New nymphalid butterfly records from Jammu & Kashmir, India

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.

An investigation into the spatiotemporal patterns of the Nymphalid butterfly Vagrans egista sinha (Kollar, [1844])

“…The same study reports the confirmed use of Xylosma longifolia Clos by this species as a larval host plant in Dehradun (Western Himalaya). The adults are observed to feed on flower nectar (Polygonum hydropiper L. -Water Pepper Plant and Lantana camara L. -Wild Sage, being two such plants) and animal excretions (bird droppings, cow urine and dung), and also involve in mud-puddling (Naro & Sondhi, 2014;Sondhi & Kunte, 2018;Sharma & Sharma, 2018;Kumar, Kushwaha & Namdev, 2020). They have been found to opportunistically feed on flower nectar in the forest canopy during some migrations in the Tam Dao mountains in Vietnam (Spitzer et al, 1993).…”

“…2): India (Bingham, 1905), containing the most northern and western distribution of the species as well as the subspecies; Nepal (Varshney, 1994); Bhutan ; Bangladesh (Larsen, 2004); Myanmar (Bingham, 1905); Thailand (Varshney, 1994), containing the southernmost distribution of the subspecies; Cambodia (Savela, nd); Laos (No record, but most likely); Vietnam (Spitzer et al, 1993);and China (D'Abrera, 1940), including the special autonomous region Hong Kong (Bascombe, Johnston & Bascombe, 1999) -containing the easternmost distribution of the subspecies. In India, they are found within 14 states and one union territory across the Himalayan range, its foothills, Eastern Ghats and near the Eastern coast -Jammu & Kashmir (Sharma & Sharma, 2018), which is the northernmost and westernmost distribution in their range; Himachal Pradesh ; Chandigarh (Soman, 2015); Uttarakhand (Bingham, 1905); Uttar Pradesh (Kumar, Kushwaha & Namdev, 2020); Sikkim (Wynter-Blyth, 1957); West Bengal (Bingham, 1905); Arunachal Pradesh (Kunte, 2007), their easternmost distribution in India; Assam (Bingham, 1905); Nagaland (Tytler, 1911); Mizoram (Bhakare, 2009); Tripura (Zothansangi, 2015); Odisha (Wynter-Blyth, 1957); Chattisgarh (Naidu, 2018); and Andhra Pradesh (Saragada, 2020), which is their southernmost distribution within India. Records of this subspecies have increased considerably over the past half-a-decade, with many new sightings to the west of their previously known range in North-West India.…”

“…Authors need to verify their coordinates using visualization of their coordinates in some online map or a GIS software before submission, especially when reporting them in supplemental materials which are not reviewed by most journals. Reviewers need to do the same, especially when the coordinates are reported in main tables.Coordinate mismatch for same record in different sources.Eg:Sharma & Sharma (2018) reports accurate coordinates of Consistent reporting of coordinates should be done by authors/c-science contributors.…”

On the occurrence of three new Lycaenid butterflies (Lepidoptera) from Jammu and Kashmir, India

“…The butterflies inhabiting these habitats show a variety of distributional patterns in different elevational bands. The region has quite recently emerged as a potential butterfly hotspot contributing several new species to the lepidopteran fauna of Jammu and Kashmir (Sharma & Sharma 2018a, 2018b.…”

On the rediscovery and new additions of Skippers (Lepidoptera: Papilionoidea: Hesperiidae) from Jammu and Kashmir, India

“…The Zanskar range of Great Himalayas separates Kishtwar from Ladakh in north-east. While a good account of butterfly fauna is available for Kashmir (Home 1938;Mani & Singh 1962;Das et al 1964;Das & Verma 1965;Dar et al 2002;Khan et al 2011;Qureshi et al 2014;Qureshi 2020), Jammu region is data deficient, except for a few recent reports by Sharma & Sharma (2017a, 2017b, 2018a, 2018b, Sharma et al (2019) and Sheikh & Parray (2019).…”