Abstract

Butterfly fauna assessment was carried out in the Tadoba Andhari Tiger Reserve of Chandrapur district, central India. The field investigations carried out in 2019-2020 revealed 66 species of butterfly fauna from five families. The Nymphalidae was the richest family (n=25, 38%) followed by Lycaenidae (n=15, 23%), Pieridae (n=11, 17%), Papilionidae (n=8, 12%) and Hesperiidae with the lowest number of species (n=7, 10%). The abundance status of butterflies revealed, 12 (18%) species are very common, 42 (64%) common, and 12 (18%) are rare. Maximum (n=5, 42%) rare species belongs to the Lycaenidae family. The IUCN status of the butterflies revealed eight (12%) are the least concern and 58 (88%) are not evaluated. Three butterfly species are legally protected and included in the Schedules of the Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972. The results provide an inside into butterfly fauna of a protected area (tiger reserve). This will help the academicians to understand the forest ecosystems contribution for the same and in future to ascertain if any forest cover loss due to anthropogenic activities (forest fires) results into butterfly fauna loss from the study area.

Key Words: Butterfly diversity, Chandrapur, Lepidoptera, Tadoba Andhari Tiger Reserve