Butterfly Species Diversity of Bir-Billing Area of Dhauladhar
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Journal of Entomology and Zoology Studies 2013; 1 (5): 53-57 ISSN 2320-7078 JEZS 2013; 1 (5): 53-57 Butterfly Species Diversity of Bir-Billing Area of © 2013 AkiNik Publications Received 8-09-2013 Accepted: 18-09-2013 Dhauladhar Range of Western Himalayas in Northern India Sangeeta Chandel Sangeeta Chandel, Vijay Kumar, Bhagwati Prashad Sharma, Reetu Patiyal Divisional Forest Officer (HQ) M&E, Hamirpur Circle, Himachal ABSTRACT Pradesh, 177001. Email: [email protected] The present study of butterfly species diversity was carried out in the Bir-Biling area of Dhauladhar Tel: +91-94182-11476 Range of the Western Himalayas in Northern India. The study was done since April 2012 to March Vijay Kumar 2013, throughout the year during the routine field visits to Bir-Billing. A total of 50 butterfly species Veterinary Officer-Wild Life, Monkey were recorded from the study areas which belonge to five families i.e. Nymphalidae, Pieridae, Sterilization Centre, Gopalpur, Papilionidae, Lycaenidae and Hesperiidae and 39 genera. The Nymphalidae family was the most Kangra,H.P, India.176059. dominant family in the study area having 32 species and followed by Lycaenidae family with 7 Email: [email protected] species. Tel: +91-94591-33330. Keywords: Butterfly Diversity, Dhauladhar Range, Bir-Billing, Western Himalayas. Bhagwati Prashad Sharma Assistant Professor – Department of Botany, Post graduate Degree College, 1. Introduction Hamirpur Himachal Pradesh, Butterflies plays important roles in ecosystem, including pollination and also plays an important 177001. role in food chain component of the spiders, birds, reptiles and other predatory insects. The Email: [email protected] butterflies are good indicators of environmental changes as they are sensitive and are directly Tel: +91-9418032505. [1, 2, 3] affected by changes in their habitats, atmosphere, temperature and weather conditions . As Reetu Patiyal many butterflies are food bio-indicators of the environment, they can be used to identify F.G – Wild Life, Wildlife Division, ecologically important landscapes for conservation purposes, and help to plan the appropriate Hamirpur, Himachal Pradesh, management strategies to protect the degrading habitats [4]. Diversity of butterflies in an area 177001. depends primarily on the availability of mixed plant species, which constitute their major food Email: [email protected] [5] [6] Tel: +91- 9459075449. resources . Many species are strictly seasonal . In India, butterflies have been documented [7] since the turn of 19th century . Increased human activities such as deforestation, construction, pollution, grazing, agricultural practices, and urbanization threaten the habitat of the butterflies. Thus, monitoring the butterfly populations in a given area provides support for the conservation of the endangered species and also provides an opportunity to find out the impact on the ecosystem. 2. Materials and Methods 2.1 Study Area Bir- Billing area is located at 32.05°N 76.70°E at Baijnath, in District Kangra, Himachal Pradesh, and Indian. It is situated approximately 50 km southeast of Dharamshala at a distance of two to three hours by road. Bir is situated in the Joginder Nagar Valley of Dhauladhar Range in the foothills of the Indian Himalayas. This place however becomes the boot camp for paragliders during the flying season from September to November who seek out for an adventurous vacation. Some 14 kms from Bir is a little meadow called Billing, at 8500 feet on the Dhauladhar ranges which is famous take- off destination for the paragliding activities. Bir-Billing area was under the Correspondence: Sangeeta Chandel jurisdiction of Dhauladhar Wildlife Sanctuary at the time of present study. The Bir-Billing area Divisional Forest Officer (HQ) M&E, has become a favourite eco-tourism and adventure travel destination which is now hosting many Hamirpur Circle, Himachal Pradesh, international paragliding and mountain sport events. 177001. Email: [email protected] Tel: +91-94182-11476 ~ 53 ~ Journal of Entomology and Zoology Studies 2.2 Flora Poplar, Salix, etc. The under growth is Indigofera, Desmodium, The dominant floral species are chiefly include Kail, Deodar, Fir, Rubus, Sarcococca, Viburnum, Berberis, Prinsepia, Prunus, and Spruce, Ban Oak, Mohru oak, Kharsu oak, Alders, Rhododendrons, medicinal herbs like Banfsha, Dhoop, Karu, Patish, Bankakri, Khnaor, Bird Cherry, Maple, Akhrot, Betula, Pyrus spp., Wild Hathpanja, and Mushaqbala etc. are also found here. Fig 1: Red areas in map showing Bir –Billing areas of Dhauladhar Range 2.3 Fauna species), Papilionidae (5 species) and Hesperiidae (only 1 species). Due to wide variation in altitudinal zonation a variety of animals Predominance of Nymphalidae has been reported by earlier viz Himalayan Black bear, pheasant’s viz. Monal, Koklass, Kalij, workers alsofrom Western Ghats [9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15], Ninad B R and Western Tragopan, Cheer, are found. More than 250 species of Pendharkar Anand, 2010 from Maharastra and Murugesan et al. birds are also found in the Sanctuary. In addition this area is also 2013 from Puducherry. The representation from the family rich in Butterflies and present study is focused on butterflies only. Hesperiidae was very low as compared to other families.the same To assess the butterfly diversity of the sanctuary area between Bir Kind of low species richness was also recorded by Ramesh et al. and Billing was surveyed during field visit to Billing. The studies, 2010 and Rajagopal et al. 2011 in the Eastern plains of Sothern related to the butterflies were taken up between April 2012 to India and in Western Ghats by Eswaran and Pramod, 2005. It may March 2013, throughout the year during the routine field visits to be partially attributed to the sampling/observer bias, since Bir-Billing. Butterflies were documented by direct observations, Herperids are generally crespuscular in nature and are small and random visits and opportunistic observations. The survey was cryptically coloured. carried out in the morning and evening hours when the butterflies Thus, the present investigation of the butterflies records in the bir- show the maximum activity. Pollard walk method (Pollard and billing areas of the dhauladhar range might be helpful in knowing Yates 1993) [8] was followed for observing butterflies, i.e., walking the abudance of the various butterflies in this range and also may along the fixed paths while recording and counting the species. The be helpful in the future studies. It will also be helpful in the observation width was limited to about 5 m. conservation of the endangered species and also provides an opportunity to know the impact of environmental changes on the 3. Results and Discussions: ecosystem of a particular area. The adult butterflies were carefully photographed in the field on natural plant species and identified with the help of relevant literature and references [18].Based on the number the recorded butterflies were classified into three broad categories Very Common(> 10), Common(=6-10) and Not common( <5) in a transect. A total of 50 butterfly species belonging to 39 genera and spread over five families viz. Papilionidae, Pieridae, Nymphalidae, Lycaenidae and Hesperiidae, were recorded during the preaent study. Out of these, Nymphalidae were the most dominant 64% with 32 species, followed by Lycaenidae (7 species) Pieridae (5 Fig 2: Family wise percentage of species found in Bir-Billing area. ~ 54 ~ Journal of Entomology and Zoology Studies Table 1: The butterfly species which were encountered during the study period SN Name of Species Scientific Name Family Status 1 Glassy Bluebottle Graphium cloanthus Papilionidae Common 2 Common Mormon Papilio polytes Papilionidae Very Common 3 Common Peacock Papilio polyctor Papilionidae Common 4 Common Windmill Atrophaneura polyeuctes Papilionidae Not common Common Yellow 5 Papilio machaon Papilionidae Common Swallowtail 6 Indian Cabbage White Pieris canidia Pieridae Very Common 7 Pioneer Belenois aurota Pieridae Common 8 Pale Clouded Yellow Colias erate Pieridae Common 9 Common Grass Yellow Eurema hecabe Pieridae Very Common 10 Common Emigrant Catopsilia pomona Pieridae Very Common 11 Club Beak Libythea myrrha Nymphalidae Common 12 Common Beak Libythea lepita Nymphalidae Common 13 Striped Tiger Danaus genutia Nymphalidae Not Common 14 Chestnut Tiger Parantica sita Nymphalidae Very Common 15 Common Leopard Phalanta phalantha Nymphalidae Common 16 Common Sailer Neptis hylas Nymphalidae Very Common 17 Indian Tortoiseshell Aglais kaschmirensis Nymphalidae Very Common 18 Blue Admiral Kaniska canace Nymphalidae Common 19 Striped Blue Tiger Euploea mulciber Nymphalidae Very Common 20 Spangle Papilio protenor Nymphalidae Very Common 21 Orange Oak leaf Kallima inachus Nymphalidae Very Common 22 Indian Fritilary Argynnis hyperbius Nymphalidae Common 23 Indian Red Admiral Vanessa indica Nymphalidae Very Common 24 Common Tree brown Lethe rohria Nymphalidae Very Common 25 Painted Lady Vanessa cardui Nymphalidae Very Common 26 Common Map Cyrestis thyodamas Nymphalidae Not Common 27 Grey Pansy Junonia atlites Nymphalidae Common 28 Blue Pansy Junonia orithiya Nymphalidae Common 29 Lemon Pansy Junonia lemonias Nymphalidae Common 30 Peacock Pansy Junonia almana Nymphalidae Common 31 Common Crow Euploea core Nymphalidae Common 32 Common Castor Ariadne merione Nymphalidae Common 33 Common Bush brown Mycalesis perseus Nymphalidae Very Common 34 Common Baron Euthalia aconthea Nymphalidae Common 35 Queen of