A study was published in the Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society on the updated distribution and population status of butterflies.
Key highlights of study
- The study reveals that species diversity is highest on the southern Western Ghats and diminishes northward.
- The Western Ghats are home to 337 butterfly species, with Kerala hosting the highest (328), followed by Tamil Nadu (326) and Karnataka (317).
- These species belong to various families, including Papilionidae (19), Pieridae (34), Nymphalidae (100), Riodinidae (two), Lycaenidae (99), and Hesperiidae (83). Some of popular species are; Sahyadri green yellow, Nilgiri clouded yellow, red-eye bushbrown, Palni bushbrown, Nilgiri fritillary, cloud-forest silverline, abnormal silverline, yellow-base flitter, Malabar banded swallowtail, crimson rose, Indian common rose and Indian tiny grass blue.
- The Western Ghats features 40 species that are strictly endemic. Of these, less than 7% (22 species) figures on the IUCN Red List of threatened species, with two classified as ‘near threatened’ and the rest as ‘least concern’.
