Introduction

The Lepidoptera have been thoroughly studied by taxonomists, making them one of the most extensively examined insect groups ( Robbins & Opler, 1997). Rhopalocera play a crucial role in the ecosystem as they engage in the important task of visiting diverse flowers to nourish themselves with nectar. This act of seeking nectar not only sustains the Rhopalocera but also serves as a vital mechanism for pollination ( Tiple et al. 2006). Since the early 18th century, systematic studies on Rhopalocera have been conducted, which resulted in the identification of approximately 18,000 species across the Globe ( Martinez et al. 2003). The total number of butterfly species in India is 1,327 ( Varshney & Smetacek, 2015; Upadhye et al. 2020).

Majathal wildlife sanctuary is spread over the hilly terrains of the Solan and Shimla districts of Himachal Pradesh. The Sutlej River bounds the sanctuary to the north and a mountain ridge to the south; it is part of the catchment area of the Sutlej. The altitude of the sanctuary varies from 575 m, asl. to 1975 m asl. The average precipitation is 1000 mm per annum, and the temperature ranges from 1ºC (winter) to 40ºC (summer).

Materials and methods

This study was carried out during the faunal assessment of the Majathal wildlife sanctuary. We surveyed the sanctuary area for two months, from 01-III-2021 to 30-IV-2021. During the survey, 54 species of Rhopalocera were recorded within the confines of the protected area.

We visited the field mainly during the daytime, 6 AM to 10 AM and 12 PM to 6 PM. We used a Nikon Monarch 3 binoculars to spot the butterflies and captured them using Nikon D5600 DSLR and Nikon COOLPIX P1000 telephoto digital camera. No specimens were collected or preserved during the study. Kunte (2000), Kehimkar (2008), Varshney (2010), Varshney & Smetacek (2015), and Smetacek (2017) were followed for identification alongside the expert consultations and comments.

Results and discussion

We found 54 species of Rhopalocera belonging to six families ( Figure 1). Nymphalidae dominates the checklist with 24 species, followed by Lycaenidae having ten, and Pieridae with eight species. We further recorded six species of Papilionidae, five Hesperiidae, and a single species belonging to Riodinidae. A detailed checklist of the butterflies recorded in the Majathal wildlife sanctuary is presented in Table 1. All 54 species recorded during the survey are given in Figure 2. and Figure 3. No previous studies are available in this area so no comparisons could be made. Forest fires are very common in the sanctuary ( Bhardwaj et al. 2022), posing a significant threat to the Rhopalocera populations. In addition, two cement manufacturing units are in the vicinity of the protected area, which could be a pollution threat to the sanctuary. Necessary measures should be taken, such as creating and maintaining good fire lines within the fire-prone areas of the sanctuary to conserve the butterfly populations. This checklist is important as it yields the baseline information which could be further expanded by consequent surveys. We recorded 55 species within the short duration of two months and believe that there is more to it and suggest the site be thoroughly surveyed for a longer duration.

Figure 1.
A pie chart displaying Rhopalocera diversity of Majathal wildlife sanctuary, Himachal Pradesh.

 

Acknowledgments

We thank the Forest Department of Himachal Pradesh for financial assistance. Taslima Sheikh and Neeraj are appreciated for their help.

References

Bhardwaj, V. K., Kapoor, R., & Abhinav, C. (2022). Grey-crowned Prinia cinereocapilla in Majathal Wildlife Sanctuary: An addition to the avifauna of Himachal Pradesh. Indian BIRDS, 18(1), 24-25.

Garlani, L. (2022). First record of Celaenorrhinus ratna daphne Evans, 1949 from Himachal Pradesh and its first photographic record from the Western Himalayas (Lepidoptera: Hesperiidae, Pyrginae). SHILAP Revista de lepidopterología, 50(200), 705-708. https://doi.org/10.57065/shilap.262

Garlani, L. (2023). A detailed study of the variations found in the chrysalises of Aglais caschmirensis Kollar, 1844 (Lepidoptera: Papilionoidea, Nymphalidae). SHILAP Revista de lepidopterología, 51(201), 21-26. https://doi.org/10.57065/shilap.431

Kunte, K. (2000). Butterflies of Peninsular India. Universities Press (India) Limited.

Kehimkar, I. (2008). The Book of Indian Butterflies. Bombay Natural History Society and Oxford University Press.

Martínez, A. L., Bousquets, J. L., Fernández, I. F., & Warren, A.D. (2003). Biodiversity and Biogeography of Mexican butterflies (Lepidoptera: Papilionoidea and Hesperioidea). Proceedings of Entomological Society of Washington, 105(1), 209-244.

Robbins, R. K., & Opler, P. A. (1997). Butterfly diversity and a preliminary comparison with bird and mammal diversity. Biodiversity II: understanding and protecting our biological resources, 69-82.

Smetacek, P. (2017). A Naturalist’s Guide to the Butterflies of India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka. John Beaufoy Publishing Limited.

Tiple, A. D., Deshmukh, V. P., & Dennis, R. L. (2006). Factors influencing nectar plant resource visits by butterflies on a university campus: implications for conservation. Nota lepidopterologica, 28(3), 213-224.

Upadhye, R., Pertin, M., Smetacek, P., & Saito, M. (2020). Addition of a butterfly genus and species to the Indian fauna. Bio, 22(2), 34-35.

Varshney, R. K. (2010). Genera of Indian Butterflies. Nature Books India.

Varshney, R. K., & Smetacek, P. (2015.). A Synoptic Catalogue of the Butterflies of India. Butterfly Research Centre, Bhimtal and Indinov Publishing.

ANEXOS

Figures 1-8
Rhopalocera of Majathal wildlife sanctuary. 1.Aglais caschmirensis aesis.2.Nymphalis xanthomelas3.Issoria lathonia.4.Lasiommata schakra.5.Libythea lepita.6.Neptis hylas.7.Athyma perius.8.Junonia iphita.

Figures 9-16.
9.Parantica aglea.10.Symbrenthia lilaea.11.Ypthima avanta.12.Telinga Lepcha.13.Kaniska canace.14.Junonia lemonias.15.Vanessa indica.16.Junonia hierta.

Figures 17-24.
17.Lethe rohria.18.Mycalesis mineus.19.Lethe verma.20.Vanessa cardui.21.Kallima inachus.22.Charaxes solon.23.Dilipa morgiana.24.Callerebia annada.

Figures 25-32.
25.Heliophorus sena.26.Rapala nissa.27.Lycaena phlaeas.28.Tarucus callinara.29.Everes huegelii.30.Celastrina huegeli. 31.Iraota timoleon.32.Celastrina argiolus.

Figures 33-40.
33.Pseudozizeeria maha.34.Celatoxia marginata.35.Colias fieldii.36.Gonepteryx rhamni.37.Pieris brassicae.38.Catopsilia Pomona.39.Eurema brigitta.40.Delias belladonna.

Figures 41-48.
41.Pontia daplidice.42.Eurema laeta.43.Papilio machaon.44.Papilio polytes.45.Graphium cloanthus.46.Papilio protenor.47.Papilio agestor.48.Papilio polyctor.

Figures 49-54.
49.Caprona agama.50.Sarangesa purendra.51.Potanthus sp.52.Parnara sp.53.Sarangesa dasahara.54.Dodona durga.

Notes

Author notes

*Autor para la correspondencia / Corresponding author