Arthropods, 2019, 8(3): 87-96 Article Butterflies of Gosekhurd region of Godavari basin across Waingangā River, Central India Kishor G. Patil1, Virendra A. Shende2, S. B. Uke3 1Department of Zoology, Government Vidarbha Institute of Science and Humanities, Amravati, India 2Department of Forensic Biology, Government Institute of Forensic Science, Nagpur (M.S.), India 3Office of Superintendent of Police, Railways, Nagpur (M.S.), India E-mail: [email protected] Received 11 April 2019; Accepted 20 May 2019; Published 1 September 2019 Abstract Waingangā river valley hosts major part of lush green landscape; which is ecologically one of the most significant regions of peninsular India. Gosekhurd reservoir is one of the largest irrigation projects of central India, geographically located 20.8738154°N 79.6081781°E on Waingangā River. This region consists of rich and diverse ecosystems of flora and fauna. The investigations on butterfly diversity in relation to their ecological status have been carried out for a period of three year from April 2014 to March 2017. A total of 122 species of butterflies are recorded belonging to 5 families and 76 genera. Out of total 122 butterfly species 45.90% (56), 40.98% (50) and 13.11% (16) are common, occasional and rare respectively. Maximum number, i.e., 40 species from 23 genera, are reported in family Nymphalidae. Family Lycaenidae represents 38 species from 24 genera. Family Pieridae consisting of 20 species belonging to 12 genera. Family Hesperiidae reporting 17 species from 14 genera and minimum 7 species represent 3 genera from family Papilionidae. 20 rare butterfly species specifically reported during this study. Keywords butterfly; Lepidoptera; biodiversity; Gosekhurd Dam; Indira Sagar; Waingangā River. Arthropods ISSN 2224­4255 URL: http://www.iaees.org/publications/journals/arthropods/online­version.asp RSS: http://www.iaees.org/publications/journals/arthropods/rss.xml E­mail: [email protected] Editor­in­Chief: WenJun Zhang Publisher: International Academy of Ecology and Environmental Sciences 1 Introduction Butterflies are one of the rapid indicators of habit quality and are sensitive to climatic change (Ramana, 2010). Thomas et al. (2004) compared species losses of British butterflies, birds, and plants and found that loss of butterfly species has been greater than that of birds and plants; current rates of species disappearance represent the sixth major extinction event through time. Amongst 19,238 species of the world (Heppner, 1998), about 1,504 species of butterflies are documented in Indian Subcontinent (Smetacek, 1992; Gaonkar, 1996). In central India, about 177 species of butterflies were reported in the Central Provinces (Vidarbha, Madhya Pradesh and Chattisgarh) by D’Abreau (1931). Tiple (2011) compiled 167 species of butterflies belonging to 90 genera representing 5 families in Vidarbha. IAEES www.iaees.org Arthropods, 2019, 8(3): 87-96 88 Waingangā River valley of Eastern Vidarbha occupies more than 50% of forest of Maharashtra. The average annual rainfall in this region of East Vidarbha ranges from 900 mm to 1200 mm received during the South-West monsoon from June to October. The temperature ranges from minimum 7°C and maximum 13°C in the winter. While in summer the maximum temperature ranges from 39°C to 47°. May is the peak of summer while December- January is the peak of winter. Gosekhurd Reservoir (Indira Sagar) is one of the largest irrigation project of central India (JI00481) located 20.8738154°N 79.6081781°Enear Pauni of Bhandara district, Maharashtra on Waingangā river. This reservoir regulates irrigation water throughout the year to some parts of Chandrapur, Bhandara and Nagpur districts of Eastern Maharashtra; the reservoir occupies the total surface area of 222 km2 (86 sq. mi.) and the catchment area of 34,862 km2 (13,460 sq. mi.). The Gosekhurd reservoir region of Waingangā basins consists of rich and diverse floral ecosystems viz., aquatic submerged and floating vegetation; grasslands; herbs and bush lands; trees and forests and agroecosystems of mainly paddy fields etc. This provides good environment, shelter, feeding and nesting grounds for a broad range of faunal species. The area includes very rich diversity of aquatic and terrestrial arthropods, amphibians, reptiles, aves, mammalian wildlife, etc. Waingangā Valley (Fig. 1) is of critical importance for Maharashtra to preserve its forests, wildlife, and tribal population dependent on it. It is the good habitat for diverse range of fauna species. Present investigation carried out to prepare an inclusive checklist and ecological status of butterfly species of this region. The Waingangā River originates at the foothills of Satpuda Mountains in Mundhara village of Seoni District of Madhya Pradesh and traverses a length of 635.40km till its confluence with Wardha River at Shivni Village in Chandrapur District of Maharashtra; to form River Pranahita which is one of the biggest tributaries of Godavari. The total catchment area of Waingangā river up to its confluence with river Wardha is 51000 Sq. Km. The basin spreads across over five districts of Maharashtra and three districts of Madhya Pradesh. The five districts of Maharashtra state which form southern two third portion of the Waingangā Valley viz., Nagpur, Bhandara, Gondia, parts of Chandrapur and Gadchiroli are the largest forested areas of the state accounting for more than half (55.5%) of the total state forest area. Four out of total six tiger reserves of Maharashtra lie in these five districts. 30% of the total tribal population of the state stays in these five districts. After originating Waingangā flows in a wide half circle, meandering among the spurs of the hills from the west to the east of the Seoni District it is turns to the South. After flowing for a total length of 274 km in Seoni and Balaghat districts of Madhya Pradesh, it forms the boundary between Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra for about 32 km. It then continues to flow towards south in Maharashtra for another 303 km till it is joined by the Wardha. 2 Material and Methods The investigations have been carried out for a period of three year from April 2014 to March 2017. The observations were made with the aid of binocular, digital cameras and handycam. Butterfly watching and recording has been done during Sunday and holidays. A fixed-route walk (transect) which is established at a site on which butterflies are recorded along the route on a regular basis under reasonable weather conditions. Observations were made through walking transects (Pollard, 1993; Caldas and Robbins, 2003) of 0.5 km to 0.7 km length with 2 m to 5 m on either side. The present study is based on 6 line transects to study the butterfly population. The sites were visited in morning and evening hours to record maximum possible species of butterflies and monitor their activities. The recorded species are identified with the help of photographs and by using reference books, guides catalogs and publications etc. (Antram, 1924; Kunte, 2000; Kehimkar, 2008; IAEES www.iaees.org Arthropods, 2019, 8(3): 87-96 89 Varshney and Smetacek, 2015). Six line transects are namely Gosekhurd dam area, Adyal region, Kharada, Ambhora, Korambhi and Kardha. Fig. 1 Waingangā Valley. 3 Results A total of 122 species of butterflies are documented from Gosekhurd Reservoir region belonging to 5 families (viz., Papilionidae, Pieridae, Nymphalidae, Lycaenidae and Hesperiidae) and 76 genera. It is observed that amongst 122 recorded butterflies 45.90 % are common, 40.98% are occasional and 13.11% are rare species (Fig. 2 and 3). 23 genera and 40 species are reported belongs to family Nymphalidae. 24 genera and 38 species are reported from family Lycaenidae. Family Pieridae is represented by 12 genera and 20 species; while family Hesperiidae is consisting of 14 genera and 17 species. Family Papilionidae represented a minimum of 3 genera and 7 species (Tables 1-3). Species richness is reported in the months of rainy and winter season from July to January and its number decline from late March to last week of June of summer season. The butterfly species are adapted for specific floral ecosystems like tree-woods, bushes, herbs, grasses, wetlands, etc. Butterfly species viz., Colias eurytheme (Orange Sulphur butterfly), Gandaca harina (Tree Yellow), Leptosia nina (Psyche), Pareronia hippia (Indian Wanderer) belongs to family Pieridae; Heteropsis malasara (White line bush brown) from family Nymphalidae; Ambliopochia anita dina (Indian purple leafblue), Arhopala amantes (Large oakblue), Azanus ubaldus (Velvet-spotted Blue), Catochrysops panormus (Silver Forget me not), Curetisthetis (Indian Sunbeam), Freyeria putli(Oriental Grass Jewel), Hypolycaena erylus (Common Tit), Jamides caeruleus (Royal Cerulean), Tarucus balkanicus (Little Tiger Pierrot), Tarucus callinara (Spotted Pierrot), Tarucus venosus (Veined Pierrot), Rapala nissa (Common Flash), Surendra quercetorum (Common acacia blue) from family Lycaenidae and Parnara guttatus (Straight Swift), Pelopidas sinensis (Chinese Branded Swift) belonging to family Hesperiidae are specifically reported in the study area. IAEES www.iaees.org Arthropods, 2019, 8(3): 87-96 90 4 Discussion Butterflies, the magnificent insects with attractive color patterns have great aesthetic value (Patil and Shende, 2014; Khan et al., 2016; Patil et al., 2017). They are natural pollinators and have close relationship with flowering plants. They value as ecological indicators, as being more sensitive to ecology and environment. They show changes in different climatic conditions as dark to pale or other varied color, markings or patterns. Butterflies play a significant role in the food chain, being mainly herbivores on one hand and prey to their predators like amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals, on the other (Gupta and Mondal, 2005; Bonebrake et al., 2010). In the present investigation, a total of 122 species of butterflies are documented which belongs to 5 families; Papilionidae, Pieridae, Nymphalidae, Lycaenidae and Hesperiidae and 76 genera. Earlier D’Abreeu (1931) documented 91 butterfly species in Nagpur city; Pandharipande (1990-1991) recorded 61 species of butterflies in Nagpur city of central India.