Journal of Threatened Taxa |
www.threatenedtaxa.org | 26 May 2020 | 12(8): 15794–15803
ISSN 0974-7907 (Online) | ISSN 0974-7893
(Print)
doi: https://doi.org/10.11609/jott.5117.12.8.15794-15803
#5117 | Received 05 May 2019 | Final received
18 April 2020 | Finally accepted 27 April 2020
Butterfly diversity in Gidakom Forest Management Unit, Thimphu,
Bhutan
Thal Prasad Koirala 1, Bal
Krishna Koirala 2 & Jaganath Koirala
3
1 Thimphu Forest Division, Department of
Forests and Park Services, P.O. box 11001, Thimphu,
Bhutan.
2 Tashigang Forest Division, Department of
Forests and Park Services, P.O. box 42002, Tashigang,
Bhutan.
3 Sherubtse College, School of Life Science,
Royal University of Bhutan, P.O. box 42002, Kanglung,
Tashigang, Bhutan.
1 thal_prasad@yahoo.com
(corresponding author), 2 bkgelephu@gmail.com, 3 koiralakoirala08@gmail.com
Abstract: This study was carried out to
establish the diversity and distribution of butterflies in Gidakom
Forest Management Unit (GFMU), Thimphu, Bhutan. A survey was conducted from June 2016 to July
2017 in three locations within GFMU: Jamdo, Chimithanka, and Jedekha. A total of 90 species belonging to 52 genera
and five families of butterflies were recorded.
Nymphalidae was dominant with 38 species,
followed by Lycaenidae with 19, Pieridae
with 15, Papilionidae with 11, and Hesperiidae with seven species. Diversity of butterfly species was highest in
farmland associated with pockets of forest cover in the lower valley, and a
decreasing trend was observed towards higher elevations. The maximum species richness (83 species) was
recorded from Chimithanka between 2500m & 2900m,
where agriculture is associated with patches of forest, streams, forest edges,
and open scrub land. Butterfly diversity
was lowest at Jedekha above 2,900m (37 species), an
area dominated by mixed conifer forest with little agriculture.
Keywords: Butterflies, Hesperiidae, Lepidoptera, Lycaenidae, Nymphalidae,
Papilionidae, Pieridae, sweep net.
Editor: Anonymity requested. Date
of publication: 26 May 2020 (online & print)
Citation:
Koirala, T.P., B.K. Koirala & J. Koirala (2020). Butterfly
diversity in Gidakom Forest Management Unit, Thimphu, Bhutan. Journal of Threatened Taxa 12(8): 15794–15803. https://doi.org/10.11609/jott.5117.12.8.15794-15803
Copyright: © Koirala et al. 2020. Creative
Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
JoTT allows unrestricted use, reproduction,
and distribution of this article in any medium by providing adequate credit to
the author(s) and the source of publication.
Funding: Nagao Natural
Environment Foundation (NEF).
Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests.
Author details: Mr. Thal Prasad
Koirala is professional forester working
under department of forest and park services for last 23 years. Working with
local community for sustainable management and utilization of natural resources
is subject of great interest as natural resources management is fundamental for
long term sustainability. He is equally interested on the wild life with more
focus on anurans and on butterflies of the high altitude. He is currently working
as Senior Forest Range Officer of Gidakom Forest
Management Unit under Thimphu Forest Division. Mr. Bal Krishna Koirala is forester by
profession and currently working as Forestry Officer in Trashigang
Forest Division under Department of Forest and Park Services. He has deep
interest in wildlife ecology, natural history and various wildlife conservation
works. Herpetofauna are his latest passion, and currently working on
conservation of King Cobra and other venomous snakes in eastern Bhutan. Mr. Jaganath Koirala is former student of Sherubtse
College, Department of Live Science, and Royal University of Bhutan. He is working as research assistant in the
field of biodiversity conservation work in Bhutan. He has deep interest in
entomology, particularly in wild bees and butterflies of Bhutan.
Author contribution: TPK—field surveys, and data collection, and
manuscript writing; BKK— data analysis & editing; JK—data collection.
Acknowledgements: Authors would like to extend immense gratitude to
Nagao Natural Environmental Foundation (NEF) Japan for the financial support to
carry out this research work. We are
very grateful to Ugyen Wangchuck
Institute for Conservation and Environment (UWICER) under Department of Forest
and Park Services (DoFPS) for providing research
clearance to conduct this research work in the study area. The authors would
like to extend gratitude to Jatishwor Singh Irungbam, Faculty of Science, The University of South
Bohemia, Ceske Budejovice, Czech Republic and Karma Wangdi
from Ugyen Wangchuck
Institute for Conservation and Environment (UWICER) for their immense help with
species identification. The authors are
also very grateful to J.B. Rai, Sukuna Subba, and Sonam Lhaki Dema
(Forest Rangers) of Gidakom forest management unit
for their immense support in the field for data collection. We extend our gratitude to Gyeltshen Dukpa, Divisional
Forest Officer (DFO) Thimphu Forest Division for his
encouraging words to take up this research.
Our sincere thanks go to Mr Norbu Wangchuk (Forester) for his contribution as a
photographer in the initial stage of survey.
Last but not the least, we owe special thanks to Abiskhar
Koirala (student) for his active participation during the weekend for reporting
the presence of butterflies with great interest.
Introduction
Butterflies are quite sensitive to environmental
factors such as temperature, humidity, rainfall, solar radiation, wind, and
availability of larval host plants (Hill et al. 2002; Ribeiro & Freitas
2012). This sensitivity makes butterflies
ideal indicators of habitat disturbance (Kocher & Williams 2000; Bonebrake et al. 2010; Castro & Espinosa 2015).
The first study of butterflies in Bhutan was reported
in 1905 by (Binghan 1905). Since then estimates of total species in the
country have ranged from 800–900 (ven der Poel &
Wangchuk 2007), to 670 (Singh & Chib 2015). It should be noted, however, that butterfly
data is lacking from many parts of Bhutan.
Of the several checklists available (Harada 1987 a,b;
van der Poel & Wangchuck 2007; Wangdi & Sherub 2012 a,b; Singh & Chib 2015; Sbordoni et al. 2015; Wangdi
& Sherub 2015; Singh 2016), none cover Gidakom Forest Management Unit (GFMU), situated in Thimphu District, western Bhutan. This study aims to address that gap.
Material and methods
Study area
The overall study area under Gidakom
Forest Management Unit is situated in northwestern
Bhutan between (27.571–27.382 0N and 89.481–89.592 0E).
The overall study area consists of farmland between 2,100m & 2,900m with
pockets of forest cover, and a mountain ridge with complete forest cover above
2,900m. Traditional wood extraction has
long been practiced by the local community, and scientific commercial timber
logging in the area began in 1990.
Annually, more than 5000m3 of wood are removed as per the
management plan (Phuntsho 2012).
The study area is divided into three sites based on
altitude, forest type and land use.
Site-I: Jamdo, 2100–2500 m;
this forest is quite degraded due to past overexploitation and forest
fires. The dominant forest type in the
area is young blue pine stands, followed by oak forest and Populus
sp. along the stream adjacent to the settlement. Agriculture is dominated by paddy
cultivation, apple orchards and vegetable gardens. The annual average maximum temperature ranges
from 26.7–9.6 0C. The highest
temperatures are recorded in July, and the lowest during January and
December. The highest precipitation
occurs in August (130mm) and the lowest in December (12mm) only.
Site-II: Chimithanka
2500–2900 m. More than 60% of the total
study area is under good forest cover of young Blue pine forest as a dominant
species in the lower valley up to 2800m followed by mixed conifer species like
Spruce Picea spinulosa and Hemlock Tsuga dumosa and
broad-leaved species like Oak Quercus semecarpifolia. The lower region is characterized by scrub
land, streams, and farmlands.
Agricultural farming is confined to vegetable cultivation, orchards and
livestock rearing. The annual average
maximum temperature of the area recorded is 24.7°C and minimum is 7.6°C.
Site-III: Jedekha, 2900–3400
m. The vegetation here is characterized
by mixed conifer forest, largely dominated by Fir Abies
densa; different species of Rhododendron also
occur above 3000m. Agriculture farming
is very limited in this area, but timber logging is done for rural and
commercial purposes. Precipitation is
90mm annually and the temperature often falls below freezing point during
winter months.
Methods
A sweep net butterfly survey was conducted in the
study areas described above from June 2016 to July 2017. The three altitude zones: 2100–2500 m,
2500–2900 m, and 2900–3400 m were further divided into eight habitat types. A
500m transect was established at each site, and attempts were made to catch
every butterfly seen following Pollard’s transect walking technique (Pollard et
al.1975; Pollard & Yates 1993). Each
study site was visited three times a month, and four man hours were spent in
each survey event for a total of 432.
Most observations were recorded in the morning
(08.00–12.00 h), with surveys also conducted 16.30–17.00 h for shade-loving
butterflies. Considering the
geographical location of the study sites, morning hours were preferred as this
specific time is usually characterized by warm sunny weather providing favorable conditions for surveying butterflies. Preferred butterfly habitats such as closed
canopy, forest openings, forest edges, roads, trails, shrub land, crop fields,
farmland, and river/stream beds were scanned at 2,100–3,300 m. Whenever possible, photographs of specimens
were taken using a digital camera (Canon EOS 70D with Canon-EF 100mm f/2.8L
Macro IS USM Lens). The elevation and
geospatial location of each species was recorded using GPS. Specimens were identified following ven der Poel & Wangchuck
(2007). In addition, Nymphalidae
and Papilionidae were identified with the help of
field guides (Wangdi & Sherab
2012a,b). Identifications of Pieridae and Lycaenidae were
guided by the recent study of Wangdi & Sherab (2015). Other
sources for identification of butterflies included Singh & Chib (2014); Singh (2016); and Sondhi
& Kunte (2016).
Data were analyzed using Microsoft Excel 2010
and SPSS (Statistical Package for the Social Sciences). The Shannon diversity index (H’) was
used to calculate diversity in different study sites.
ResultS
Diversity
A total of 90 species belonging to 52 genera,
distributed among five families were recorded in this study (Table 1). Family Nymphalidae was dominant among the five families with 38
(42%) species belonging to 25 (48.07%) genera, followed by Lycaenidae
comprising of 19 (21%) species from 12 (23.07%) genera, Pieridae
with composition of 15 species (16%) belonging to seven genera (13.46%), Papilionidae with 11 species (12%) from three genera
(5.76%) and Hesperiidae with seven species (8%) from
five genera (9.61%). A maximum of 83
species of butterflies were recorded from Chimithanka
(2,500–2,900 m), this was followed by Jamdo
(2,100–2,500 m) with 72 species, and minimum of 37 species were recorded from Jedekha.
Species composition based on habitat types
Of the 90 species recorded, the maximum species
richness was observed in agricultural fields with 24 species (22.64%), followed
by scrublands with 17 species (16.03%), forest edge and river bank 16 species
(15.09%) each, forest opening 13 species (12.26%), barren ground with eight
species (7.54%), forest road with (5.66%) and minimum number of species were
recorded in forest canopy accounting for only five species (4.71%) of the total
species recorded (Figure 3).
Large Tawny Wall Rhaphicera
satricus, Doherty’s Satyr Aulocera
loha, Larger Silver Stripe Argynnis
childreni, Common Wood Brown Lethe
sidonis, Small Wood Brown L. nicetella, Treble Silverstripe
L. baladeva, Veined Labyrinth Neope pulaha,
Scarce Labyrinth Neope pulahina,
Chocolate Junionia iphita,
Nepal Comma Polygonia agnicula,
Common Yellow Swallowtail Papilio machaon,
Common Peacock Papilio bianor, Chumbi Wall Chonala masoni,
Common Baron Euthalia aconthea,
Mountain Tortoiseshell Aglais rizana, Blue
Admiral Kaniska canace,
and Indian Fritillary Argynnis hyperbius were primarily recorded from forest opening
and forest edge only. It was observed
that distribution of Lycaenidae and Peiridae species primarily occupied farmland, apple
orchards, scrubland and open grassy fields. Nymphalidae
species were common in forested areas as well as farmland. Papilionidae were
commonly recorded in forest openings and edges, and along the stream bank and
from moist or wet ground. Hesperiidae were sighted in areas close to wet ground and
in open grassy fields.
Temporal distribution of butterflies
Most species were found in the monsoon season,
particularly between May and August.
Minimum species richness was observed during January (n=16, 17.77%) and
a monotonic increasing trend of species occurrence was observed over succeeding
months reaching a maximum (n=86, 95.55%) in August. From September a monotonic declining trend of
species richness was observed until winter.
The high numbers of butterflies during the monsoon season corresponded
with the flowering of local plant species in the study locations.
Dark Clouded Yellow Colias
fieldii, Large Cabbage White Pieris brassicae, Indian Cabbage White Pieris canidia, Green Veined White Pieris napi, Pale Clouded Yellow Colias
fieldii, Lesser Brimstone Gonepteryx
mahaguru, and Common Brimstone Gonepteryx rhamni nepalensis belonging to Peiridae
family and species such as; Blue Pansy Junonia orithiya, Indian Red Admiral Vanessa indica, Indian Tortoiseshell Aglais
cashmiriensis, Queen of Spain Fritillary Issoria issaea,
Painted Lady Vanessa cardui, and Mountain
Tortoiseshell Aglais rizana belonging
to Nymphalidae family were recorded throughout the
year. Of the 90 recorded species, about
14% of them were seen throughout the year in the study area.
Spatial distribution
The spatial distribution of butterflies (species
richness) of Gidakom varied from 84 to 37 among study
locations. Maximum species richness (S=83), diversity (H’=4.17) and relative
abundance (42.75%) were observed in Chimithanka. This was followed by Jamdo,
and minimum species richness (S= 42), diversity (H’=3.47), relative abundance
(23.41%) was observed in Jedekha, however, there was
marginal variation in species evenness among these three study locations (Table
2). Species richness pecked at an
altitudinal range between 2400–2600 m with (32, 35.16%) of the total observed
species and declining trend was observed in subsequent zones towards higher
elevational (Figure 5). A total number
of individuals recorded varied from 127 to four individuals. The calculated median value for each site is
shown in (Figure 6).
The Blue Pansy Junonia
orithiya was found to be most common and widely
distributed species, followed by Straited Satyr Aulocera
saraswati, Dark Clouded Yellow Colias fieldii,
Large Cabbage White Pieris brassicae, and
Indian Cabbage White Pieris canidia. These species were found in all the three
study sites.
Discussion
More than 12% of 732 butterfly species were recorded
in Gidakom Forest.
Observed species previously reported as rare in Bhutan (Singh 2016)
included: White Banded Copper Lycaena panava (Lycaenidae), Pale
Clouded Yellow Colias fieldii
(Pieridae), Camberwell Beauty Nymphalis
antiopa, Mountain Tortoiseshell Aglais rizana, and
Scarce Labyrinth Neope pulahina
(Nymphalidae), and Blue Peacock Papilio
arcturus (Papilionidae).
Nymphalidae were found to be the dominant family, occupying a
majority of habitat types and occurring throughout the year in Gidakom Forest. This
is consistent with Nymphalidae being the largest
butterfly family, accounting for one third of known species worldwide (Kumar
& Sharma 2013). The dominance of Nymphalidae species may be attributed to their ability to
feed on various kinds of food, and many species of this family are active
fliers, thus having ecological advantages to forage larger areas.
Majority of the species were found in heterogeneous
habitats: farmland, scrubland, forest edges and river banks. Many studies have
reported a positive relationship between habitat heterogeneity and species
diversity (Bazzaz 1975; Brooks 1997; Atauri & Lucio 2001; Tews et
al. 2004). Possible reasons include
increased availability and variety of host plants. The distribution and diversity of butterflies
varies with the seasons. They are
abundant in some months and rare or absent during others (Kunte
2000). In this study, we observed that
species richness and relative abundance peaked during the monsoon
(June–August). This has been reported in
other studies (e.g. Qureshi et al. 2013), but it has also been reported that
butterfly numbers and diversity peaked post-monsoon (e.g. Tiple
et al. 2007; Tiple 2012). This dissimilarity in seasonal distribution
of butterflies may be due to variation in geographical region with
corresponding environmental factors. In
mountain ecosystem, distribution of butterfly species is determined by its
habitat and climatic stability (Stroch et al. 2003).
Species richness, abundance and diversity followed a
declining trend along the elevation gradient, with only 37 species occurring
above 2900m. Studies in Sikkim showed a
similar distribution pattern (Acharya & Vijayan 2015). A strong link between altitude and changes in
climate and vegetation was observed by Körner (2007),
thus species assemblages can shift rapidly over relatively short distances
(Bullock et al. 1995; van Ingen et al. 2008).
The climate above 2900m is characterized by a prolonged winter with
freezing temperatures and a relatively short growing season. According to McCain (2010), decreasing species
diversity is mainly because of decreasing temperature, productivity, precipitation
and plant species diversity along the elevation gradient. We observed a majority of butterfly species
in areas below 2900m. The higher species
richness, diversity, and abundance in lower altitudinal areas could be due to
relatively high temperature, habitat heterogeneity and increased diversity of
host and food plants. According to
Sengupta et al. (2014) butterfly community is mostly determined by the larval
host plants.
Table 1. Checklist of butterflies recorded in Gidakom Forest Management Unit (June 2016–July 2017).
|
|
Family |
Scientific name |
Common name |
|
1 |
Hesperiidae |
Borbo bevani (Moore, 1878) |
Bevan's Swift |
|
2 |
Hesperiidae |
Caltoris tulsi de Nicéville,
1883 |
Purple Swift |
|
3 |
Hesperiidae |
Parnara bada (Moore, 1878) |
Grey Swift |
|
4 |
Hesperiidae |
Parnara guttata (Bremer & Gray,
1852) |
Straight Swift |
|
5 |
Hesperiidae |
Pelopidas conjuncta (Herrich-Schaffer,
1869) |
Conjoined Swift |
|
6 |
Hesperiidae |
Taractrocera danna ( Moore, 1865) |
Himalayan Grass Dart |
|
7 |
Hesperiidae |
Taractrocera meavius (Fabricius,
1793) |
Common Grass Dart |
|
8 |
Lycaenidae |
Acytolepis puspa (Horsfield,
1828) |
Common Hedge Blue |
|
9 |
Lycaenidae |
Celastrina argiolus (Linnaeus, 1758) |
Hill Hedge Blue |
|
10 |
Lycaenidae |
Celastrina huegelii (Moore, 1882) |
Large Hedge Blue |
|
11 |
Lycaenidae |
Celastrina lavendularis (Moore, 1877) |
Plain Hedge Blue |
|
12 |
Lycaenidae |
Celatoxia marginata (de Niceville, [1894]) |
Margined Hedge Blue |
|
13 |
Lycaenidae |
Cupido argiades (Pallas, 1771) |
Tailed Blue |
|
14 |
Lycaenidae |
Everes lacturnus (Godaet,
[1824]) |
Oriental Cupid |
|
15 |
Lycaenidae |
Heliophorus brahma (Moore, 1857) |
Golden Sapphire |
|
16 |
Lycaenidae |
Heliophorus epicles (Godart,
[1824]) |
Purple Sapphire |
|
17 |
Lycaenidae |
Heliophorus moorei (Hewitson,
1865) |
Azure Sapphire |
|
18 |
Lycaenidae |
Heliophorus tamu (Kollar,
[1848]) |
Powdery Green Sapphire |
|
19 |
Lycaenidae |
Lampides boeticus (Linnaeus, 1767) |
Pea Blue |
|
20 |
Lycaenidae |
Lycaena panava (Kollar,
1848) |
White-Bordered Copper |
|
21 |
Lycaenidae |
Lycaena phlaeas (Linnaeus, 1761) |
Small Copper |
|
22 |
Lycaenidae |
Phengaris atroguttata (Oberthür,
1876) |
Great Spotted Blue |
|
23 |
Lycaenidae |
Pseudozizeeria maha (Kollar,
[1844]) |
Pale Grass Blue |
|
24 |
Lycaenidae |
Rapala nissa (Kollar, [1844]) |
Common Flash |
|
25 |
Lycaenidae |
Udara dilecta (Moore, 1879) |
Pale Hedge Blue |
|
26 |
Lycaenidae |
Zizeeria karsandra (Moore, 1865) |
Dark Grass Blue |
|
27 |
Nymphalidae |
Aglais caschmirensis (Kollar,
[1848]) |
Indian Tortoiseshell |
|
28 |
Nymphalidae |
Aglais rizana (Moore, 1872) |
Mountain Tortoiseshell |
|
29 |
Nymphalidae |
Argynnis altissima (Elwes, 1882) |
Mountain Silverspot |
|
30 |
Nymphalidae |
Argynnis childreni Gray, 1831 |
Large Silverstripe |
|
31 |
Nymphalidae |
Argynnis hyperbius (Linnaeus, 1763) |
Indian Fritillary |
|
32 |
Nymphalidae |
Athyma opalina (Kolar, [1844]) |
Hill Sergeant |
|
33 |
Nymphalidae |
Aulocera loha Doherty, 1886 |
Doherty's Satyr |
|
34 |
Nymphalidae |
Aulocera padma (Kollar,
[1844]) |
Great Satyr |
|
35 |
Nymphalidae |
Aulocera saraswati (Kollar,
[1844]) |
Striated Satyr |
|
36 |
Nymphalidae |
Aulocera swaha (Kollar,
[1844]) |
Common Satyr |
|
37 |
Nymphalidae |
Chonala masoni (Elwes, 1883) |
Chumbi Wall |
|
38 |
Nymphalidae |
Euthalia aconthea (Cramer, [1777]) |
Common Baron |
|
39 |
Nymphalidae |
Euthalia telchinia (Ménétriés,
1857) |
Blue Baron |
|
40 |
Nymphalidae |
Issoria issaea (Moore, 1946) |
Himalayan Queen of Spain Fritillary |
|
41 |
Nymphalidae |
Junonia iphita (Cramer, [1779]) |
Chocolate Pansy |
|
42 |
Nymphalidae |
Junonia orithya (Linnaeus, 1758) |
Blue Pansy |
|
43 |
Nymphalidae |
Kaniska canace (Linnaeus, 1763) |
Blue Admiral |
|
44 |
Nymphalidae |
Lethe baladeva (Moore, 1865) |
Treble Silverstripe |
|
45 |
Nymphalidae |
Lethe maitrya de Nicéville,
1880 |
Barred Wood Brown |
|
46 |
Nymphalidae |
Lethe mekara (Moore, 1858) |
Common Red Forester |
|
47 |
Nymphalidae |
Lethe nicetas (Hewitson, 1863) |
Yellow Wood Brown |
|
48 |
Nymphalidae |
Lethe nicetella de Nicéville,
1887 |
Small Wood Brown |
|
49 |
Nymphalidae |
Lethe sidonis (Hewitson,
1863) |
Common Wood Brown |
|
50 |
Nymphalidae |
Libythea myrrha Godart, 1819 |
Club Beak |
|
51 |
Nymphalidae |
Melanitis leda (Linnaeus, 1758) |
Common Evening Brown |
|
52 |
Nymphalidae |
Mimathyma ambica (Kollar,
[1844]) |
Indian Purple Emperor |
|
53 |
Nymphalidae |
Neope pulaha (Moore, 1858) |
Veined Labyrinth, |
|
54 |
Nymphalidae |
Neope pulahina (Evans, 1923) |
Scarce Labyrinth |
|
55 |
Nymphalidae |
Nymphalis antiopa (Linnaeus, 1758) |
Camberwell Beauty |
|
56 |
Nymphalidae |
Parantica sita (Kollar,
[1884]) |
Chestnut Tiger |
|
57 |
Nymphalidae |
Polygonia agnicula (Moore, 1872) |
Nepal Comma |
|
58 |
Nymphalidae |
Rhaphicera moorei (Butler, 1867) |
Small Tawny Wall |
|
59 |
Nymphalidae |
Sephisa chandra (Moore, 1858) |
Eastern Courtier |
|
60 |
Nymphalidae |
Tirumala septentrionis (Butler, 1874) |
Dark Blue Tiger |
|
61 |
Nymphalidae |
Vanessa cardui (Linnaeus, 1758) |
Painted Lady |
|
62 |
Nymphalidae |
Vagrans egista (Cramer, 1780) |
Vagrant |
|
63 |
Nymphalidae |
Vanessa indica (Herbst, 1794) |
Indian Red Admiral |
|
64 |
Nymphalidae |
Ypthima parasakra Eliot, 1987 |
Dubious Five-Ring |
|
65 |
Papilionidae |
Byasa dasarada (Moore, 1857) |
Great Windmill |
|
66 |
Papilionidae |
Byasa latreillei (Donovan, 1826) |
Rose Windmill |
|
67 |
Papilionidae |
Byasa polyeuctes (Doubleday, 1842) |
Common Windmill |
|
68 |
Papilionidae |
Graphium cloanthus (Westwood, 1841) |
Glassy Bluebottle |
|
69 |
Papilionidae |
Graphium paphus (de Nicéville,
1886) |
Spectacle Swordtail |
|
70 |
Papilionidae |
Graphium sarpedon (Linnaeus, 1758) |
Common Bluebottle |
|
71 |
Papilionidae |
Papilio arcturus (Westwood, 1842) |
Blue Peacock |
|
72 |
Papilionidae |
Papilio bianor (Cramer, [1777]) |
Chinese Peacock |
|
73 |
Papilionidae |
Papilio demoleus (Linnaeus, 1758) |
Lime Butterfly |
|
74 |
Papilionidae |
Papilio helenus (Linnaeus, 1758) |
Red Helen |
|
75 |
Papilionidae |
Papilio machaon (Linnaeus, 1758) |
Common Yellow Swallowtail |
|
76 |
Pieridae |
Aporia agathon Gray, 1831 |
Great Blackvein |
|
77 |
Pieridae |
Aporia harrietae (de Niceville, [1892]) |
Bhutan Blackvein |
|
78 |
Pieridae |
Aporia peloria (Hewitson,
1852) |
Tibetan Blackvein |
|
79 |
Pieridae |
Colias fieldii (Menetries,
1855) |
Dark Clouded Yellow |
|
80 |
Pieridae |
Delias sanaca (Moore, 1857) |
Pale Jezebel |
|
81 |
Pieridae |
Eurema andersonii (Moore, 1886) |
One Spot Grass Yellow |
|
82 |
Pieridae |
Eurema blanda (Boisduval,
1836) |
Three- Spot Grass Yellow |
|
83 |
Pieridae |
Eurema hecabe (Linnaeus, 1758) |
Common Grass Yellow |
|
84 |
Pieridae |
Eurema laeta (Boisduval,
1836) |
Spotless Grass Yellow |
|
85 |
Pieridae |
Gonepteryx mahaguru Gistel, 1857 |
Lesser Brimstone |
|
86 |
Pieridae |
Gonepteryx rhamni (Linnaeus, 1758) |
Common Brimstone |
|
87 |
Pieridae |
Ixias pyrene (Linnaeus, 1764) |
Yellow Orange Tip |
|
88 |
Pieridae |
Pieris brassicae (Linnaeus, 1758) |
Large Cabbage White |
|
89 |
Pieridae |
Pieris canidia (Linnaeus, 1768) |
Indian Cabbage White |
|
90 |
Pieridae |
Pieris extensa bhutya Poujade, 1888 |
Bhutan Extended White |
Table 2. Species composition in different study
locations within Gidakom Forest.
|
|
Study locations |
||
|
Parameters |
Jamdo |
Chimithanka |
Jedekha |
|
Altitude (m) |
2100–2500 |
2500–2900 |
2900–3400 |
|
Species richness |
72 |
83 |
37 |
|
Diversity(H) |
3.90 |
4.15 |
3.34 |
|
Evenness (E) |
0.91 |
0.93 |
0.92 |
|
Relative abundance (%) |
33.82 |
42.75 |
23.41 |
For
figures & images - - click here
References
Acharya, B.K. & L. Vijayan (2011). Butterflies of Sikkim with reference to elevational
gradient in species, abundance, composition, similarity and range size
distribution pp. 207–220. In: Arawatia, M.L. & S.
Tambe (eds.). Biodiversity of Sikkim: Exploring
and Conserving A Global Hotspot. IPR Department, Government of Sikkim, Gangtok.
Acharya, B.K. & L. Vijayan (2015). Butterfly diversity along the elevation gradient of
Eastern Himalaya, India. Ecological Research 30(5): 909–919. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11284-015-1292
Atauri, J.A. & J.V. Lucio (2001). The role of landscape structure in species richness
distribution of birds, amphibians, reptiles and lepidopterans in Mediterranean
landscapes. Landscape Ecology 16: 147–159. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1011115921050
Bazzaz, F.A. (1975). Plant species diversity in old-field successional
ecosystems in southern Illinois. Ecology 56: 485–488.
Bonebrake, T.C., L.C. Ponisio, C.L.
Boggs & P.R. Erlich
(2010). More than just indicators: A
review of tropical butterfly ecology and conservation. Biological Conservation
143: 1831–1841. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2010.04.044
Binghan, C.T. (1905). The Fauna of British India including Ceylon and
Burma. Taylor and Francis Ltd., London, https://doi.org/10.5962/bhl.title.100738
Brooks, D.M. (1997). The influence of habitat structure upon diversity and
evenness of abundance. Texas Journal of Science 49: 247–254.
Bullock, S.H., H.A. Mooney & E. Medina (Eds.)
(1995). Seasonally Dry Tropical Forests.
Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK, 439pp. https://doi.org/10.5822/978-1-61091-021-7
Castro, A. & C.I. Espinosa (2015). Seasonal diversity of butterflies and its
relationship with woody-plant resources availability in an Ecuadorian tropical
dry forest. Tropical Conservation Science 8(2): 333–351. https://doi.org/10.1177/194008291500800205
Harada, M. (1987a). Butterflies of Bhutan (I). The Lepidopterological
Society of Janpan, 4-14pp.
Harada, M. (1987b). Butterflies of Bhutan (II). The Lepidopterological
Society of Janpan, 23–24pp.
Hill, J.K., C.D. Thomas, R. Fox, M.G. Telfer, S.G.
Willis, J. Asher & B. Huntley (2002). Responses of butterflies to twentieth century
climate warming: implications for future ranges. Proceedings of the Royal
Society of London, Series B, Biological Sciences 269: 2163–2171. https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2002.2134
Kocher, S.D. & E.H. Williams (2000). The diversity and abundance of North America
butterflies, vary with habitat disturbance and geography. Journal of
Biogeography 27(4): 785–794. https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1365-2699.2000.00454.x
Körner, C. (2007). The use of ‘altitude’ in ecological research, Trends
in Ecology & Evolution 22 (11): 569–574. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tree.2007.09.006
Kunte, K. (2000). Butterflies of Peninsular India. Universities Press (Hyderabad) and Indian Academy of
Sciences (Bangalore), 254pp.
McCain, C.M. (2010). Elevational Gradients in Species Richness, pp. 1–10.
In: Encyclopedia of Life Sciences. John
Wiley & Sons, Ltd, Chichester. https://doi.org/10.1002/9780470015902.a0022548
Phuntsho, Y. (2012). Forest Management Plan For Gidakom
Forest Management Unit. Forest Resources Management Division, Department of
Forest and Park Services, Thimphu, 71pp.
Pollard, E. & T.J. Yates (1993). Monitoring Butterflies for Ecology and
Conservation. The British Butterfly Monitoring Scheme. Springer
Netherlands, 174pp.
Pollard, E., D.O. Elias, M.J. Skelton & J.A.
Thomas (1975). A method of assessing the
abundance of butterflies in Monk’s Wood National Nature Research in 1973. Entomologist’s
Gazette 26: 79–87.
Qureshi, A.A., A.D. Rayees,
I.T. Shaheen & R.C. Bhagat (2013). Butterfly-fauna of Gulmarg, Kashmir, J&K State. Journal
of Agriculture and Veterinary Science 2(5): 40–45.
Ribeiro, D.B. & A.V. Freitas (2012). The effect of reducedimpact
logging on fruit-feeding butterflies in Central Amazon, Brazil. Journal of
Insect Conservation 16(5): 733–744. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10841-012-9458-3
Sbordoni, V., G.C. Bozano, K. Wangdi, S. Sherub, S. Marta, S. De
Felici & D. Cesaroni
(2015). Towards a georeferenced checklist
of the butterflies of Bhutan: a preliminary account (Insecta:
Lepidoptera). pp.523–546, pl. I-VI. In: Hartmann, M. & J. Weipert. Biodiversity and Natural Heritage of the
Himalaya. V, Verein der Freunde
und Foerder des Naturkundemuseums
Erfurt e.V. Erfurt, Germany.
Sengupta, P., K.K. Banerjee & N. Ghorai (2014).
Seasonal diversity of butterflies and their larval food plants in the
surroundings of upper Neora Valley National Park, a sub-tropical
broad leaved hill forest in the eastern Himalayan landscape, West Bengal,
India. Journal of Threatened Taxa 6(1): 5327–5342.
https://doi.org/10.11609/JoTT.o3446.5327-42.
Singh, A.P. (2016). Moist temperate forest butterflies of western Bhutan.
Journal of Threatened Taxa 8(3): 8596–8601. https://doi.org/10.11609/jott.2297.8.3.8596-8601
Singh, I.J., & M. Chib
(2014). A preliminary checklist of
butterflies (Lepidoptera: Rhophalocera) of Mendrelgang, Tsirang District,
Bhutan. Journal of Threatened Taxa 6(5): 5755–5768. https://doi.org/10.11609/JoTT.o3632.5755-68
Singh, I.J & M.S. Chib
(2015). Checklist of Butterflies of
Bhutan. Journal of the Bhutan Ecological Society 1(2): 22–58.
Sondhi, S. & K. Kunte (2016).
Butterflies (Lepidoptera) of the Kameng Protected
Area Complex, western Arunachal Pradesh, India. Journal of Threatened Taxa 8(8): 9053–912. https://doi.org/10.11609/jott.2984.8.8.9053-9124
Storch, D., M. Konvicka, J.
Benes, J. Martinkova & K.J. Gaston (2003). Distribution patterns in butterflies and birds of
the Czech Republic: separating effects of habitat and geographical position. Journal
of Biogeography 30 (8): 1195–1205. https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1365-2699.2003.00917.x
Tews, T., U. Brose, V. Grimm, K. Tielborger,
M.C. Wichmann, M. Schwager & F. Jeltsch (2004). Animal species diversity driven by habitat
heterogeneity/diversity: the importance of keystone structures. Journal of
Biogeography 31: 79–92. https://doi.org/10.1046/j.0305-0270.2003.00994.x.
Tiple, A.D. (2012). Butterfly species diversity, relative abundance and
status in Tropical Forest Research Institute, Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh, and
central India. Journal of Threatened Taxa 4(7): 2713–2717. https://doi.org/10.11609/JoTT.o2656.2713-7
Tiple, A.D., A.M. Khurad &
R.L.H. Dennis (2007). Butterfly
diversity in relation to a human-impact gradient on an Indian university
campus. Nota lepidopterologica 30(1):179–188.
van der Poel & T. Wangchuk (2007). Butterflies of Bhutan. Mountains, hills and valleys
between 800 and 3000m. Royal Society
for Protection of Nature (RSPN), Thimphu, Bhutan,
71pp.
van-Ingen, L.T., R.I. Campos & A.N. Andersen
(2008). Ant community structure along an
extended rain forest–savanna gradient in tropical Australia. Journal of
Tropical Ecology 24 (4): 445–455. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0266467408005166
Wangdi, K. & Sherub (2012a). Nature Guide Series. Nymphalids,
Brush-footed Butterflies of Bhutan. Ugyen
Wangchuk Institute for Conservation and Environment, Bumthang,
Bhutan, 77pp.
Wangdi, K. & Sherub (2012b). Field Guide for Swallowtails of Bhutan. Ugyen Wangchuk Institute
for Conservation and Environment, Bumthang, Bhutan,
130pp.
Wangdi, K. & Sherub (2015). Butterflies of Bhutan. UWICE Nature Guide
Series: Pieridae (Whites and Yellows) & Lycaenidae (Blues). Ugyen Wangchuck Institute for Environment and Conservation. Bhumthang, Bhutan, 173pp.