NASHIK :
The sight of butterflies hovering around flowers makes a home in everyone’s mind. These butterfly species have been counted this year and spotting of more than 50 species has been recorded in Nashik.
There are more than 75 species in the district, and for the first time, ‘spotted small flat’ and ‘grass demon’ butterflies have been recorded in the densely populated Borgad Conservation Forest. In particular, most of the butterflies have been spotted by researchers in the Gangapur dam area and Gangapur Road area.
During the ‘Big Butterfly Month’, researchers from the Nature Conservation Society of Nashik studied the butterfly species found in and around the city for a week.
These included Borgad, Mary Forest, Gangapur dam area, Yeola, Gangapur Road area. Butterflies, their size, colour, speed and action were recorded during this time. At that time, 50 out of 75 species were found.
These include the Common Immigrant, Common Grass Yellow and Common Crow butterflies. In addition, the Blue Oak Leaf in the Western Ghats, the second smallest butterfly in India, Tiny Grass Blue, and the state butterfly, Blue Mormon, have been spotted in the suburbs.
All this data was sent to organizations working for conservation of butterflies at the national level, and a discussion session on conservation was conducted through an online webinar in eight days.
With the help of this data, there will be further direction on butterfly species and their conservation across the country. Prateeksha Kothule, Pooja Kothule, Akshay Patil, Tushar Undegaonkar, Dr Aniruddha Jadhav, Rajesh T and Shirsat have recorded observations of butterfly species in different places.
‘Indian Sunbeam’ spotted
The city is also home to the Indian Sunbeam, a rare Lichenidae butterfly. It is a medium-sized butterfly that perches on a flower and flutters its wings, when suddenly a bright red color peeks out of its bright white wings. Therefore, its name is Indian Sunbeam, said Pratiksha Kothule.
Data collected
Site of observation – number of species
Borgad Conservation Area – 34
Gangapur Road – 21
Gangapur grassland – 14
My forest area – 13
Tapovan Road – 11
Gangapur Nursery – 10
Nagarsul, Yeola – 7
