Butterflies of Athgarh Forest Division, Odisha, Eastern India, with notes on some significant records

Abstract

The present paper deals with first annotated list of butterflies from Athgarh Forest Division, Odisha, India. 136 species belongs to six families were recorded during January 2015 to September 2015. Notes on some of the significant record of butterflies for the region, were provided along with their distribution. Among the recorded 136 species of butterflies, 14 species are legally protected under Indian Wildlife Protection Act, 1972.

Introduction

Butterflies occupy vital position in natural ecosystem as their adults are very good pollinators and larvae act as primary herbivores (Choudhury et al., 2012). They directly depend on plants for their entire life span from larval host plant to nectar of flowers and their diversity may serve as a surrogate for plant diversity (Harisha & Hosetti, 2013). Due to their attractive coloured wings and fluttering flight, butterflies always attract the attention of naturalists, researchers, and conservationists. There are about 1501 species of butterflies in Indian subcontinent (Kunte et al.,1999), out of which 150 species have been recorded from Eastern Ghats (Gunathilagaraj et al.,1998), 334 species from Western Ghats (Tiple et al.,2009) and 962 species from North East region (Evans, 1932). In Odisha, first faunistic study on butterfly fauna presented by Taylor & de Niceville (1888). They reported a list of butterflies from Khurda district. Later, Crawford (1921) noted some butterflies from Meghasani hills of Mayurbhanj district and at the same time, Annandale & Dover (1921) published a list on butterflies from the Barkuda Island of Chilka. Afterwards, many noticeable woks on butterflies have been carried out by several workers in different parts of the state (Mandal & Nandi 1984; Mandal & Moulik 1991; Sahu et al. 2006; Sethy et al. 2006; Sethy & Jana 2009; Nair, 2007, 2011; Das & Sahu 2011; Mohapatra et al. 2012; Palei & Rath, 2014; Payra et al. 2016; Paria et al. 2018; Boruah et al. 2019). As there is no literature available on butterfly diversity in Athgarh Forest Division, an attempt was made to strengthen the information on diversity and distribution of butterflies in Odisha through this present study.

² Department of Zoology, North Orissa University, Odisha, India

³ Aranya Foundation, 625/12, Mars Villa, Panchasakha Nagar, Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India

⁴ Divisional Forest Office, Athgarh Forest Division , Cuttack, Odisha, India

^* Corresponding author E-mail:

¹ Department of Wildlife and Biodiversity Conservation, North Orissa University, Odisha, India

Arajush Payra ¹ , Suraj K. Dash ¹ , Udit P. Das ² , Himanshu S. Palei ^3* , Arun K. Mishra ⁴

Materials and Methods

Athgarh Forest Division situated in Cuttack district comprises of five Ranges i.e. Athgarh, Baramba, Khuntuni, Narasinghpur East and Narasinghpur West over an area of 1510 Km² (Figure 11 .gi). It is located between latitude 20⁰21′19.2"N to 20⁰40'27.6"N and longitude 85⁰52'0.72" E to 84⁰55'42.8"E. There are 37 Reserve Forests in Athgarh Division. This division is surrounded by Satkosia Tiger Reserve in the West, Cuttack Forest Division and City Forest Division in the East, Chandaka Wild Life Sanctuary, Nayagarh Forest Division and some part of Mahanadi Wildlife Division in the South and Dhenkanal Forest Division in the North. In Athgarh Forest Division, forest types are mainly Peninsular Sal forest, Dry Mixed-deciduous Forest, small patches of Semi-evergreen forest and Scrub forest (Champion & Seth, 1968). The climate condition of the area experiences three distinct seasons: monsoon (July to September), winter (October to February) and summer (March to June). The area receives an average annual rainfall of 1400 mm to 1500 mm and the temperature ranges from 9°C in winter to 42°C in summer.

Five sites were surveyed for the documentation of butterflies in Athgarh Forest Division.

Site 1 - Dhabaleswar Island (20.503°N, 85.805° E, 19 m a.s.l). It is a small island on Mahanadi River, comes under Khuntuni Range of Athgarh Forest Division. The frequently found plant species of this area are Ficusbengalensis, Ficusreligiosa, Cassia siamea, Sizigiumcumuni, Polyalthialongifolia,Azadirachtaindicaetc. Besides the above, the composites of the shrub forest are Lantana camara, Sidaspinosa, Justiciaadhatoda, Calotropisgigantea etc.

Site 2 – Ansupa Lake (20.459°N, 85.602°E, 30 m a.s.l). Ansupa lake is one of the largest freshwater lakes of Odisha spreading over 140 ha, situated at the left bank of Mahanadi River. It is surrounded by undulating plain and isolated hill ranges. The surrounding vegetation of the lake is mainly characterized by Cashew plantation, Agricultural land, patches of bamboo and hilly thorny scrub forest.

Site 3 – Balikiari Reserve Forest (20.552°N, 85.038°E, 233 m a.s.l.). With an area of 5217.87 hectare, this Reserve Forest (RF) is situated in Narsingpur West Range. Small streams flow within this RF mainly in rainy season, but mostly remain dry for rest of the seasons. Mangiferaindica, Shorearobusta, Aegle marmelos, Anogeissuslatifolia, Dalbergialatifolia, Diospyrossp,Azadirachtaindicaare dominated floral components of this region.

Site 4 – Tersing(20.582°N, 85.047°E, 435 m a.s.l.). This is the bordering area between Athgarh Forest Division and Satkosia Tiger Reserve. It lies at an altitude of about 450 m. The dominant trees are mainly Aegle marmelos, Terminalia tomentosa, Shorearobusta, Ficusreligiosa, Diosspyrosmelanoxylon, Syzigiumcumini, Cicussp etc.

Site 5 – Deobhuin Reserve Forest (20.556°N, 85.179°E, 160 m a.s.l.). This reserve forest is situated in Narsingpur East Range with an area of 6082.23 ha. Slow flowing streams, and one waterfall is present within this reserve forest. The vegetation is dominated by Shorearobusta, Xiliaxylocarpa, Terminalia tomentosa, Schleicheraoleosa, Lagerstroemia parviflora etc.

Data Collection and Identification

Butterflies were observed through opportunistic survey from January 2015 to September 2015. During this inventory all possible and suitable habitats of butterflies, like agricultural land, forest trails, streams, waterfall, nectaring plants were surveyed. All observations were mainly carried out between 7.00 am to 11.00 am and 2.30 pm to 4.30 pm. Most of the species were photographed in the field by using Nikon D3200 Camera with Tamron 70-300 mm lens. Coordinates and elevations of study sites were obtained by using Garmine eTrex and Google earth. An entomological net was also used for capturing butterflies, which were released immediately at the spot of capture without any harm. Butterflies were identified using available literature of Evans (1932, 1949), and photographic guidebooks of Haribal (1992) and Kehimkar (2008, 2016) together with website of Indian butterflies (). Scientific names and common names presented according to Kunte et al. (2019), Varshney & Smetacek, (2015).

Results

A total of 136 species of butterflies belonging to six families were recorded in the study area (See Table 1). The most dominant family was Lycaenidae with 41 species (30.15%), followed by Nymphalidae (28.68%, 39 species), Hesperiidae (19.85%, 27 species), Pieridae (11.76%, 16 species), Papilionidae (8.82%, 12 species) and Riodinidae (1 species, 0.74%). Notes on some of the significant records of butterflies were provided below along with their distribution.

Table 1.List of the recorded butterflies from Athgarh Forest Division, Odisha, Eastern India
Sl.No	Family / Scientific Name	Common Name	Study Sites					Figure number
Sl.No	Family / Scientific Name	Common Name	S1	S2	S3	S4	S5	Figure number
Family Hesperiidae
1	Hasorachromus (Cramer, [1780])	Common Banded Awl	+	+	+	2a
2	Hasoravitta (Butler, 1870)	Plain Banded Awl	+	2o
3	Badamiaexclamationis (Fabricius, 1775)	Brown Awl	+	+	+	2b
4	Celaenorrhinusleucocera (Kollar, [1844])	Common Spotted Flat	+
5	Coladeniaindrani (Moore, [1866])	Tricolour Pied Flat	+	+	+	2c
6	Tagiadeslitigiosa Möschler, 1878	Water Snow Flat	+	+	+	2d
7	Tagiadesjapetus (Stoll, [1781])	Common Snow Flat	+	+	+	+	+
8	Capronaransonnettii (R. Felder, 1868)	Golden Angle	+	+	+	+	2e
9	Sarangesadasahara (Moore, [1866])	Common Small Flat	+	+	+	+	2f
10	Spialiagalba (Fabricius, 1793)	Indian Skipper	+	+
11	Ampittiadioscorides (Fabricius, 1793)	Bush Hopper	+	+	+	2g
12	Iambrixsalsala (Moore, [1866])	Chestnut Bob	+	+	+	+	+
13	Suastusgremius (Fabricius, 1798)	Indian Palm Bob	+	+	+	+
14	Zographetussatwa de Nicéville, 1884	Purple-and-gold Flitter	+	2h
15	Udaspesfolus (Cramer, [1775])	Grass Demon	+	+	+	2i
16	Notocryptacurvifascia (C. & R. Felder, 1862)	Restricted Demon	+	2j
17	Notocryptaparalysos (Wood-Mason & de Nicéville, 1881)	Common Banded Demon	+	+
18	Hyarotisadrastus (Stoll, [1780])	Tree Flitter	+
19	Matapa aria (Moore, [1866])	Common Redeye	+	+	+	+	+
20	Oriensgoloides (Moore, [1881])	Ceylon Dartlet	+	+	+
21	Potanthus sp.	Dart	+	2k
22	Telicota sp.	Palm Dart	+	+	+
23	Parnara sp.	Swift	+	+	+	+
24	Pelopidas mathias (Fabricius, 1798)	Small Branded Swift	+	+	+	+	2n
25	Baorisfarri (Moore, 1878)	Paint-brush Swift	+	+	+	2l
26	Halpeporus (Mabille, [1877])	Moore’s Ace	+	+	+	2m
27	Caltoris sp.	Swift	+
Family Papilionidae
28	Graphiumdoson (C. & R. Felder, 1864)	Common Jay	+	+	+	+	+
29	Graphiumagamemnon (Linnaeus, 1758)	Tailed Jay	+	+	+	+	+
30	Graphiumnomius (Esper, 1799)	Spot Swordtail	+	+	+	3a
31	Graphiumantiphates (Cramer, [1775])	Five-bar Swordtail	+
32	PapiliopolymnestorCramer, [1775]	Blue Mormon	+	+	+	+	+	3b
33	Papiliocrino Fabricius, 1793	Common Banded Peacock	+	+	+	+	+	3c
34	Papilionephelus Boisduval, 1836	Yellow Helen	+	+
35	Papiliopolytes Linnaeus, 1758	Common Mormon	+	+	+	+	+	3d
36	Papilioclytia Linnaeus, 1758	Common Mime	+	+	+	+	+	3f, 3g
37	Pachliopta hector (Linnaeus, 1758)	Crimson Rose	+	+	3j
38	Pachlioptaaristolochiae (Fabricius, 1775)	Common Rose	+	+	+	+	3i
39	Papiliodemoleus Linnaeus, 1758	Lime Butterfly	+	+	+	+	+	3h
Family Pieridae
40	Belenoisaurota Fabricius, 1793	Pioneer	+	+	4a
41	Ceporanerissa Fabricius, 1775	Common Gull	+	+	+	+	+	4b
42	Delias eucharis Drury, 1773	Common Jezebel	+	+	+	+	+
43	Deliashyparete Linnaeus, 1758	Painted Jezebel	+	4c
44	Appiasolferna Swinhoe, 1890	Eastern Striped Albatross	+	+	+	+
45	Leptosianina Fabricius, 1793	Psyche	+	+	+	+	+
46	Ixias marianne (Cramer, [1779])	White Orange-tip	+	4d
47	Ixias pyrene (Linnaeus, 1764)	Yellow Orange-tip	+	+	+
48	Pareroniahippia Fabricius, 1787	Common Wanderer	+	+	+	+	+	4e
49	Catopsiliapomona Fabricius, 1775	Lemon Emigrant	+	+	+	+	+	4f
50	Catopsiliapyranthe Linnaeus, 1758	Mottled Emigrant	+	+	+	+	+
51	Euremabrigitta Stoll, 1780	Small Grass Yellow	+	+	+	+	+
52	Euremalaeta Boisduval, 1836	Spotless Grass Yellow	+	+	+
53	Euremablanda Boisduval, 1836	Threespot Grass Yellow	+	+	+	+	4i
54	Euremahecabe Linnaeus, 1758	Common Grass Yellow	+	+	+	+	+	4g
55	Euremaandersonii (Moore, 1886)	Onespot Grass Yellow	+	+	+	4h
Family Riodinidae
56	Abisarabifasciata Moore, 1877	Double-banded Judy	+	+	+	5a
Family Lycaenidae
57	Spalgisepeus (Westwood, [1851])	Apefly	+	+
58	Curetisthetis (Drury, [1773])	Indian Sunbeam	+	+	+	+
59	Prosotasnora Felder, 1860	Common Lineblue	+	+	+	+
60	Prosotasdubiosa Semper, 1879	Tailless Lineblue	+	+	+	+	5c
61	Petrelaea dana (de Nicéville, [1884])	Dingy Lineblue	5b
62	Caletadecidia (Hewitson, 1876)	Angled Pierrot	+	+	+	5d
63	Jamidesbochus Stoll, 1782	Dark Cerulean	+	+	+	+	+	5e
64	Jamidesceleno Cramer, 1775	Common Cerulean	+	+	+	+	+
65	Catochrysops Strabo (Fabricius, 1793)	Forgetmenot	+	+	+	+	5f
66	Lampidesboeticus (Linnaeus, 1767)	Pea Blue	+	+	+	+
67	Leptotesplinius (Fabricius, 1793)	Zebra Blue	+	+	+	+	5g
68	Castaliusrosimon (Fabricius, 1775)	Common Pierrot	+	+	+	+	+
69	Tarucus sp.	Pierrot	+	+	+	+	5h
70	Tarucusananda (de Nicéville, [1884])	Dark Pierrot	+	5i
71	Zizeeriakarsandra (Moore, 1865)	Dark Grass Blue	+	+	+	+
72	Pseudozizeeriamaha Kollar, 1844	Pale Grass Blue	+	+	+	+	+
73	Zizinaotis Fabricius, 1787	Lesser Grass Blue	+	+	+	+	+
74	Zizulahylax (Fabricius, 1775)	Tiny Grass Blue	+	+
75	Evereslacturnus Godart, 1824	Indian Cupid	+	+	+	5j
76	Neopithecopszalmora Butler, 1870	Quaker	+	+	+	+	+
77	Megisbamalaya (Horsfield, [1828])	Malayan	+	+	+	5k
78	Acytolepispuspa (Horsfield, [1828])	Common Hedge Blue	+	+	+	5l
79	Euchrysopscnejus (Fabricius, 1798)	Gram Blue	+	+	+	+
80	Chiladeslajus (Stoll, [1780])	Lime Blue	+	+	+	+	+
81	Chiladespandava (Horsfield, [1829])	Plains Cupid	+	+	+	+	+
82	ChiladesparrhasiusFabricius, 1793	Small Cupid	+	5m
83	Freyeriaputli (Kollar, [1844])	Grass Jewel	+	+	+	+
84	Antheneemolus (Godart, [1824])	Ciliate Blue	+	+	+	+
85	Anthenelycaenina (R. Felder, 1868)	Pointed Ciliate Blue	+
86	Spindasisvulcanus (Fabricius, 1775)	Common Silverline	+	+	+	+	+
87	Spindasissyama (Horsfield, [1829])	Club Silverline	+	+	5n
88	Spindasislohita (Horsfield, [1829])	Long-banded Silverline	+	5o
89	Arhopalaatrax (Hewitson, 1862)	Indian Oakblue	+	+	+	+
90	Arhopalaamantes Hewitson, 1862	Large Oakblue	+	+	+
91	Amblypodiaanita Hewitson, 1862	Purple Leaf Blue	+	+	+	+
92	LoxuraatymnusStoll, 1780	Yamfly	+	+	+	+	+
93	Chliariaothona(Hewitson, 1865)	Orchid Tit	+	5p
94	Viracholaisocrates (Fabricius, 1793)	Common Guava Blue	+	+	5q
95	RapalavarunaHorsfield, 1829	Indigo Flash	+	+	5r
96	Rapalamanea Hewitson, 1863	Slate Flash	+	+	+	+
97	Rapalaiarbus (Fabricius, 1787)	Indian Red Flash	+	+
Family Nymphalidae
98	Paranticaaglea Stoll, 1782	Glassy Tiger	+	+	6a
99	Tirumala limniace Cramer, 1775	Blue Tiger	+	+	+	+	+
100	Danausgenutia Cramer 1779	Common Tiger	+	+	+	+	+
101	Danauschrysippus Linnaeus, 1758	Plain Tiger	+	+	+	+	+
102	Euploea core (Cramer, [1780])	Common Indian Crow	+	+	+	+	+	6b
103	Melanitisleda Linnaeus, 1758	Common Evening Brown	+	+	+	+	+
104	Elymniashypermnestra Linnaeus,1763	Common Palmfly	+	+	+	+	+
105	Lethe europa (Fabricius, 1775)	Bamboo Treebrown	+	+	+
106	Lethe rohria Fabricius, 1787	Common Treebrown	+	6c
107	Mycalesisperseus Fabricius, 1775	Common Bushbrown	+	+	+	+	+	6d
108	Orsotriaenamedus Fabricius, 1775	Nigger	+	+
109	Ypthimahuebneri Kirby, 1871	Common Fourring	+	+	+	+	+
110	Ariadne ariadne Linnaeus, 1763	Angled Castor	+	+	+	+	+
111	Ariadne merione Cramer, 1777	Common Castor	+	+
112	Phalantaphalantha Drury, 1773	Common Leopard	+	+	+	+	+
113	Vanessa cardui Linnaeus, 1758	Painted Lady	+	+
114	Junoniahierta Fabricius, 1798	Yellow Pansy	+	+	+	+
115	Junoniaorithya Linnaeus, 1758	Blue Pansy	+	+	+	+
116	Junonialemonias Linnaeus, 1758	Lemon Pansy	+	+	+	+	+
117	Junoniaalmana Linnaeus, 1758	Peacock Pansy	+	+	+	+	+
118	Junoniaatlites Linnaeus, 1763	Grey Pansy	+	+	+	+	+
119	Junoniaiphita Cramer, 1779	Chocolate Pansy	+	+	+	+	+
120	Kallimainachus Doyere, 1840	Orange Oakleaf	+	+	+
121	Hypolimnasmisippus (Linnaeus, 1764)	Danaid Eggfly	+	6e
122	Hypolimnasbolina Linnaeus, 1758	Great Eggfly	+	+	+	+	+
123	Cyrestisthyodamas Doyère, 1840	Common Map	+	+
124	Neptishylas Linnaeus, 1758	Common Sailer	+	+	+	+	+
125	Neptissappho Pallas, 1771	Pallas Sailer	+	+	+	6f, 6g
126	Pantoporiahordonia Stoll, 1790	Common Lascar	+	+	+	6h
127	Athymaperius Linnaeus, 1758	Common Sergeant	+	+	+
128	Moduzaprocris Cramer, 1777	Commander	+	+	+	+	+
129	Tanaecialepidea Butler, 1868	Grey Count	+	+	+	+	6i
130	Symphaedranais (Forster, 1771)	Baronet	+	+	+	6j
131	Euthaliaaconthea Cramer, 1777	Baron	+	+	+	+	6k
132	Euthalialubentina Cramer, 1777	Gaudy Baron	+
133	Polyuraathamas(Drury, [1773])	Common Nawab	+	+	+	6l
134	Charaxes solon Fabricius, 1793	Black Rajah	+	+
135	Charaxesbernardus Fabricius, 1793	Tawny Rajah	+
136	Acraea terpsicore (Linnaeus, 1758)	Tawny Coster	+	+	+	+	+

Hasora vitta (Butler, 1870) – Plain Banded Awl ( Hesperiidae ) (Figure 2o)

A single individual was photographed at 11:25 (here and below local time, UTC+05:30) on 04.10.2015 in Deobhuin Reserve forest. This hesprid butterfly was perching under the leaf, at about 2 m height from the ground, along the forest trail. This butterfly ranges from Sikkim to Northeast India; Maharashtra to Goa up to Kerala (Varshney & Smetacek, 2015). From Odisha, previously it was recorded from single locality, Mundasaru in Kandhamal District by Vivek Sarkar on 08.06.2013 (Kunte, 2019). Most recently this species has been reported from Maredumill, and Jalatarangini area of the adjoining state, Andhra Pradesh (Goswami et al., 2018). Apart from the record of Vivek Sarkar from Kandhamal District, no such decisive record of this butterfly is available from Odisha.

Zographetussatwa de Nicéville, 1884 – Purple and Gold Flitter (Hesperiidae) (Figure 2h)

We have recorded this species several times from different places of Balikiari Reserve Forest, during September 2015. On 01.09 we recorded two individuals. First, we spotted it at 11:50, near a stream. It was perching on shrubs at about 1m above the ground. Later it was recorded during 15:05, at about 1km distance from the first place of observation. It was perching on shrubs under dense canopy cover. On 02.09, we have encountered this species twice, Near the Sishupathra dam. This butterfly ranges from Uttarakhand to Northeast India (Varshney & Smetacek, 2015). Previously, from Odisha only single record was available from same locality, i.e., Balikiari Reserve Forest, by Vivek Sarkar during September 2012 (Anonymous, 2019).

Potanthus sp . – Dart ( Hesperiidae ) (Figure 2k)

One individual was photographed near Tersing on 03.09.2015 at 09:35 it was perching on the small shrubs, near the fast-flowing hill stream. Until this date, no record is available of Potanthus sp. from Odisha. Recently the Genus has been reported from adjacent state Andhra Pradesh (Goswami et al., 2018). As Goswami et al. (2018) mentioned, without examination of genitalia species the identification is very difficult in this butterfly group. Further examination of specimen is required to validate the occurrence of this species in Odisha.

Tarucus ananda (de Nicéville , [1884]) – Dark Pierrot ( Lycaenidae ) (Figure 5i)

On 03.09.2015, a single individual of Dark Pierrot Tarucusananda was sighted from Tersing (Site 4) at 11:40. It was puddling on pond side sandy soil, along with other butterflies such as Common Mormon Papiliopolytes, Angled Pierrot Caletadecidia and Common Nawab Polyuraathamas. The distribution of this tiny butterfly is mainly from South-West India to North Maharastra, Sikkim to Arunachal Pradesh, Central Nepal, North East India and Burma to Dawnas (Evans, 1932; Kehimkar, 2008; Varshney & Smetacek, 2015). In Odisha previously Vivek Sarkar recorded it during June 2013 from Balgaon Range of Khordha district (Churi, 2019). Our present record confirms its occurrence in Odisha.

Chliaria othona ( Hewitson , 1865) – Orchid Tit ( Lycaenidae ) (Figure 5p)

Single individual was recoded from Balikiari Reserve Forest, on 05.03.2015, at 11:35. It was puddling on sandy streambed. Place was covered by dense canopy cover. According to Varshney & Smetacek (2015), this species ranges from Uttarakhand to Northeast India, Maharashtra to Karala. In Odisha previously Vivek Sarkar recorded it during June 2013 from Balgaon Range of Khordha district. Most recently, Subhajit Roy records it during June 2019 from Similipal National Park of Mayurbhanj District (Ogale et al., 2019).

Neptissappho Pallas, 1771 – Pallas Sailer (Nymphalidae) (Figure 6Figure 6g)

So far, this species has been known to distribute from Indian Himalaya and Northeastern India (Varshney & Smetacek, 2015). Recently, the species has been recorded from Araku Valley and Maredumilli of Andhra Pradesh (Goswami et al., 2018). We spotted two individuals near Tersing on 03.09.2015 at 09:40. As Goswami et al. (2018) mentioned, this species can be differentiated from closely relative N. hylas, by “the veins in under-hindwing is not blackened and, in the forewing not blackened at least till cell” (Evans, 1932). Hence, our present record confirms its occurrence in Odisha for the first time.

Discussion

The dominant occurrence of Lycenidae and Nymphalidae butterflies in the study area might be due to the availability of host plants and nectaring plants (Mimosaceae, Acanthaceae, Poaceae, Malvaceae, Fabaceae), as the habitat association of butterflies can be directly related to the availability of larval host plants, vegetation cover of herbs, shrubs and trees for nectaring (Thomas, 1995; Kunte, 2000).

Among the recorded 136 species, 113 species of butterflies were found from Balikiari Reserve Forest (Site 3), 105 species from Deobhuin Reserve Forest (Site 5), 88 from Ansupa Lake (Site 2), 84 from Tersing (Site 4) and 78 species from Dhabaleswar Island (Site 1). Result of high number of species in Balikiari and Deobhuin Reserve Forest compare to other sites like Tersing and Dhabaleswar Island, may be due to the longer period of surveys rather than true species richness. As site Tersing also endowed with pristine habitats, which can be suitable for many butterfly species those are yet to explore.

Out of 136 species of butterflies, 14 species are legally protected under Indian Wildlife Protection Act, 1972 (see Table 2).

Table 2.Legally protected butterflies of Athgarh Forest Division under the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 (WPA).
WPA Schedule	Family	Scientific Name
Schedule I	Papilionidae	Pachliopta hector (Linnaeus, 1758)
Schedule I	Lycaenidae	Chliariaothona (Hewitson, 1865)
Schedule II	Lycaenidae	Euchrysopscnejus(Fabricius, 1798)
Schedule II	Lycaenidae	Lampidesboeticus(Linnaeus, 1767)
Schedule II	Lycaenidae	RapalavarunaHorsfield, 1829
Schedule II	Lycaenidae	Spindasislohita(Horsfield, [1829])
Schedule II	Nymphalidae	Tanaecialepidea Butler, 1868
Schedule II	Nymphalidae	Hypolimnasmisippus(Linnaeus, 1764)
Schedule IV	Hesperiidae	Hasoravitta(Butler, 1870)
Schedule IV	Hesperiidae	Hyarotisadrastus(Stoll, [1780])
Schedule IV	Hesperiidae	Baorisfarri(Moore, 1878)
Schedule IV	Lycaenidae	Tarucusananda(de Nicéville, [1884])
Schedule IV	Nymphalidae	EuthalialubentinaCramer, 1777
Schedule IV	Nymphalidae	Euploea core (Cramer, [1780])

In Athgarh Forest division various anthropogenic activities (e.g. wood cutting, grazing, logging, looping, herb collection etc.) by local villagers is a matter of concern, which leads to the destruction of suitable habitats of Butterfly fauna around Athgarh Forest Division. Butterflies are very sensitive insects. A little change in environmental condition and habitat alteration can influence their distribution and abundance (Wynter-Blyth, 1957). Therefore, habitat fragmentation, vegetation loss, grazing pressure, human settlement or any other damaging activities are mainly responsible for loss of diversity of both butterflies and plants in the study area must be regulated. Public awareness is also very important to conserve the suitable habitats of these ecologically important invertebrate organisms. However, the present study provides the baseline information of butterfly fauna of Athgarh Forest Division and enriches the butterfly checklist of Odisha. Further studies on Butterfly fauna is very necessary to understand the seasonal variation and population dynamics of butterflies in this precise geographical area.

Acknowledgements

Authors are grateful to Mr. Isaac Kehimkar (Director of INaturewatch Foundation, India), Mr. Monsoon Jyoti Gogoi (Scientist-A, BNHS, India), and Mr. Gaurab Nandi Das for their valuable suggestions during identification. Authors are thankful to the Forest staffs of Athgarh Forest division for their kind assistance during survey period.

References

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Citation:

Arajush Payra, Suraj K. Dash, Udit P. Das, Himanshu S. Palei, Arun K. Mishra (2019). Butterflies of Athgarh Forest Division, Odisha, Eastern India, with notes on some significant records. ActaBiologicaSibirica, 5 (3), 188-198.

Submitted: 17.07.2019. Accepted: 23.09.2019.