INVENTORY OF BUTTERFLIES (INSECTA:LEPIDOPTERA:PAPILIONOIDEA) OF ITANAGAR WILDLIFE SANCTUARY ARUNACHAL PRADESH, INDIA

Abstract

The present study was conducted to compile the species composition of the diversity of butterflies in Itanagar Wildlife Sanctuary, Arunachal Pradesh. The butterflies were observed and collected in the field from April 2019 to March 2022. Old collections of the campus made by earlier workers (1996?2018), present in the Entomological Museum, Zoological Survey of India, Itanagar, India, were also studied. Atotal of 195 species referable to 118 genera under six families, i.e., Papilionidae, Pieridae, Nymphalidae, Riodinidae, Lycaenidae, and Hesperiidae, were recorded from Itanagar Wildlife Sanctuary for the first time. The maximum diversity of species was found in the family Nymphalidae, with 82 species under 41 genera (42%); followed by Lycaenidae, 42 species under 33 genera (22%); Hesperiidae, 34 species under 25 genera (17%); Pieridae, 18 species under 11 genera (9%); Papilionidae, 18 species under 7 genera (9%); and Riodinidae, 1 species under 1 genus (1%). Observations on the relative abundance of butterfly diversity revealed that of these 195 species, 59 species (31%) were found to be common, 72 species (36%) were uncommon, and the remaining 64 species (33%) were less common. Of 195 species, 21 were found in the Wildlife (Protection) Amendment Act 2022.. KEYWORDS :Butterflies, Papilionoidea, Diversity, Wildlife sanctuaries, Morphology