03/07/2024
Monsoon Butterfly Survey 2024- Mudumalai Tiger Reserve
185 species recorded during the survey.
MTR had conducted monsoon butterfly survey, co-organised by The Nature and Butterfly Society (TNBS) and WWF India. The survey was conducted in midst of ongoing southwest monsoon (some places there during the survey hit above 20 cm rain) between 28th and 30th June 2024.
A total of 185 species recorded during the survey. The species were from 6 butterfly families: Swallowtails (16), Whites and Yellows (24), Brush-footed Butterflies (52), Blues (59), Metalmarks (1) and Skippers (33). Highlights of the survey include Malabar Raven, Paris Peacock, Malabar Banded Peacock, Plain Puffin, Chocolate Albatross, Tamil Yeoman (the state butterfly), Tamil Lacewing, Clipper, Cruiser, Painted Lady, Scarce Shot Silverline, Angled Sunbeam, Nilgiri Tit, Silverstreak Blue, Leaf Blue, Double-banded Judy, Orange Awlet, Orangetail Awl, Hampson’s Hedge Hopper, and Philippine Swift
Species which were in abundance include Blue Tiger, Dark Blue Tiger, Double-branded Crow, Common Crow, Common Emigrant, Mottled Emigrant, Common Four-ring, Common Five-ring, and Common Grass Yellow.
The survey was conducted as per the advice of the Conservator of Forests & Field Director, Thiru D. Venkatesh, IFS, MTR Circle, Tamil Nadu Forest Department, and planned and executed under the guidance of Deputy Director of MTR Core Tmt. C. Vidhya, IFS.
Our thanks to TNBS team and WWF India, which have again teamed up to deliver a successful survey.
Participants were from The Nilgiris, Coimbatore, Erode, Salem, Chennai, Kanyakumari, Pondicherry, and Kerala. Mettupalayam Forest college students too were part of this exercise.
TNBS thanks WWF India- D Boominathan, Sravan Kumar Kidambi, CV Nishanth, Ramanasaran Hari and other core members for the planning and ex*****on.
