathew and Rahamathulla 1993).

Migration of butterflies from the Nilmabur valley may be read in Mathew and Binoy

(2002) and Palot (2010). Appias (Catophaga) albina swinhoei (Moore, 1905) migration was

reported along the banks of Chaliyar River from northeast to southwest direction (Mathew

and Binoy 2002). Palot (2010) reported danainae migrations from the area, consisting

of Tirumala limniace exoticus (Gmelin, 1790), T. Septentrionis dravidarum Fruhstorfer, 1899

and Euploea core core (Cramer, 1780).

We observed the migration of danainae butterflies was bidirectional that is it was

observed two times a year. During April and May danines observed flying in South-West to

North-East direction, while during October and November, the swarms were seen flying in

the opposite direction of North-East to South-West direction. The six species of butterflies

observed in the swarm were T. limniace exoticus, T. septentrionis dravidarum, E. core core,
E. sylvester coreta, Danaus chrysippus chrysippus (Linnaeus, 1758), and D.genutia

genutia (Cramer, 1779) (Table 5). Throughout eight years common T. limniace dominated

the swarms in number, followed E. core and T. septentrionis (Fig 7) (Table 6). The swarm

were flying 1–3 meters above the ground. It may be also noted that the number of migrant

butterflies has significantly reduced during the eight years (Fig 7) (Table 6).

Appias (Catophaga) albina swinhoei (Moore, 1905) migration was also bidirectional. The

migratory movements were observed in the month of April-June and November- December,

along the banks of the river Chaliyar River at Chaliyarmukku. The movement during April-

May was from southwest to northeast direction and the movement during November-

December was in the opposite direction. The swarm was seen flying 1-2 meters above ground

level. The butterflies observed in the swarm were A. Albina, A. indra shiva (Moore, 1958), A.

wardii (Moore, 1884), Cepora nadina remba (Lucas, 1852), Graphium sarpedon

teredon (Felder & Felder, 1865) and Belenois aurota aurota (Fabricius, 1793). When it

comes to the species composition the A. albina was more in number throughout the

year.Similar to the Danainae butterflies the number of Albatrosses also reduced consistently

during eight years (Fig 7) (Table 6).

In November, 1–2 meters above ground, Catopsilia pomona pomona (Fabricius, 1775)

migration was seen in Nedugayam, flying from northeast to southwest. C. pomona pomona,

C. pyranthe pyranthe (Linnaeus, 1758) and Eurema hecabe hecabe (Linnaeus, 1758) were

the butterflies that were spotted in the swarm. C. pomona pomona was more prevalent

throughout the year in terms of species composition (Table 5). Similar to other butterflies, the

number of Emigrants also steadily declined over eight years (Fig 7) (Table 6). There is no

previous report about the migration of Common Emigrants from Nilambur region.

Other butterfly migrations noted in Nilambur included migration of Jamides bochus

bochus (Stoll, 1782), Hypolimnas bolina jacintha (Drury, 1773) and Pachliopta aristolochiae
aristolochiae (Fabricius, 1775). The migration of J. bochus, was observed in Nadugani

during June 2020, from the South-West to the North-East direction. The swarm was noticed

from around 11:00 hrs to 12:30 hrs. Whereas the migration of H. bolina jacintha and P.

aristolochiae aristolochiae were seen migrating in Chungathara during April 2019, in South-

West to North-East direction. The small swarms of P. aristolochiae aristolochiae were

observed flying in a South-West to North-East direction in June 2018 in Chaliyarmukku.

Table.5 - List of migratory butterflies in Nilambur Valleys

Sl. Species Family

No

1 Pachliopta aristolochiae aristolochiae (Fabricius, 1775) Papilionidae

2 Graphium sarpedon teredon (Felder & Felder, 1865) Papilionidae

3 Appias (Catophaga) albina swinhoei (Moore, 1905) Pieridae

4 Appias indra shiva (Moore, 1958) Pieridae

5 Appias wardii (Moore, 1884) Pieridae

6 Cepora nadina remba (Lucas, 1852) Pieridae

7 Belenois aurota aurota (Fabricius, 1793) Pieridae

8 Catopsilia pomona pomona (Fabricius, 1775) Pieridae

9 Catopsilia pyranthe pyranthe (Linnaeus, 1758) Pieridae

10 Eurema hecabe hecabe (Linnaeus, 1758) Pieridae

11 Tirumala limniace exoticus (Gmelin, 1790) Nymphaliade

12 Tirumala septentrionis dravidarum (Fruhstorfer, 1899) Nymphaliade

13 Euploea core core (Cramer, 1780) Nymphaliade

14 Euploea sylvester coreta (Godart, 1819) Nymphaliade

15 Danaus chrysippus chrysippus (Linnaeus, 1758) Nymphaliade

 16 Danaus genutia genutia (Cramer, 1779) Nymphaliade

17 Hypolimnas bolina jacintha (Drury, 1773) Nymphaliade

18 Jamides bochus bochus (Stoll, 1782) Lycanidae

Fig. 7- Total number migratory butterflies each year from 2012- 2020

Table.6 – Year wise number of individual migrant butterflies

Sl. Year Number of individuals

No.

Swarm : Danainae (Species involved—Tirumala limniace exoticus (Gmelin, 1790), Tirumala

septentrionis dravidarum (Fruhstorfer, 1899), Euploea core core (Cramer, 1780), Euploea

sylvester coreta (Godart, 1819), Danaus chrysippus chrysippus (Linnaeus, 1758) and Danaus

genutia genutia (Cramer, 1779) and Belenois aurota aurota (Fabricius, 1793))

Direction: South-West to North-East

Months: April and May

1 2012 10903
2 2013 9270

3 2014 9100

4 2015 8200

5 2016 7980

6 2017 7400

7 2018 5114

8 2019 6255

9 2020 3998

Swarm : Danainae (Species involved—Tirumala limniace exoticus (Gmelin, 1790), Tirumala

septentrionis dravidarum (Fruhstorfer, 1899), Euploea core core (Cramer, 1780), Euploea

sylvester coreta (Godart, 1819), Danaus chrysippus chrysippus (Linnaeus, 1758) and Danaus

genutia genutia (Cramer, 1779))

Direction: North-East to South-West

Months: October and November

10 2012 10913

11 2013 9280

12 2014 9110

13 2015 8210

14 2016 7990

15 2017 7410

16 2018 5124

17 2019 6265

18 2020 4008

Swarm : Pieridae (Species involved— Appias (Catophaga) albina swinhoei (Moore, 1905),

Appias indra shiva (Moore, 1958), Cepora nadina remba (Lucas, 1852), Belenois aurota
aurota (Fabricius, 1793) and Graphium sarpedon teredon (Felder & Felder, 1865))

Direction: southwest to northeast direction

Months: April- June

19 2012 2818

20 2013 2711

21 2014 2604

22 2015 2597

23 2016 2390

24 2017 2239

25 2018 2113

26 2019 1983

27 2020 1810

Swarm : Pieridae (Species involved— Appias (Catophaga) albina swinhoei (Moore, 1905),

Appias indra shiva (Moore, 1958), Cepora nadina remba (Lucas, 1852), Belenois aurota

aurota (Fabricius, 1793) and Graphium sarpedon teredon (Felder & Felder, 1865))

Direction: North-East to South-West

Months: November- December

28 2012 2718

29 2013 2611

30 2014 2404

31 2015 2397

32 2016 2190

33 2017 2039

34 2018 1913

35 2019 1883

36 2020 980
 Swarm : Pieridae (Species involved— Catopsilia pomona pomona (Fabricius, 1775),

Catopsilia pyranthe pyranthe (Linnaeus, 1758) and Eurema hecabe hecabe (Linnaeus, 1758))

Direction: North-East to South-West

Months: November- December

37 2012 960

38 2013 840

39 2014 710

40 2015 655

41 2016 610

42 2017 590

43 2018 510

44 2019 490

45 2020 326

Diversity Indices

The diversity indices of butterflies are listed in Table 7. The diversity index of KWLS

(4.89) and the buffer zone (4.88) was similar (Table 8). KWLS (83.33) and buffer zone

(80.23) recorded similar values (Table 8) for Species richness. The evenness value of KWS

(0.81) was greater than the buffer zone (0.74) (Table 8).

Table.8 - Diversity of butterflies in KWS and buffer zone

Area Species Diversity Evenness

richness index index

KWLS 83.33 4.89 0.81

 Buffer Zone 80.23 4.88 0.74

Total (KWLS + Buffer Zone) 85.33 5.10 0.78

Discussion

The KWLS and its buffer zone host a wide variety of habitats with undulating terrain

interspersed with extensive forests, this provides diverse ecological conditions. The study

shows that the region has high species diversity of butterflies. The butterflies of the region

composed of 6.64 % Papilionidae, 9.59 % Pieridae 29.52 % Nymphalidae, 0.73 %

Riodinidae, 28.78 % Lycaenidae and 24.72 % Hesperiidae.The region hosts 78.86 % of

butterflies of Western Ghats and 81.28 % of butterflies of Kerala. That is 94.73 %

Papilionidae species found from Kerala and Western Ghats, 76.47 % of Pierids in Western

Ghats and 81.25 % of Pierids in Kerala, 80 % of Nymphalidae in Western Ghats and 82.47 %

of Nymphalidae in kerala, 100 % of Riodinidae species in Western Ghats and Kerala, 79.59

% Lycaenids in the Western Ghats and 82.97 % of kerala and 81.70 % of Hesperiidae in

Western Ghats and Kerala.

The region also hosts a good number of endemic butterflies, 18.08 % of butterflies

found in Nilambur were endemic in some way. It includes 14.39 % of Western Ghats

endemics and 1.84 % are super endemics to Nilagiri-Palani hills (Sadasivan & Sengupta, in

press 2023; Sadasivan et al. 2023). The region hosts 61.53 % of all the butterflies endemic to

Western Ghats. Additionally, there were several protected species in the study region.

Butterflies of Nilambur region consisted of 7.38% of species listed in IUCN Threatend List

of Threatened species, with 0.007% being listed under Nearly Threatend catogeory. That is

95.45 % of butterflies listed in IUCN Threatend List from Western Ghats. Out of the entire

butterfly fauna of Nilambur region 22.87 % were listed under WPA and its ammenments,
while the region holds 87.32 % of the species listed under WPA known from Western Ghats

and 88.57 % the species listed from Kerala.

The study on population status of butterflies of the region showed that 15.49 % were

very common, 29.15 % were common, 31.73 % were not rare, 17.71 % were rare and 5.90 %

belonged to the very rare category.

The diversity and species richness of the KWLS and the buffer zone were similar,

indicating the ecological importance of the buffer zone. The buffer zone of KWLS (NNFD) is

understudied in terms of biodiversity, and this study shows that the biodiversity of the region

needs to be documented and more conservation efforts need to be implemented.

A comparison of butterfly diversity of the Nilambur region with other areas of the

Western Ghats revealed high diversity (Table 9). Only Silent Valley National Park and

Nilagiri Bioshpere Reserve reported a higher number of butterflies than the study region.

Butterfly migrations are known from various parts of the world. Several factors like

climate change, habitat fragmentation, forest fires, reduction of host plants in roosting sites

etc are known to negatively affect migrant butterfly populations and migration pattern

globally (Reppert and Roode 2018). This paper stands as the first study to report the decline

of migrant butterfly populations from India. Planning for the conservation of butterfly

species requires an understanding of which species migrate, as management efforts for

migrants must be coordinated across time and space (Chowdhury et al. 2021). Hence more

studies on changes in the migration of butterflies over time should be undertaken

Globally several threats have been reported to butterflies, resulting in a serious

decline in their populations (Misiukas et al. 2020). During this study, it was noticed that the

Karimpuzha Wildlife Sanctuary despite being an ecologically diverse and important region,
these challenges were not absent. Forest fires, anthropogenic factors like the use of pesticides

in nearby plantations, and invasive plants were alarming threats to butterflies, as well as the

whole biodiversity of the region, noticed during the study. KWLS being home to highly

diverse species of flora and fauna as well as located in the Western Ghats adjacent to the

Nilgris and SVNP requires more conservational efforts.

Table 9 – A comparison of butterfly diversity of study region with other areas of Western

Ghats

Region Number of Reference

butterflies

1 Silent Valley National Park and its environs 331 Sadasivan et al.

2023

2 Nilagiri Biosphere Reserve 282 Mathew 2011

3 Nilambur Valleys and its environs 271

4 Shendurney Wildlife Sanctuary 265 Narayanankutty

et al. 2014

5 Vazhachal Athirappilly Reserve Forest 223 Susanth &

Rajasree 2012

6 Eravikulam National Park 198 Sadasivan et al.

2022

7 Parambikulam Tiger Reserve 124 Sudheendrakurnar

and Mathew 1999

8 Siruvani Reserved Forests 75 Arun 2003

9 Anaikatty Hills 75 Eswaran and

Pramod 2005

1 Peechi-Vazhani Wildlife Sanctuary 71 Mathew et al.

 0 2005

1 Thusaragiri 59 Jobiraj et al. 2020

1 Peppara Wildlife Sanctuary 51 Mathew et al.

2 2004

Acknowledgements

We are extremely thankful to Dr. Muhammed Jaffer Palot (Zoological Survey of India) for all the

advice given during this study. The First author stand thankful Dr. John Mathew and Dr. Shivani

Jadeja from Krea University, Aleena Jolly (DTU, Denmark) and Rajat Anilkumar (KU, Denmark) for the

help during the writing phase of the study.

Appendix1: Checklist of butterflies in Nilambur and its environs

*POP—Population status as VC—Very Common | C—Common | NR—Not Rare | R—Rare |

VR—Very Rare | **END—Endemicity as WG—Western Ghats | PI—Peninsular India | SL

—Sri Lanka | SI—Southern India | # IUCN—IUCN threatend List Status | ##WPA—Indian

Wildlife Protection Act and its amendments till 2023 Schedule. ☆ in Schedules indicate that

the taxon is protected under the Wildlife (Protection) Amendment Act 2002 under its old

taxonomic name| I–Schedule I, II–Schedule II, IV–Schedule IV | + Sources: H—Historical

works | C—Current study.

Species (Scientific name and Common Name) POP* END** IUCN# WPA##

Family: Papilionidae

1 Troides minos (Cramer, [1779]) — Sahyadri Birdwing C WG&SI LC II, IV

2 Pachliopta pandiyana (Moore, 1881) — Malabar Rose C WG LC IV☆

3 Pachliopta aristolochiae aristolochiae (Fabricius, 1775) — VC LC

 Indian Common Rose

4 Pachliopta hector (Linnaeus, 1758) — Crimson Rose VC PI&SL LC II

5 Graphium agamemnon menides (Fruhstorfer, 1904) — C

Dakhan Tailed Jay

6 Papilio demoleus demoleus (Linnaeus, 1758) — Northern NR

Lime Swallowtail

7 Graphium doson eleius (Felder & Felder, 1864) — Dakhan C

Common Jay

8 Graphium nomius nomius (Esper, 1799)– Indian Spot NR

Swordtail

9 Graphium sarpedon teredon (Felder & Felder, 1865) — VC SI II☆

Narrow-banded Bluebottle

10 Papilio clytia clytia (Linnaeus, 1758) — Oriental Common C II☆

Mime

11 Papilio demoleus demoleus (Linnaeus, 1758) — Northern NR

Lime Swallowtai

12 Papilio dravidarum (Wood-Mason, 1880) — Malabar Raven R SI

13 Papilio daksha daksha Moore, [1889] NR

14 Papilio liomedon (Moore, 1875)— Malabar Banded R WG I

Swallowtail

15 Papilio polymnestor polymnestor (Cramer, 1775) — Indian VC

Blue Mormon

16 Papilio polytes romulus (Cramer, 1775) — Indian Common VC

Mormon
17 Papilio paris tamilana (Moore, 1881) — Sahyadri Paris C

Peacock

18 Papilio buddha (Westwood, 1872) — Malabar Banded NR WG II

Peacock

Family: Pieridae

19 Belenois aurota aurota (Fabricius, 1793) — Indian Pioneer C LC

20 Appias (Hiposcritia) indra shiva (Swinhoe, 1885) — NR II

Sahyadri Plain Puffin

21 Cepora nadina remba (Moore, 1858) — Sahyadri Lesser R II

Gull

22 Cepora nerissa phryne (Fabricius, 1775) — Dakhan C

Common Gull

23 Ixias pyrene sesia (Fabricius, 1777) — Dakhan Yellow C

Orange-tip

24 Delias eucharis (Drury, 1773) — Indian Jezebel VC

25 Prioneris sita (Felder & Felder, 1865) — Painted Sawtooth R SI&SL IV

26 Appias lyncida latifasciata (Moore, 1881) — Sahyadri NR II

Chocolate Albatross

27 Appias (Catophaga) albina swinhoei (Moore, 1905) — VC II

Sahyadri Common Albatross

28 Appias wardii (Moore, 1884) — Sahyadri Albatross / Ward's NR WG II

Albatross

29 Appias libythea (Fabricius, 1775) — Western Striped

Albatross

30 Hebomoia glaucippe australis (Butler, 1898) — Sahyadri C

 Great Orange-tip

31 Colotis danae (Fabricius, 1775) - Crimson-tip VR

32 Pareronia ceylanica ceylanica (Felder & Felder, 1865) — NR WG&S

Sri Lankan Dark Wanderer L

33 Pareronia hippia (Fabricius, 1787) — Common Wanderer NR

34 Catopsilia pomonapomona (Fabricius, 1775) — Oriental VC

Lemon Emigrant

35 Catopsilia pyranthe pyranthe (Linnaeus, 1758) — Oriental VC

Mottled Emigrant

36 Eurema brigitta rubella (Wallace, 1867) — Small Grass NR LC

Yellow

37 Eurema laeta laeta (Boisduval, 1836) — Indian Spotless NR

Grass Yellow

38 Eurema (Terias) andersoni shimai (Yata & Gaonkar, 1999) R LC II

— Sahyadri One-spot Grass Yellow

39 Eurema (Terias) hecabe hecabe (Linnaeus, 1758) — VC

Oriental Common Grass Yellow

40 Eurema (Terias) blanda silhetana (Wallace, 1867) — Sylhet VC

Three-spot Grass Yellow

41 Appias lalage lalage (Doubleday, 1842) — Himalayan Spot R

Puffin

42 Colias nilagiriensis (Felder & Felder, 1859)— Nilgiri WG

Clouded Yellow

43 Leptosia nina nina (Fabricius, 1793) — Oriental Psyche

44 Pieris canidia canis (Evans, 1912) — Sahyadri Cabbage

 White

Family: Nymphaliade

45 Libythea laius lepitoides (Moore, 1903) — Sahyadri Lobed NR II

Beak

46 Libythea myrrha rama (Moore, 1872) — Sri Lankan Club C

Beak

47 Parantica aglea aglea (Stoll, 1782) — Coromandel Glassy NR

Tiger

48 Parantica nilgiriensis (Moore, 1877) — Nilgiri Tiger NR WG NT

49 Tirumala septentrionis dravidarum (Fruhstorfer, 1899) — VC

Dakhan Dark Blue Tiger

50 Tirumala limniaceexoticus (Gmelin, 1790) — Oriental Blue VC

Tiger

51 Danaus chrysippus chrysippus (Linnaeus, 1758) — Oriental VC

Plain Tiger

52 Danaus genutia genutia (Cramer, [1779]) — Oriental VC

Striped Tiger

53 Euploea core core (Cramer, [1780]) — Indian Common VC LC

Crow

54 Idea malabarica (Moore, 1877) — Malabar Tree-Nymph NR WG NT II

55 Euploea klugii kollari (Felder & Felder, 1865) — Brown R

King Crow

56 Euploea sylvester coreta (Godart, 1819) — Double-branded C

Black Crow
57 Charaxes psaphon imna (Butler, 1870) — Indian Plain NR II☆

Tawny Rajah

58 Charaxes solon solon (Fabricius, 1793) — Pale Black Rajah NR II

59 Charaxes bharata (Felder & Felder, 1867) — Indian Nawab C II☆

60 haraxes schreiber wardii (Moore, 1896) — Sahyadri Blue VR I

Nawab

61 Discophora lepida lepida (Moore, 1857) — Sahyadri Duffer R SI&SL

62 Athyma selenophora kanara (Evans, 1924) — Staff Sergeant NR

63 Mycalesis anaxias anaxias (Hewitson, 1862) — Sahyadri NR II

White-bar Bushbrown

64 Mycalesis igilia (Fruhstorfer, 1911) — Sahyadri Small NR WG

Long-brand Bushbrown

65 Mycalesis orcha (Evans, 1912) — Pale-brand Bushbrown NR WG

66 Telinga adolphei (Guérin-Méneville, 1843) — Red-eye R WG

Bushbrown

67 Mycalesis perseus tabitha (Fabricius, 1793) — Dakhan VC

Common Bushbrown

68 Mycalesis mineus polydecta (Cramer, [1777]) —Dakhan C

Dark-branded Bushbrown

69 Mycalesis junonia (Butler, 1868) — Malabar Glad-eye C SI

Bushbrown

70 Telinga oculus (Marshall, 1881) — Red-disc Bushbrown NR WG

71 Lethe rohria neelgheriensis (Guérin-Méneville, 1843) — C

Common Treebrown
72 Lethe drypetis todara (Moore, 1881) — Dakhan Treebrown NR SI&SL

73 Lethe europa europa (Fabricius, 1775) — Dakhan Bamboo NR II

Treebrown

74 Ypthima baldus baldus (Fabricius, 1775) — Common Five- VC

ring

75 Ypthima ceylonica (Hewitson, 1865) — White Four-ring VC PI&SL

76 Zipaetis saitis (Hewitson, 1863) — Banded Catseye NR WG II

77 Orsotriaena medus mandata (Moore, 1857) — Sahyadri R

Medus Brown

78 Melanitis leda leda (Linnaeus, 1758) — Oriental Common VC LC

Evening Brown

79 Melanitis zitenius gokala (Moore, 1857) — Sahyadri Great R II

Evening Brown

80 Melanitis phedima varaha (Moore, 1857) — Sahyadri Dark NR

Evening Brown

81 Elymnias caudata (Butler, 1871) — Tailed Palmfly C SI&SL

82 Vindula erota saloma (de Nicéville, 1886) — Sahyadri C

Cruiser

83 Cirrochroa thais thais (Fabricius, 1787) — Sahyadri C SI&SL

Yeoman

84 Cupha erymanthis maja (Fruhstorfer, 1898) — Sahyadri VC

Rustic

85 Phalanta phalantha phalantha (Drury,1773) — Oriental VC

Common Leopard
86 Phalanta alcippe (Stoll, 1782) - Small Leopard R

87 Argynnis hybrida (Evans, 1912) — Nilgiri Fritillary VR WG

88 Cethosia mahratta(Moore, 1872) — Sahyadri Lacewing NR WG II☆

89 Acraea terpsicore (Linnaeus, 1758) — Tawny Coster C

90 Moduza procris procris (Fruhstorfer, 1906) — Sahyadri C

Commander

91 Athyma perius perius (Linnaeus, 1758) — Oriental Common VC

Sergeant

92 Athyma ranga karwara (Fruhstorfer, 1906) — Karwar C II

Blackvein Sergeant

93 Athyma inara (Westwood, 1850) — Color Sergeant NR

94 Pantoporia hordonia hordonia (Stoll, 1790) — Oriental C

Common Lascar

95 Neptis hylas varmona (Moore, 1872) — Indian Common VC

Sailer

96 Neptis jumbah nalanda (Fruhstorfer, 1908) — Nalanda C II

Chestnut-streaked Sailer

97 Neptis clinia kallaura (Moore, 1881) — Sahyadri Sullied VR II

Sailer

98 Neptis nata hampsoni (Moore, 1899) — Sahyadri Clear R

Sailer

99 Parthenos sylvia virens (Moore, 1877) — Sahyadri Clipper C II

100 Euthalia aconthea meridionalis (Fruhstorfer, 1913) — C II

Dakhan Baron
101 Euthalia lubentina lubentina (Cramer, 1777) — Sahyadri NR

Gaudy Baron

102 Symphaedra nais (Forster, 1771) — Baronet R

103 Lasippa viraja kanara (Evans, 1924) — Sahyadri R II

Yellowjack Sailer

104 Tanaecia lepidea miyana (Fruhstorfer, 1913) — Peninsular NR II☆

Grey Count

105 Cyrestis thyodamas (indica Evans, 1924) — Common Map C

106 Ariadne ariadne indica (Moore, 1884) — Indian Angled VC

Castor

107 Ariadne merione merione (Cramer, 1777) — Dakhan VC

Common Castor

108 Byblia ilithyia (Drury, 1773) — Joker NR LC

109 Rohana parisatis atacinus (Fruhstorfer, 1913) — Sahyadri R LC

Black Prince

110 Euripus consimilis meridionalis (Wood-Mason, 1881) — VR II

Sahyadri Painted Courtesan

111 Vanessa indica pholoe (Fruhstorfer, 1912) — Sahyadri Red NR

Admiral

112 Kaniska canace viridis (Evans, 1924) — Sahyadri Blue

Admiral

113 Junonia atlites atlites (Linnaeus, 1763) — Oriental Grey VC

Pansy
114 Junonia almana almana (Linnaeus, 1758) — Oriental VC LC

Peacock Pansy

115 Junonia hierta hierta (Fabricius, 1798) — Oriental Yellow C LC

Pansy

116 Junonia iphita iphita (Cramer, 1779) — Chocolate Pansy VC

117 Junonia lemonias lemonias (Linnaeus, 1758) — Chinese VC

Lemon Pansy

118 Junonia orithya (Butler, 1885) — Pale Blue Pansy C

119 Hypolimnas bolina jacintha (Drury, 1773) — Oriental Great VC

Eggfly

120 Hypolimnas misippus (Linnaeus, 1764) — Danaid Eggfly C I&II

121 Kallima horsfieldii (Kollar, 1844) — Southern Blue Oakleaf R WG II

122 Dophla evelina laudabilis (Swinhoe, 1890) — Sahyadri R II

Redspot Duke

123 Vanessa cardui (Linnaeus, 1758) — Painted Lady LC

124 Mycalesis subdita(Moore, 1892) — Tamil Bushbrown R SI&SL

Family:Rionodidae

125 Abisara echerius prunosa (Moore, 1879) — Lankan Plum NR

Judy

126 Abisara bifasciata suffusa (Moore, 1882) — Suffused NR

Double-banded Judy

Family: Lycanidae

127 Curetis thetis (Drury, 1773) — Indian Sunbeam C

128 Spalgis epius epius (Westwood, 1852) — Oriental Apefly NR

129 Talicada nyseus nyseus (Guérin-Méneville, 1843)—Indian VC

Red Pierrot

130 Castalius rosimon rosimon (Fabricius, 1775) —Continental VC

Common Pierrot

131 Caleta decidia (Hewitson, 1876)— Angled Pierrot C

132 Discolampa ethion ethion (Westwood, 1851) — Oriental NR

Banded Blue Pierrot

133 Leptotes plinius plinius (Fabricius, 1793) — Asian Zebra C

Blue

134 Azanus ubaldus (Stoll, 1782) —Bright babul blue NR

135 Azanus uranus (Butler, 1886) — Dull babul blue NR

136 Azanus jesous (Lederer, 1855) — African babul blue NR LC

137 Neopithecops zalmora dharma (Moore, 1881)— Sri Lankan NR

Common Quaker

138 Megisba malaya thwaitesi (Moore, 1881)— Tailless NR II

Malayan

139 Celastrina lavendularis lavenduris (Moore, 1877)— Sri NR

Lankan Plain Hedge Blue

140 Acytolepis puspa felderi (Toxopeus, 1927)— Malabar R

Common Hedge Blue

141 Udara akasa (Horsfield, 1828) - White Hedge Blue

142 Celatoxia albidisca (Moore, 1884)— White-disc Hedge Blue NR WG

143 Chilades lajus lajus (Stoll, 1780)— Indian Lime Blue VC

144 Everes lacturnus syntala (Cantlie, 1963)— Dakhan Cupid C

145 Luthrodespandava pandava (Horsfield, 1829) — Oriental VC

Plains Cupid

146 Zizeeria karsandra (Moore, 1865)—Dark Grass Blue VC

147 Pseudozizeeria maha ossa (Swinhoe, 1885)— Dakhan Pale VC

Grass Blue

148 Zizula hylax hylax (Fabricius, 1775)—Indian Tiny Grass VC LC

Blue

149 Freyeria putli (Kollar, [1844])— Oriental Grass Jewel C

150 Euchrysops cnejus cnejus (Fabricius, 1798)— Oriental Gram VC

Blue

151 Anthene emolus emolus (Godart, 1824) — Bengal Common NR

Ciliate Blue

152 Anthene lycaenina lycaenina (Felder, 1868) — Dakhan C II

Pointed Ciliate Blue

153 Catochrysops strabo strabo (Fabricius, 1793) — Oriental NR

Forget-me-not

154 Lampides boeticus (Linnaeus, 1767)— Pea Blue NR

155 Jamides bochus bochus (Stoll, 1782) —Indian Dark C

Cerulean

156 Jamides celeno celeno (Cramer, 1775)— Oriental Common VC

Cerulean

157 Ionolyce helicon viola (Moore, 1877)— Sri Lankan Pointed NR WG&S II

Lineblue L
158 Nacaduba kurava canaraica (Toxopeus, 1927)— Karwar NR

Transparent Six-Lineblue

159 Nacaduba calauria evansi (Toxopeus, 1927)—Dark Ceylon VR WG&S

Six-Lineblue L

160 Nacaduba hermus sidoma (Fruhstorfer, 1916)— Dakhan NR II

Pale Four-Lineblue

161 Nacaduba beroe gythion (Fruhstorfer, 1916) — Assam NR

Opaque Six-Lineblue

162 Prosotas nora ardates (Moore, 1875)—Indian Common VC

Lineblue

163 Prosotas dubiosa indica (Evans, 1925) —Indian Tailless C II

Lineblue

164 Prosotas noreia hampsonii (de Nicéville, 1885)—Indian VR II

White-tipped Lineblue

165 Petrelaea dana (de Nicéville, 1884) —Dingy Lineblue NR

166 Iraota timoleon arsaces (Fruhstorfer, 1907)—Dakhan R

Silverstreak Blue

167 Amblypodia anita dina (Fruhstorfer, 1907)—Indian Purple NR

Leaf Blue

168 Thaduka multicaudata kanara (Evans, 1925)—Karwar NR II

Many-tailed Oakblue

169 Arhopala amantes amantes (Hewitson, 1862) — Lankan C

Large Oakblue
170 Arhopala centaurus pirama (Moore, 1881) —Centaur C

Oakblue

171 Arhopala abseus indicus (Riley, 1923) — Indian Aberrant R

Oakblue

172 Arhopala alea alea (Hewitson, 1862) — Sahyadri Rosy VR WG I

Oakblue

173 Curetis siva (Evans, 1954) — Shiva Sunbeam NR WG

174 Curetis acuta dentata (Moore, 1879) — Indian Acute

Sunbeam

175 Jamides alectoeurysaces (Fruhstorfer, 1916) — Himalayan NR II

Metallic Cerulean

176 Cheritra freja butleri (Cowan, 1965) — Sahyadri Common C LC

Imperial

177 Surendra quercetorum biplagiata (Butler, 1883) — Dakhan C

Common Acacia Blue

178 Zinaspa todara todara (Moore, 1884) — Sahyadri Silver- NR II

streaked Acacia Blue

179 Loxura atymnus atymnus (Stoll, 1780) — Yamfly C

180 Zesius chrysomallus (Hübner, 1819) — Redspot NR

181 Creon cleobis cleobis (Godart, 1824) — Bengal Broad-tail NR

Royal

182 Tajuria jehana jehana (Moore, 1884) — Indian Plains Blue C

Royal
183 Tajuria cippus cippus (Fabricius, 1798) — Indian Peacock C II

Royal

184 Tajuria maculatus (Hewitson, 1865) — Spotted royal VR WG

185 Tajuriamelastigma(de Nicéville, 1887) — Branded royal VR II

186 Rathinda amor (Fabricius, 1775) — Monkey Puzzle C PI&SL

187 Horaga onyx cingalensis (Moore, 1884) — Bright Blue R II

Common Onyx

188 Catapaecilma major callone (Fruhstorfer, 1915) — Sahyadri R II

Common Tinsel

189 Hypolycaena othona othona (Hewitson, 1865) — Oriental C I

Orchid Tit

190 Zeltus amasa amasa (Hewitson, 1865) — Indian Fluffy Tit C PI&SL

191 Deudorix epijarbas epijarbas (Moore, 1857) — Oriental R

Cornelian

192 Virachola isocrates (Fabricius, 1793) — Common Guava C

Blue

193 Virachola perse ghela (Fruhstorfer, 1912) — Tamil Large NR

Guava Blue

194 Rapala varuna lazulina (Moore, 1879) — Lazuli Flash NR II

195 Rapala manea schistacea (Moore, 1879)— Bengal Slate C

Flash

196 Rapala iarbus sorya (Kollar, [1844]) — Indian Red Flash NR

197 Rapala lankana (Moore, 1879) — Malabar Flash VR WG&S

L
198 Bindahara moorei (Fruhstorfer, 1904) — Blue-bordered NR II☆

Plane

199 Cigaritis elima elima (Moore, 1877)—Scare Shot Silverline NR II

200 Cigaritis vulcanus (Fabricius, 1775)—Common Silverline C PI&SL

201 Cigaritis lohita lazularia (Moore, 1881)—Tamil Long- NR II

banded Silverline

202 Cigaritis schistacea (Moore, [1881])—Plumbeous Silverline NR

203 Acytolepis lilacea lilacea (Hampson, 1889) — Sahyadri R II

Lilac Hedge Blue

204 Ancema sudica (Evans, 1926) — Sahyadri Silver Royal R WG II☆

Family:Hesperiidae

205 Caltoris canaraica (Moore, 1884) — Karwar Swift R SI

206 Badamia exclamationis (Fabricius, 1775) — Brown Awl C

207 Bibasis sena sena (Moore, 1866) —Indian Orange-tail Awl R II☆

208 Burara jaina fergusonii (de Nicéville, 1893) — Sahyadri NR

Orange Awlet

209 Burara gomata kanara (Evans, 1926) — Sahyadri Pale R

Green Awlet

210 Choaspes benjaminii benjaminii (Guérin-Méneville, 1843) VR

—Sahyadri Indian Awlking

211 Hasora badra badra (Moore, 1858) — Oriental Common R

Awl

212 Hasora taminatus taminatus (Hübner, 1818) — Lankan R

White-banded Awl
213 Hasora vitta indica (Evans, 1932)— Indian Plain Banded R

Awl

214 Aeromachus dubius dubius (Elwes & Edwards, 1897) — C

Sahyadri Dingy Scrub Hopper

215 Aeromachus pygmaeus (Fabricius, 1775) — Pygmy Scrub NR

Hopper

216 Ampittia dioscorides dioscorides (Fabricius, 1793) — Indian NR

Bush Hopper

217 Arnetta vindhiana (Moore, 1884) — Vindhyan Bob NR PI

218 Baoris farri (Moore, 1878) — Complete Paint-brush Swift R

219 Borbo bevani (Moore, 1878) — Lesser Rice Swift R

220 Borbo cinnara (Wallace, 1866) — Rice Swift C

221 Pelopidas conjuncta (Herrich-Schäffer, 1869) - Conjoined C

swift

222 Caltoris kumara kumara (Moore, 1878) — Sahyadri Blank C

Swift

223 Cupitha purreea (Moore, 1877) — Wax Dart VR

224 Gangara thyrsis thyrsis (Fabricius, 1775) — Oriental Giant C

Redeye

225 Erionota torus (Evans, 1941) — Rounded Palm-Redeye C

226 Halpe hindu (Evans, 1937) — Sahyadri Banded Ace C SI II

227 Halpe porus (Mabille, 1877) — Bispot Banded Ace C

228 Iambrix salsala luteipalpis (Plötz, 1886) — Southern C

Chestnut Bob
229 Matapa aria (Moore, 1866) — Common Branded Red-Eye C

230 Notocrypta paralysos mangla (Evans, 1949) — Sahyadri NR

Common Banded Demon

231 Baoris farri (Moore, 1878) — Complete Paint-brush Swift NR

232 Caltoris philippina philippina (Herrich-Schäffer, 1869)— C

Philippine Swift

233 Pelopidas mathias mathias (Fabricius, 1798) — Dakhan NR LC

Small Branded Swift

234 Pelopidas subochracea subochracea (Moore, 1878) — NR

Bengal Large Branded Swift

235 Caltoris philippina philippina (Herrich-Schäffer, 1869)— NR

Philippine Swift

236 Potanthus palnia palnia (Evans, 1914) — Palni Dart

237 Potanthus diana (Evans, 1932) — Chinese Dart R PI

238 Potanthus pallidus (Evans, 1932) — Pale Dart R

239 Potanthus pava pava (Fruhstorfer, 1911) — Yellow Dart NR

240 Potanthus pseudomaesa (Moore, [1881]) — Indian Dart NR

241 Psolos fuligo subfasciatus (Moore, 1878) — Indian Dusky NR

Partwing

242 Suastus minuta bipunctus (Swinhoe, 1894) — Sahyadri VR

Small Palm Bob

243 Suastus gremius gremius (Fabricius, 1798) — Indian Palm C

Bob
244 Taractrocera ceramas (Hewitson, 1868) — Incomplete NR

Tawny-spotted Grass Dart

245 Taractrocera maevius (Fabricius, 1793) — Oriental Grass C

Dart

246 Thoressa honorei (de Nicéville, 1887) — Sahyadri Orange C WG

Ace

247 Thoressa sitala (de Nicéville, 1885) — Nilgiri Plain Ace R WG

248 Tapena thwaitesi (Moore,1881) — Black Angle R

249 Halpemorpha hyrtacus (de Nicéville, 1897) – White-branded R WG

Ace/Bicolor Ace

250 Hyarotis adrastus praba (Moore, 1866) — Bengal Tree NR

Flitter

251 Oriens concinna (Elwes & Edwards, 1897) — Sahyadri R WG

Dartlet

252 Oriens goloides (Moore, 1881) — Smaller Dartlet C

253 Caprona ransonnettiipotiphera (Hewitson, 1873) — Dakhan C

Golden Angle

254 Caprona agama agama (Moore, 1858) — Oriental Spotted R

Angle

255 Celaenorrhinus ambareesa (Moore, 1866) — Dakhan NR PI

Spotted Flat

256 Celaenorrhinus leucocera (Kollar, 1844) — Common C

Spotted Flat
257 Coladenia indrani indra (Evans, 1926) — Dakhan Tricolor NR

Pied Flat

258 Pseudocoladenia dan dan (Fabricius, 1787) — Sahyadri C

Fulvous Pied Flat

259 Gerosis bhagava bhagava (Moore, 1866) — Bengal R

Yellow-breasted Flat

260 Gomalia elma albofasciata (Moore, 1879) — African R LC

Marbled Skipper

261 Odontoptilum angulata angulata (Felder, 1862) — Oriental NR

Chestnut Angle

262 Sarangesa dasahara davidsoni (Moore, 1866) — Indian C

Common Small Flat

263 Sarangesa purendra hopkinsi (Evans, 1921)- Spotted small C

Flat

264 Spialia galba (Fabricius, 1793) — Indian Grizzled Skipper C

265 Tagiades gana silvia(Evans, 1934) — Dakhan Suffused C

Snow Flat

266 Tagiades litigiosa litigiosa (Möschler, 1878) — Sylhet C

Water Snow Flat

267 Tagiades japetus obscurus (Mabille, 1877) — Dravidian R

Common Snow Flat

268 Coladenia indrani indra (Evans, 1926) — Dakhan Tricolor C

PiedFlat
269 Ampittia dioscorides dioscorides (Fabricius, 1793) — Indian C

Bush Hopper

270 Udaspes folus (Cramer, 1775) — Grass Demon

271 Salanoemia sala (Hewitson, 1866) — Maculate Lancer VR

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