21 Ara 2024 Cumartesi
Butterfly diversity in Shaheed Chandra Shekhar Azad Bird Sanctuary, Nawabganj, Unnao, Uttar Pradesh
Abstract : The study aimed at recording the butterfly diversity of The Shaheed Chandra Shekhar AzadBird Sanctuary situated in Unnao, Uttar Pradesh, India. It was declared a Ramsar Site in 2020. The 224.60 ha. Sanctuary has varied habitatsranging from a large submerged area along with some grassy, shrubby and wooded areas that support a variety of life forms including a multitude of lepidopterans. The protected area is subject to considerable biotic pressure as it is surrounded by habitation, farmlands and abuts a busy highway. The study was done by repeated random cross walking of the area with photo-capture and documentation of butterfly diversity in all seasons between February 2016 and September 2022 resulted in the documentation of 78 species of butterflies belonging to 56 genera and five families - 26 belonging to Lycaenidae, 25 to Nymphalidae, 16 species of Pieridae, 8 species of Hesperiidae and 4 representatives of Papilionidae. Of these, one species is included in Schedule I and five species are included in Schedule II of The Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972. 73 species of host plants of the butterflies were also recorded. The study has yielded data for bio-mapping the diversity of the Sanctuary and forming a baseline for future assessments.