Annotated checklist of butterflies of Ankleshwar—an industrial town in Gujarat, India

By

Sidat, Azaz
Bhatt, Urjit

Type

Article

Date of Publication

2020-8-10

Original Publication

Check list : journal of species lists and distribution

Volume

16

Series / Issue

Issue: 4

Pages

997--1015

Subjects

conservation planning , ecological indicator , IUCN status , Lepidoptera , urban landscape , Wildlife Protection Act

Contributed by

Pensoft Publishers

Language

English

Published by

[São Paulo, Brazil] Luís Felipe Toledo 2005-

Identifiers

DOI: https://doi.org/10.15560/16.4.997

 

Abstract

Urbanization threatens the diversity of butterflies due to habitat fragmentation with environmental degradation. Butterflies, as potent pollinators and ecological indicators, are important in conservation planning and environmental monitoring. This study provides a comprehensive insight into the species diversity of butterflies in Ankleshwar, an industrial town in Gujarat, India, and has potential use in urban planning and conservation. A total of 63 species belonging to five families were photo-documented and identified. The richest family was Nymphalidae, followed by Pieridae, Lycaenidae, Hesperiidae, and Papilionidae. Junonia Hübner, [1819] and Colotis Hübner, [1819] were the dominant genera with five species each. Six species have the IUCN status of Least Concern but 57 species are Not Evaluated. Seven species are afforded protection under the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972. This study highlights the need to conserve rare and threatened butterfly species.