Mushalpur: The 9th Northeast Butterfly Meet and International Research Conference on Butterfly Research and Conservation concluded at Kokilabari in the Manas National Park landscape on Sunday, with researchers documenting more than 185 butterfly species, including rare sightings and notable additions for the Bodoland region.
The three-day event, which began on October 23, brought together around 100 delegates from India and abroad, including participants from the Czech Republic, the Netherlands, Bhutan, Tanzania, Sudan, Ghana and Namibia. Researchers, naturalists, conservationists and butterfly enthusiasts from across India, from Kerala to Arunachal Pradesh, also attended.
Sharing the findings, Sonali Ghosh, IFS, CHD Forest, Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC), highlighted the region’s butterfly diversity. Notable sightings included the Witch (Araotes lapithis) and the elusive Prince (Rohana tonkiniana). Gaurab Nandi Das and Roshan Roshan Upadhyay recorded another significant finding, the Assam Cornelian (Virachola dohertyi).
A major highlight of the inaugural programme was the release of Butterflies of Bodoland & Lower Assam, a pictorial guidebook featuring 432 photographic records of butterflies found in the region. The publication draws on years of fieldwork and photographic documentation by Atanu Bose, Mahesh Baruah and Monsoon J. Gogoi.
“Atanu Bose has been documenting the butterflies of the region since 2007, and Mahesh Baruah joined this effort in 2016,” said Gogoi, the book’s lead author.
Another publication, Butterflies of Assam, authored by Monsoon J. Gogoi and Loren Sonowal, was also released. The booklet documents 160 common butterfly species found in Assam and supports Project Pokhila, a citizen-science initiative promoting butterfly monitoring across the state.
The conference proceedings, edited by Hilloljyoti Singha and Kamal Azad, chief organiser of the meet, were released during the programme.
The event drew representatives from political, academic, research and conservation institutions. Those present included James Basumatary, Executive Member of the BTC; Maneswar Brahma; Thaneswar Basumatary, MLA; Akhtara Ahmed; Kastom Basumatary, Executive Member; and Rajesh Boral, secretary of the Bodoland People’s Front (BPF). T. Seshidhar Reddy, IFS, Divisional Forest Officer, also attended.
Other participants included Rathin Barman, Director and Chief, Strategy and Liaison (Northeast), Wildlife Trust of India; Rajib Rudra Tariang, Deputy Team Leader, Brahmaputra Landscape, WWF-India; and Hilloljyoti Singha, Assistant Professor at Digboi College and Professor at Bodoland University, as listed in the event details. Representatives of WWF and Aaranyak also took part.
International experts included Martin Konvi?ka, professor at the University of South Bohemia in the Czech Republic, who served as a resource person; Piet van der Poel, author of Butterflies of Nepal; Tshulthrim, known as Tshulthrim Wildlifer and founder of the Butterfly Society of Bhutan; and Nawangla Bhutia, founder of the BAMOS Lepidoptera Society in Sikkim.
Discussions during the meet covered butterfly research, species documentation, conservation challenges and the ecological importance of butterflies. Participants exchanged research findings and explored opportunities for collaboration.
The documentation of butterfly diversity further highlights the Manas landscape’s potential for biodiversity research, environmental education and nature-based ecotourism.