Diversity of Lepidoptera: A Comparative Analysis of Butterfly Populations in Zunheboto District, Nagaland, India

Abstract

In recent times, butterflies have been frequently utilized as bioindicators for assessing environmental changes around us. With over the last few decades, urbanization and modernization of northeast India are taking place in an overwhelming and very fast pace. In this study, butterfly diversity and their habitat preferences were evaluated in the Zunheboto district of Nagaland, India. The aim of this study was the evaluation of changes in species composition across different habitats over time. This study records 43 species across six families and employs direct observation methods across jhum fields of different ages (15 years and 5 years old, respectively) and village areas to derive species richness and diversity indices. Our results indicate a significant presence of the Nymphalidae family, with 24 species, implying high adaptability to various habitats. The more recent jhum fields showed an increase in biodiversity, showing vegetation destruction, thus more light penetration, and hence it becomes easier for the generalist species to colonize. The study also underlines the ecological significance of village areas as biodiversity hotspots supporting unique species not found in agricultural fields. Such findings bring out the need for habitat preservation and emphasize the potential resilience of butterfly populations towards environmental changes under sustainable management. The paper sheds light on understanding changes in butterfly diversity with respect to habitat changes and underlines the necessity of conservation strategies to incorporate habitat protection and sustainable land use practices.