The state of Tripura of North-east India is a part of the Indo-Myanmar biodiversity hotspot and rich in unique biological flora and fauna. The present study is based on extensive surveys done by the author for a period of 5 years in different parts of North Tripura, North-east India. Here, I present a total of 21 genera and 51 species that are new additions to the butterfly fauna of Tripura. These new records include 18 species of Hesperiidae, 12 species of Lycaenidae, 17 species of Nymphalidae and 4 species of Pieridae. These records represent a 20.90% increase in the number of butterflies known from Tripura and update the existing checklist of butterfly fauna of the state.
The authors have surveyed different habitats in and around the Unakoti Archaeological Site and documented a total of 216 species classified under 6 families, 23 subfamilies and 126 genera of the order Lepidoptera. The study was conducted from 2016 to 2020, covering different seasons namely pre-monsoon (Jan-Apr), monsoon (May-Aug) and post-monsoon (Sep-Dec) respectively. The study reports 2 species under schedule I, 25 species under schedule II, and 5 species under schedule IV of the Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act 1972. This study also documented seasonal diversity and habitat-wise occurrence of butterflies in and around the Unakoti Archaeological Site. During the study, 59 butterfly species were recorded as new additions to the butterfly fauna of Tripura. High-quality photographs of all the butterfly species documented during the study have been included in this paper.
Amphithemis vacillans Selys, 1891 is reported for the first time from Meghalaya, Northeastern India. The authors recorded a male individual from the forest of Byrnihat, located in Ri-bhoi distict of the state on November 23, 2017. The current sighing revised the distribution of this species in India being previously known from Assam and West Bengal.
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