Butterfly (Rhopalocera) fauna of Maharashtra Nature Park, Mumbai, Maharashtra, India

Ninad B Raut,Anand Pendharkar

doi:10.15560/6.1.022

Abstract

Mumbai, one of the largest metro cities in the world, holds rich biodiversity in few green fragmented natural or manmade habitats. One such habitat is the Maharashtra Nature Park (MNP). MNP is located in a highly polluted area of Mumbai; this was a dumping ground for nearly 26 years. In 1983, it was restored into a semi-natural forest with the initial technical inputs from World Wide Fund for Nature-India (WWF-India). Presently, this nature park supports a rich biodiversity but lacks proper documentation. Such information is essential as the park serves as an important study area for many schools, college students and for many nature lovers. Previous documentation has reported 38 butterfly species from the park. The present study carried out from June 2005 to November 2005 has documented 53 species belonging to five families from MNP.

Highlights

Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai (MCGM) constitutes of two districts, viz. Mumbai City and Mumbai Suburban spanning over an area of 437.71 km2
Kurve and Pejavar (2004) documented 41 species of butterflies from Bandodkar College Campus located in the city of Thane whereas Kurve and Patwardhan (2005) documented 56 species from the same locality
Maharashtra Nature Park (19°03’ N, 72°51’ E and 19°05’ N, 72°51’ E) (Figure 1) was one of the garbage dumps or landfills. When it reached to its capacity, Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) decided to restore it ecologically

Summary

Introduction

Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai (MCGM) constitutes of two districts, viz. Mumbai City and Mumbai Suburban spanning over an area of 437.71 km2. Abstract: Mumbai, one of the largest metro cities in the world, holds rich biodiversity in few green fragmented natural or manmade habitats. One such habitat is the Maharashtra Nature Park (MNP). This nature park supports a rich biodiversity but lacks proper documentation.

Results

Conclusion