129 butterfly species traced at Sirumalai Hills in Tamil Nadu

DINDIGUL: Officials from the Dindigul forest department have recorded 129 butterfly species in a survey held on Saturday and Sunday at Sirumalai Hills. The species traced belonged to five butterfly families -- Swallowtails (10), Whites and Yellows (22), Brush-footed Butterflies (36), Blues (39), and Skippers (22).

The study was coordinated by Sirumalai Range Office under the guidance of Forest Range Officer A Mathivanan, with the help of 22 volunteers from an NGO, The Nature and Butterfly Society (TNBS).

Highlights of the survey included the sighting of Palni Bushbrown, a species from the Nymphalidae family, which is endemic to the Palani Hills of the Western Ghats. The presence of this species is well established on the elevated areas of Sirumalai. Also, Plane, a species from the Lycaenidae family, was sighted for the first time in the Eastern Ghats. Another interesting sighting was Large Guava Blue from the Lycaenidae family.

Some of the other significant species sighted across all five families were Southern Birdwing, Blue Mormon, Common Banded Peacock, Small Grass Yellow, Chocolate Albatross, Palni Bushbrown, Glad-eye Bushbrown, Common Treebrown, Dark-brand Bushbrown, Plumbeous Silverline, Transparent Six-Lineblue, Large Guava Blue, Redspot, Silver Royal, Plane, Common Tinsel, Tree Flitter, Malabar Spotted Flat and the Restricted Demon.

Sirumalai range has a total area of 13,987 hectares ranging from a height of 400 meters to 1,600 meters. It enjoys pleasant weather throughout the year, and hence houses rare species of flora and fauna. Participants and field staff were issued certificates of appreciation by Dindigul Forest officer S Prabhu during the survey closing meeting on Sunday evening.