Abstract
The present study was conducted to understand the species richness of butterflies in the Kerala Agricultural University main campus. The area lies between 10032 -10033 N and 76016-76017 E and is located very close to the Peechi-Vazhani Wildlife Sanctuary. A total of 139 species in six families were recorded from the campus. Family Nymphalidae dominated with 44 species followed by Lycaenidae (35), Hesperiidae (34), Pieridae (13), Papilionidae (12) and Riodinidae (1)
Highlights
India has around 1,501 species of butterflies, out of which 334 species are reported from the Western Ghats and 37 species are endemic to the Western Ghats (Evans 1932; Kunte 2000)
Butterflies observed were categorized into five groups based on their abundance during the period of study. Those species observed 80–100 % of the survey days were categorized as very common (VC), 60–80 % as common (C), 40–60 % as occasional (O), 20– 40% as rare (R) and below 20% as very rare (VR)
A total of 139 species of butterflies belonging to six families were identified from the Kerala Agricultural University (KAU) campus, including four species that are endemic to the Western Ghats and nine species protected under various schedules of the Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 (Table 1)
Summary
India has around 1,501 species of butterflies, out of which 334 species are reported from the Western Ghats and 37 species are endemic to the Western Ghats (Evans 1932; Kunte 2000). Very little documentation has been done on butterfly fauna in Kerala. Some of the earlier documentation on butterfly fauna from Kerala and adjacent areas include Mathew & Rahamathulla Valley National Park, Sudheendrakumar et al (2000), who reported 124 species of butterflies from Parambikulam Wildlife Sanctuary, Arun (2003), reported 75 species from Siruvani Reserved Forests, Ambrose & Raj (2005)
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