Diversity of butterflies in an arboretum of Vadodara, Gujarat, India

By

Bhatt, Urjit M.
Nagar, P S

Type

Article

Date of Publication

2017-3-28

Original Publication

Check list : journal of species lists and distribution

Volume

13

Series / Issue

Issue: 2

Pages

1--15

Subjects

Biodiversity , Lepidoptera , Wildlife Protection Act

Contributed by

Pensoft Publishers

Language

English

Published by

[São Paulo, Brazil] Luís Felipe Toledo 2005-

Identifiers

DOI: https://doi.org/10.15560/13.2.2073

 

Abstract

Potent pollinators and ecological indicators, butterflies are important for estimating the general health of an ecosystem. Owing to the rich plant diversity (927 species), an arboretum in Vadodara, state of Gujarat, India was selected for surveying butterfly diversity. Our survey was conducted in all seasons for an entire year from October 2012 to October 2013 and revealed 61 species. Recorded were six species of Papilionidae, three species of Hesperiidae, 20 species of Nymphalidae, 13 species of Pieridae, and 19 species of Lycaenidae. Junonia dominated with five species, followed by Eurema (three species), Graphium (three species), and Chilades (three species). Our study gives a comprehensive insight into the species diversity and richness of butterflies in Vadodara and highlights the need to conserve rare and threatened butterfly species there.