04 Haz 2025 Çarşamba
Butterfly diversity (Lepidoptera: Rhopalocera) of Kurukshetra University, Haryana, India
Abstract : Butterflies are typically regarded as bioindicators as they are particularly sensitive to subtle changes in a habitat. Sequentially, butterfly surveys are extremely convenient tool for understanding population trends and species distributions in a particular area. Although protected areas were explored to a certain level in Haryana but systematic study are lacking outside these regions. Taking into account, monthly field visits were conducted from June, 2023 to May, 2024 to record the diversity, status and abundance of the butterfly species in the Kurukshetra University, Kurukshetra, Haryana, India following Pollard walk and Random Sampling method. A total of 45 species belonging to five families were documented among which family Nymphalidae was the most dominant one (15 species) followed by Lycaenidae (14 species); Pieridae (10 species); Hesperiidae and Papilionidae with 3 species each. Six species were added to the checklist from secondary source (Gupta and Kumar, 2024) which makes a total of 51 species reported from Kurukshetra University. The study area hosts one Butterfly species which is protected under Schedule II of Wildlife (Protection) Amendment Act, 2022. In order to conserve the diversity of butterflies, it is imperative that the environment be protected by implementing long-term monitoring programmes.