Biodiversity of Butterflies (Lepidoptera: Rhopalocera) of Jammu and Kashmir State

Abstract

The chapter reports butterfly fauna occurring in Jammu and Kashmir State. A total of 408 species belonging to 129 genera distributed under 25 subfamilies in 5 families are known to occur in the three distinct biogeographic regions of the State (Jammu, Kashmir, and Ladakh); these species account for ca. 27% of the India’s butterfly fauna. Ladakh region harbors the highest number of species (317) followed by Kashmir (274) and Jammu (192). The highest number of genera (52) is represented by family Nymphalidae followed by Lycaenidae (38), Hesperiidae (20), Pieridae (15), and Papilionidae (4); while the family with highest number of species is Nymphalidae (166) followed by Papilionidae (81), Lycaenidae (80), Pieridae (50), and Hesperiidae (31). Biogeographically, 150 species are common to all the three regions, while 17, 50, and 116 species exclusively occur in Jammu, Kashmir, and Ladakh. In addition, 38 species of butterflies from the State have been included in the Wildlife (Protection) Act of India (1972). The present effort in documenting the butterfly fauna will form the baseline for undertaking future research, conservation and management strategies on butterfly biodiversity of this Himalayan State.