Butterfly fauna (Lepidoptera: Rhopalocera) of Lembucherra, West Tripura, Tripura, India

Abstract

A study on the diversity of butterflies was carried out in the campus of College of Agriculture and its vicinity, Lembucherra, West Tripura district, Tripura, India from April, 2016 to March, 2017. A total of 118 species of butterflies belonging to 77 genera and five families were recorded. Among the five families, Nymphalidae (represented by 25 genera and 45 species) was the most dominant followed by Lycaenidae (22 genera, 26 species), Hesperiidae (16 genera, 20 species), Pieridae (10 genera, 17 species) and Papilionidae (4 genera, 10 species). Out of total 118 butterfly species 20 (16.95%), 29 (24.58%), 27 (22.88%), 37 (31.36%) and 5 (4.24%) species are Very common, Common, Not rare, Rare and Very rare, respectively in occurrence. Eighteen species of butterflies are reported here as new records for the state of Tripura. Among the 118 species of butterflies recorded 25 are schedule species under Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972. Though the area is rich in butterfly diversity, it needs a conservation plan in order to protect the butterfly fauna since it harbours some of the schedule species under IWPA and 31.36 and 4.24 % of recorded species are of rare and very rare categories, respectively.