Inventory of butterfly fauna (Lepidoptera: Rhopalocera) of Tripura, India, in the Indo-Myanmar biogeographical zone, with records of threatened taxa

Abstract

The Tripura province of northeast India, situated in the western fringe of the Indo-Myanmar biodiversity hotspot was extensively explored for butterfly fauna. We surveyed 28 wild and managed locations in the hot and humid environment of Tripura province (2009-2012) across different landscape gradients to observe and record butterfly diversity. We report here 212 butterfly species, 65 of which are considered threatened including 41 species protected by Indian Wildlife Protection Act 1972. Thirty-eight species are categorized as threatened by IUCN including one species also by CITES. We recorded the abundance of each butterfly species to highlight the population status of individual butterfly species in order to reveal the status of their conservation in Tripura, in India, and also at global scale. Geographic distribution of 142 species is extended to Tripura. Results of this study form a baseline data on the diversity and conservation of butterflies in this biodiversity hotspot.