Checklist of butterflies of Kushtia District, Bangladesh

Abstract

Till date, the Northern parts of Bangladesh are more or less neglected for any biodiversity surveys. Keeping this in view, the present study was undertaken at the Kushtia district, which is located in the northern region (23○54’N and 89○03’E) of Bangladesh with an area of 1621.15 square kilometers. A field study was conducted to determine the existing butterfly fauna of Kushtia district, Bangladesh from March, 2012 to February, 2014. A total of 77 species were recorded belonging to 9 families and 64 genera. Family Lycaenidae was the most dominating family with 23 species followed by Hesperiidae (14 species), Nymphalidae (12 species), Pieridae (10 species), Papilionidae (7 species), Satyridae (7 species), Danaidae (4 species), Acraeidae (1 species) and Amathusiidae (1 species). This survey was an initial step to know the existing butterfly number and diversity which will be helpful to take further steps inrnupgrading the checklist of butterflies of our country.