Journal of Threatened
Taxa | www.threatenedtaxa.org | 26 September 2025 | 17(9): 27506–27516
ISSN 0974-7907 (Online) | ISSN 0974-7893 (Print)
https://doi.org/10.11609/jott.9817.17.9.27506-27516
#9817 | Received 16 January 2025 | Final received 21 August 2025 |
Finally accepted 03 September 2025
Butterfly diversity in Jitpur Simara Sub-metropolitan
City, Bara District, Nepal: a preliminary checklist
Alisha Mulmi
1, Prakriti Chataut 2 &
Mahamad Sayab Miya 3
1,2 Institute of Forestry, Hetauda Campus, Tribhuvan University, Hetauda
44107, Nepal.
3 Department of Biological
Sciences, Western Kentucky University, Bowling Green, Kentucky 42101, USA.
1 alishamulmi03@gmail.com, 2 prakritichataut232@gmail.com,
3 mahamad.miya440@topper.wku.edu (corresponding author)
Editor: Jatishwor
Singh Irungbam, Centrum Algatech,
Třeboň, Czech Republic. Date of
publication: 26
September 2025 (online & print)
Citation: Mulmi, A., P. Chataut & M.S.
Miya (2025). Butterfly diversity in Jitpur Simara Sub-metropolitan City, Bara District, Nepal: a
preliminary checklist. Journal of
Threatened Taxa 17(9):
27506–27516. https://doi.org/10.11609/jott.9625.17.9.27506-27516
Copyright: © Mulmi et al. 2025. 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: None.
Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests.
Author details: AM – bachelor’s student at the Institute of Forestry, Hetauda Campus, Tribhuvan University, Nepal. She has been involved in insect diversity, bird, and other biodiversity monitoring projects. PC – bachelor’s student at the Institute of Forestry, Hetauda Campus, Tribhuvan University, Nepal. She is engaged in butterfly and bird research projects. MSM – MS in Biology (Graduate Assistant), Western Kentucky University, KY, USA. He is currently a Research Assistant at the Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, AR, USA. His
research focus includes insect biodiversity, phylogenetics, and systematics.
Author contributions: Alisha Mulmi: conceptualization, investigation, methodology, data curation, resources, validation, writing– original draft, review, and editing. Prakriti Chataut: investigation, writing– original draft, review, and editing. Mahamad Sayab Miya: supervision, methodology, formal analysis, validation, visualization, writing– original draft, review, and editing.
Acknowledgments: We are grateful to the anonymous reviewers for their valuable comments.
Abstract: Butterflies are among the most
charismatic creatures, a well-studied group of insects, and significant
bioindicators of the terrestrial ecosystem. Despite several studies conducted
in different regions of Nepal, research in the tropical areas remains sparse.
Hence, this study aimed to prepare a checklist of butterflies in the tropical
region of the Bara District, Nepal. We conducted opportunistic butterfly
surveys using the checklist method over a complete annual cycle (May 2023-April
2024) across three habitat types: forests, agricultural lands, and human
settlements. A total of 85 butterfly
species from 66 genera belonging to six families were recorded. Among them, the
Nymphalidae family was the richest in terms of
species (S = 41), followed by Lycaenidae (S
= 19), Pieridae (S = 12), Hesperiidae
and Papilionidae (S = 6), and Riodinidae (S = 1). Among the recorded species, 12
are classified as Least Concern, and 73 are Not Evaluated, according to the
IUCN Red List. The record of such a vast number of species from a small area
underscores the importance of tropical regions for butterfly habitats. This
study highlights the biodiversity value of the central Terai
and provides a baseline for future research and conservation planning.
Keywords: Bio-indicator, butterfly survey,
habitats, insect, Lepidoptera, Nymphalidae, tropical
region.
Introduction
Butterflies
are charismatic insects belonging to Lepidoptera, the second-largest insect
order, which also comprises moths (Khan et al. 2023). Approximately 19,000 species of butterflies
have been described worldwide (van Nieukerken et al.
2011). They play a crucial role in ecosystem functioning, especially in plant
pollination and the food chain, serving as a food source for birds, amphibians,
and reptiles (Tiple & Bhagwat 2023). Similarly,
they function as important bio-indicators for terrestrial ecosystems because of
their sensitivity to environmental changes such as habitat loss, fragmentation,
disturbance, and climate change (Wilson & Maclean 2011; Syaripuddin
et al. 2015; Ellis et al. 2019; Forsberg et al. 2020; Hill et al. 2021).
Butterflies
are one of the most studied groups of insects worldwide (Pinkert
et al. 2022). Tropical regions harbor the highest biodiversity, so the insect
(Lepidoptera) diversity around the globe (Slade & Ong 2023), which is due
to factors such as long evolutionary history, higher productivity, spatial
heterogeneity, and increased ecological or niche specialization (Dyer et al.
2007; Ricklefs & Marquis 2012; Brown 2014).
Although a large proportion of butterflies reside in the tropics, there is a
notable deficiency in the study of tropical butterfly ecology and diversity
compared to temperate butterflies, which hinders effective conservation efforts
(Bonebrake et al. 2010; Pinkert
et al. 2022). Local or regional studies can bridge the information gap and
offer support for their conservation.
Nepal is
home to 695 species of butterflies (Sajan et al.
2025) likely thriving due to its varied geography and climate, which ranges
from tropical in the southern plains to tundra, and nival
in the snow-covered north (Paudel et al. 2021). Studies
on this group in Nepal are primarily focused on subtropical to temperate
regions, such as (Miya et al. 2021; Subedi et al.
2021), with very little research in the tropical region (Khanal
2006, 2009; Suwal 2015; Tamang et al. 2019; Miya et
al. 2025). Bara District, located in the tropical Terai
region of Nepal, encompasses diverse habitats that potentially harbour a rich diversity of insects, including butterflies.
To our knowledge, there is no published information on butterflies in the Bara
District, which necessitates studies regarding this group in the region.
To document
butterfly diversity, researchers employ various sampling techniques depending
on study objectives and habitat characteristics. Those include the Pollard walk
survey (Pollard 1977), point count (Henry et al. 2015), tapping & netting,
mark-recapture (Kral et al. 2018), and, less
frequently, the checklist method (Royer et al. 1998). Pollard walk and mark-recapture are popularly used for long-term
monitoring of butterflies, while point count is suitable when other traditional
methods are difficult to employ (Henry et al. 2015). In comparison, tapping
& netting, as well as the checklist method, are more practical for the
initial determination of the species (Royer et al. 1998). In the checklist
method, a preliminary list of butterflies is prepared to mark the presence or
absence, created based on the hypothetically complete list of regularly
breeding resident species in the region (Royer et al. 1998).
Given the
ecological importance of butterflies and the knowledge gap in Nepal’s tropical
lowlands, this study aimed to document butterfly diversity in Jitpur Simara Sub-metropolitan
City of Bara District using a year-round checklist method. The resulting
checklist serves as a foundational reference for future ecological studies and
biodiversity monitoring in the region.
Materials and Methods
Study area
The study
was conducted in Jitpur Simara
Sub-metropolitan City (JSSMC), Ward No. 1 Bara District, Nepal (Figure 1). The
JSSMC covers an area of 311.67 km², and Ward No. 1, covers an area of 42.75
km². The sub-metropolitan city is situated between 26.850°–27.850° N,
84.850°–85.267° E, with an altitude ranging from 152–915 m. The study area
encompasses three major land use types: forests, agricultural lands, and human
settlements (JSSMC 2020). The forest of the Bara District is dominated by Sal Shorea robusta,
along with the linear patches of riverine forests (Baral
et al. 2022). The study area’s fertile soil supports seasonal crops, primarily paddy
in summer, and wheat & mustard in winter. The human settlement area
includes home gardens with some seasonal flowers. The study area exhibits four
distinct seasons: pre-monsoon (March–May), monsoon (June–September),
post-monsoon (October–November), and winter (December–February), the four
seasonal categories of Nepal. The region’s average annual temperature is
24.5°C, with July being the hottest month at 36°C, and January the coldest at
8.6°C. Likewise, the average annual precipitation is 1,653 mm, with most
of the rainfall occurring between mid-June and mid-July (>83%) (Baral et al. 2022).
Data
collection
The study
was conducted from May 2023–April 2024, covering all seasons of the year, with
sampling occurring twice a month. Using a checklist method, we documented
butterflies to determine their presence in the region, serving as a baseline
for future studies. Butterflies were opportunistically surveyed across three
habitat types: forests, agricultural lands, and human settlements. Two
observers explored the study area from 1000–1500 h on sunny days to maximize
butterfly detection (Sajan & Sapkota 2024; Miya
et al. 2025). This period is deemed appropriate for sampling butterflies
because their activity is linked to the day’s temperature (Wittman et al.
2017). We recorded the presence or absence of species, based on species
expected to occur in central Terai, compiled from
Smith (2011) and other regional records. The first author photographed all
butterflies in natural settings using a Nikon Coolpix L340 camera to aid in
identification. Initial field identifications of species were later verified
through comparison with reference guides (Smith 2011; Smith et al. 2016),
published literature (Tamang et al. 2019; Neupane
& Miya 2021; Van der Poel & Smetacek 2022),
internet sources, and consultation with expert lepidopterists when
identification was uncertain.
Data
analysis
We followed
Van der Poel & Smetacek (2022) for the scientific
name of the butterfly species. The IUCN status of butterflies is based on the
IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (IUCN 2025).
Results
A total of
85 butterfly species from 66 genera belonging to six families (Hesperiidae, Lycaenidae, Nymphalidae, Papilionidae, Pieridae, and Riodinidae) were
recorded. Nymphalidae was the richest family with 41
species, followed by Lycaenidae (S = 19), Pieridae (S = 12), Papilionidae
(S = 6), Hesperiidae (S = 6), and Riodinidae (S = 1) (Figure 2). The complete list of
butterflies, including their families, scientific names, common names, and IUCN
Red List status, is provided in Table 1. The butterfly images are shown in
photo plates (Images 1–85). Among the total species, 12 are classified under
the ‘Least Concern’ (LC) category of the Red List, while 73 were ‘Not
Evaluated’ (NE) (Table 1).
Discussion
In this
study, we documented the butterfly fauna from a small region of the tropical
climate of Nepal. The recorded species account for 12.23% of all butterfly
species found in Nepal, reflecting their rich diversity in the study area. The
species number in our study area is quite comparable to studies from similar
climatic regions of Nepal. While our species richness was lower than the 133
species reported from the eastern lowland (Tamang et al. 2019) and central
lowland Nepal (Hetuada; S = 115) (Miya et al.
2025), it exceeded findings from other tropical sites such as Parsa National Park (S = 31) (PNP 2018) and Surkhet District (S = 33) (Oli et al. 2023).
Among the
six families recorded, Nymphalidae was the richest
family in terms of species, followed by Lycaenidae. Nymphalidae is one of the most diverse families of
butterflies, with more than 6,152 species distributed worldwide (van Nieukerken et al. 2011). Approximately, 34% of the
butterflies found in Nepal belong to this group (Van der Poel & Smetacek 2022). Moreover, they are generalists with a large
range of host plants and geographic ranges (Slove
& Janz 2011; Nylin et
al. 2014), which is also presumably favored by their large wingspan, active
flight, and higher dispersal ability (Marini-Filho & Martins 2010;
Freire et al. 2021 ). In our study, Nymphalidae represented 48.23% of the total species
recorded, which aligns with global patterns, and reflects the ecological
adaptability of this family to tropical environmental conditions.
Our
findings are similar to studies from different locations of tropical regions of
Nepal, such as Jhapa and Illam
Districts (Tamang et al. 2019), Makwanpur District
(Miya et al. 2025), Morang District (Subba & Tumbahangfe 2015), eastern Siwalik (Bhusal
& Khanal 2009), and western lowlands (Khanal 2009). Similar findings were also noted in the
subtropical region of Nepal in the Tanahun, Syangja, Kaski, and Kathmandu
Districts (Miya et al. 2021; Neupane & Miya 2021;
Subedi et al. 2021). Our findings also align with the
butterfly studies conducted in Bhutan (Singh & Chib
2015) and India (Raut & Pendharkar 2010).
Species
such as Danaus chrysippus, Graphium
nomius, and Papilio
polytes were the most common, while species like Abisara bifasciata,
and Junonia orithya
were rarely observed. Likewise, the checklist includes several butterfly
species that are considered relatively uncommon in Nepal, such as Arhopala eumolphus, Caleta decidia, Euripus consimilis, and Odontoptilum
angulata. This underlines the need for more
detailed ecological studies and better protection of these habitats, especially
in the central Terai, a region often underrepresented
in butterfly research. Moreover, the conservation status assessment revealed
that 14.12% are categorized as ‘Least Concern’ by Red List, while the majority
(85.88%) remain ‘Not Evaluated’ (NE), highlighting significant knowledge gaps
in butterfly conservation assessments for the region.
Conclusions
This study
provided a preliminary checklist of butterflies from a small region of Jitpur Simara Sub-metropolitan
City, central Terai, Nepal, comprising a total of 85
species belonging to six families. This finding highlights the significance of
tropical regions of Nepal for butterfly diversity, emphasizing the need to
conserve butterfly habitats in these areas. Nymphalidae
was the richest family regarding the species, consistent with findings from
similar or dissimilar climatic regions, denoting their adaptation to a wide
range of habitats, and climate. This checklist will serve as an essential
reference for future research in the region. We recommend: (1) expanding
sampling efforts to nearby areas to capture landscape-level patterns in
butterfly diversity, (2) incorporating standardized measures of abundance in
future research, and (3) examining host plant relationships to better
understand butterfly habitat requirements and inform conservation planning.
Table 1. List of butterflies recorded in the study area with their
family, scientific name, common name, and IUCN Red List status.
|
|
Scientific name |
Common name |
IUCN Red List |
|
|
Family Hesperiidae |
|
|
|
1 |
Badamia exclamationis (Fabricius,
1775) |
Brown Awl |
NE |
|
2 |
Matapa aria (Moore, 1866) |
Common Red Eye |
NE |
|
3 |
Odontoptilum angulata (C. Felder, 1862) |
Chestnut Angle |
NE |
|
4 |
Parnara guttatus (Bremer & Grey, 1852) |
Straight Swift |
NE |
|
5 |
Sarangesa dasahara (Moore, 1866) |
Common Small Flat |
NE |
|
6 |
Spialia galba (Fabricius, 1793) |
Indian Skipper |
NE |
|
|
Family Lycaenidae |
|
|
|
7 |
Acytolepis puspa (Horsfield, 1828) |
Common Hedge Blue |
NE |
|
8 |
Arhopala eumolphus (Cramer, 1780) |
Green Oakblue |
NE |
|
9 |
Caleta decidia (Hewitson, 1876) |
Angled Pierrot |
LC |
|
10 |
Castalius rosimon (Fabricius, 1775) |
Common Pierrot |
NE |
|
11 |
Catochrysops strabo (Fabricius, 1793) |
Forget-me-not |
NE |
|
12 |
Chilades lajus (Stoll, 1780) |
Lime Blue |
NE |
|
13 |
Chliaria othona (Hewitson, 1865) |
Orchid Tit |
NE |
|
14 |
Curetis acuta (Moore, 1877) |
Angled Sunbeam |
NE |
|
15 |
Jamides alecto (C. Felder, 1860) |
Metallic Cerulean |
NE |
|
16 |
Jamides celeno (Cramer, 1775) |
Common Cerulean |
NE |
|
17 |
Lampides boeticus (Linnaeus, 1767) |
Pea Blue |
LC |
|
18 |
Leptotes plinius (Fabricius, 1793) |
Zebra Blue |
NE |
|
19 |
Luthrodes pandava (Horsfield, 1829) |
Plains Cupid |
NE |
|
20 |
Poritia hewitsoni (Moore, 1866) |
Common Gem |
NE |
|
21 |
Prosotas nora (C. Felder, 1860) |
Common Line Blue |
NE |
|
22 |
Pseudozizeeria maha (Kollar, 1844) |
Pale Grass Blue |
NE |
|
23 |
Rapala manea (Hewitson, 1863) |
Slate Flash |
NE |
|
24 |
Rapala varuna (Horsfield, 1829) |
Indigo Flash |
NE |
|
25 |
Surendra quercetorum
(Moore,
1858) |
Common Acacia Blue |
NE |
|
|
Family Nymphalidae |
|
|
|
26 |
Acraea violae
(Fabricius, 1793) |
Tawny Coster |
NE |
|
27 |
Aglais caschmirensis (Kollar,
1844) |
Indian Tortoiseshell |
NE |
|
28 |
Ariadne merione
(Cramer,
1777) |
Common Castor |
NE |
|
29 |
Athyma nefte (Cramer, 1780) |
Color Sergeant |
NE |
|
30 |
Athyma perius (Linnaeus, 1758) |
Common Sergeant |
NE |
|
31 |
Charaxes bernardus (Fabricius, 1793) |
Tawny Rajah |
NE |
|
32 |
Cupha erymanthis (Drury, 1773) |
Rustic |
NE |
|
33 |
Cynitia lepidea (Butler, 1868) |
Grey Count |
NE |
|
34 |
Cyrestis thyodamas (Boisduval, 1846) |
Common Map |
NE |
|
35 |
Danaus chrysippus
(Linnaeus,
1758) |
Plain Tiger |
LC |
|
36 |
Danaus genutia
(Cramer,
1779) |
Common Tiger |
NE |
|
37 |
Discophora sondaica (Boisduval, 1836) |
Common Duffer |
NE |
|
38 |
Elymnias hypermnestra (Linnaeus, 1763) |
Common Palmfly |
NE |
|
39 |
Euploea core (Cramer, 1780) |
Common Indian Crow |
LC |
|
40 |
Euripus consimilis
(Westwood,
1850) |
Painted Courtesan |
NE |
|
41 |
Euthalia aconthea (Cramer, 1777) |
Common Baron |
NE |
|
42 |
Hypolimnas bolina (Linnaeus, 1758) |
Great Eggfly |
NE |
|
43 |
Junonia almana (Linnaeus, 1758) |
Peacock Pansy |
LC |
|
44 |
Junonia atlites (Linnaeus, 1763) |
Grey Pansy |
NE |
|
45 |
Junonia iphita (Cramer, 1779) |
Chocolate Pansy |
NE |
|
46 |
Junonia lemonias (Linnaeus, 1758) |
Lemon Pansy |
NE |
|
47 |
Junonia orithya (Linnaeus, 1758) |
Blue Pansy |
LC |
|
48 |
Kallima inachus (Boisduval, 1846) |
Orange Oakleaf |
NE |
|
49 |
Kaniska canace (Linnaeus, 1763) |
Blue Admiral |
NE |
|
50 |
Lethe europa
(Fabricius, 1775) |
Bamboo Treebrown |
NE |
|
51 |
Melanitis leda (Linnaeus, 1758) |
Common Evening Brown |
LC |
|
52 |
Melanitis phedima (Cramer, 1780) |
Dark Evening Brown |
NE |
|
53 |
Moduza procris (Cramer, 1777) |
Commander |
NE |
|
54 |
Mycalesis mineus (Linnaeus, 1758) |
Dark-brand Bushbrown |
NE |
|
55 |
Mycalesis perseus (Fabricius, 1775) |
Common Bushbrown |
NE |
|
56 |
Mycalesis visala (Moore, 1858) |
Long-brand Bushbrown |
NE |
|
57 |
Neptis hylas (Linnaeus, 1758) |
Common Sailer |
NE |
|
58 |
Neptis soma (Moore, 1858) |
Creamy Sailer |
NE |
|
59 |
Orsotriaena medus (Fabricius, 1775) |
Jungle Brown |
NE |
|
60 |
Pantoporia hordonia (Stoll, 1790) |
Common Lascar |
NE |
|
61 |
Parantica aglea (Stoll, 1782) |
Glassy Tiger |
NE |
|
62 |
Phalanta phalantha (Drury, 1773) |
Common Leopard |
LC |
|
63 |
Vagrans egista (Cramer, 1780) |
Vagrant |
NE |
|
64 |
Vanessa indica
(Herbst,
1794) |
Indian Red Admiral |
NE |
|
65 |
Ypthima baldus (Fabricius, 1775) |
Common Five-ring |
NE |
|
66 |
Ypthima huebneri (Kirby, 1871) |
Common Four-ring |
NE |
|
|
Family Papilionidae |
|
|
|
67 |
Graphium doson (C. & R. Felder, 1864) |
Common Jay |
NE |
|
68 |
Graphium nomius (Esper, 1799) |
Spot Swordtail |
NE |
|
69 |
Pachliopta aristolochiae (Fabricius,
1775) |
Common Rose |
LC |
|
70 |
Papilio clytia (Linnaeus, 1758) |
Common Mime |
NE |
|
71 |
Papilio demoleus (Linnaeus, 1758) |
Lime Swallowtail |
NE |
|
72 |
Papilio polytes (Linnaeus, 1758) |
Common Mormon |
NE |
|
|
Family Pieridae |
|
|
|
73 |
Appias lalage (Doubleday, 1842) |
Spot Puffin |
NE |
|
74 |
Appias libythea (Fabricius, 1775) |
Striped Albatross |
NE |
|
75 |
Belenois aurota (Fabricius, 1793) |
Pioneer |
LC |
|
76 |
Catopsilia pomona pomona (Fabricius, 1775) |
Lemon Emigrant |
NE |
|
77 |
Delias hyparete (Linnaeus, 1758) |
Painted Jezebel |
NE |
|
78 |
Delias pasithoe (Linnaeus, 1767) |
Red-base Jezebel |
NE |
|
79 |
Eurema blanda (Boisduval, 1836) |
Three-spot Grass Yellow |
NE |
|
80 |
Eurema hecabe (Linnaeus, 1758) |
Common Grass Yellow |
LC |
|
81 |
Leptosia nina (Fabricius, 1793) |
Psyche |
NE |
|
82 |
Pareronia hippia (Fabricius, 1787) |
Indian Wanderer |
NE |
|
83 |
Pieris canidia
(Linnaeus,
1768) |
Indian Cabbage White |
NE |
|
84 |
Pontia daplidice (Linnaeus, 1758) |
Bath White |
LC |
|
|
Family Riodinidae |
|
|
|
85 |
Abisara bifasciata (Moore, 1877) |
Double-banded Judy |
NE |
For
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