More than 90 butterfly species were documented during the 8th edition of the Ziro Butterfly Meet held at Pange in Arunachal Pradesh’s Lower Subansiri district.
The event organized by Hapoli Forest Division in collaboration with ‘Ngunu Ziro’, a local NGO that works for conservation of flora and fauna in the region, concluded on Friday.
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The key species recorded were the Brown Forester (Lethe serbonis), which is legally protected in India under Schedule II of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972.
Another important butterfly species recorded during the meet was Manipur Ace (Sovia Malta), earlier known to occur only in Manipur and Mishimi Hills.
One of the significant findings of the meet was the sighting of the Great Hockeystick Sailor butterfly (Neptis aspasia), which was photographed for the second time in Tale valley after being rediscovered after 68 years from Arunachal Pradesh by Chandrasekharan et al (2021) in September 2021.
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However, the most interesting finding of the meet was the sighting of the female form of the eastern courtier butterfly (Sephisa chandra) in Pange, which was photographed in the process egg-laying.
This is probably the first photograph of a female eastern courtier from Arunachal Pradesh. This species is legally protected in India under Schedule I of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972.
Other important butterflies seen during the meet were the giant hopper, the white owl, the yellow owl, the Bhutan glory, a female brown gorgon, blue caliph, and three species of wood browns.
The total number of sightings of butterflies rose up this year to 93 from 59 recorded in the last edition of the ZBM – an increase of about 58 percent since the last edition.