COIMBATORE: A total of 175 butterfly species has been recorded in Mudumalai Tiger Reserve during the first two-day assessment carried out exclusively for butterflies. The survey, which ended on Sunday, was coordinated by The Nature and Butterfly Society (TNBS) Coimbatore, and WWF-India along with Mudumalai Tiger Reserve, Tamil Nadu Forest Department.
Six teams comprising 41 naturalists and butterfly enthusiasts from Coimbatore, The Nilgiris, Erode, Salem, Madurai, Kanchipuram, Chennai, Pondicherry, and Kerala, along with more than 100 MTR field officials participated in this exercise. All the eight ranges (4 from the core division and 4 from the buffer zone) were covered.
The species were from 6 butterfly families: Swallowtails (12), Whites and Yellows (22), Brush-footed Butterflies (53), Blues (48), Metalmarks (2) and Skippers (38)
C Vidhya, Deputy Director Core Division, MTR said documenting butterflies within the tiger reserve is important as they are a critical component of the eco-system and reflects the health of the habitat.
According to A Pavendhan of TNBS, “The survey was conducted based on the advice of the Conservator of Forests and Field Director of MTR D.Venkatesh.
Highlights of the survey include sighting of Yellowjack Sailer, a species from Nymphalidae which is known to occur very rarely in the state of Tamil Nadu. This species was sighted from the Kargudi range of the Tiger Reserve and is only the second photographic sighting in the state. The state butterfly, Tamil Yeoman was also recorded during the survey.”
Other interesting sightings include Malabar Banded Peacock, a rare beautiful Swallowtail butterfly, and a butterfly bearing the local nomenclature- Nilgiri Tiger. Species which were in abundance include Common Four-ring, Common Five-ring, and Common Grass Yellow. D. Boominathan, Landscape coordinator of WWF said “We have also discussed plans to conduct a seasonal assessment of butterflies covering different seasons including summer, pre-monsoon, and post-monsoon. Future surveys scope would also be extended to birds, odonates, and other smaller fauna.