A preliminary study of butterflies in Theerthamalai, Tamil Nadu

Abstract

The diversity of butterflies were recorded in Theerthamalai, Dharmapuri District, Tamilnadu. A total of 264 butterflies were observed during the study period from October 2019 to January 2020. A total of 22 species of butterflies were recorded and the most dominant family was Nymphalidae (45.45%) followed by Pieridae (31.82%), Papilionidae (13.64%), and Lycaenidae (9.1%). During the study period butterflies grouped under the family Nymphalidae was witnessed with maximum number of butterflies when compared to other families. During November the total number of butterfly counts were high when compared to other months The presence and absence of butterflies were also recorded as Common (C), Occasional (O), Rare (R), and Very Rare (VR), with common species (72.7 percent) being the most common, followed by occasional (4.5 percent), rare (18.18 percent), and very rare (VR) (4.5 percent). The month of November had the most diversity, while the month of January had the least.