No abstract

The present communication deals with the new nymphalid butterfly records from the state of Jammu and Kashmir. The sightings are based on the butterfly surveys conducted in different ecosystems of Jammu region in a span of two years. The paper calls for more organized and intensive butterfly surveys to understand their status, distribution and population dynamics in and around Jammu.

The Himalayan state of Jammu and Kashmir, owing to variety of habitats, different climatic regimes and a wide range of altitude offers conducive habitats to butterflies ranging from low level hills of Shiwaliks to Trans-Himalayan landscapes of Ladakh through mighty Pir-Panjal and Valley of Kashmir.   It is noteworthy that these mountainous landscapes though rich in insect diversity are the least known for butterfly fauna. The present note describes the new records based on opportunistic surveys of butterflies on the sidelines of avian surveys conducted in Jammu Shiwaliks during the years 2015 and 2016.

The butterfly surveys were conducted across different regions of Jammu province right from southern alluvial plains of Chenab and Ravi to Great Himalayas through Shiwaliks and Pir-Panjal mountains during June 2016 to February 2018. The areas covered included  Kalidhar and Dalhori  forests, district Rajouri (west), Mansar-Surinsar-Manwal range, districts Jammu, Samba and Udhampur (south), Mansar-Manwal, Billawar-Basoholi-Bani, district Kathua (east), Bhaderwah, district Doda (north), and Paddar in district Kishtwar (northeast) within an elevational range of 320 m to 3200 m (Fig. 1). During the explorations, we observed eight Lycaenid butterfly species previously not recorded from the state of Jammu and Kashmir.

The present communication deals with eight species of Hesperiidae recorded for the first time from different localities in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir during 2018 to 2020. These include Burara oedipodea belesis, Matapa aria, Erionota torus, Udaspes folus, Coladenia indrani indrani, Tagiades cohaerens cynthia, Celaenorrhinus dhanada and Pseudocoladenia fatih. The information on the current extant and their known distribution till now has been given along with the photographs. These records will be helpful in updating the range distribution of butterflies in north western Himalayas.