Diversity and species richness of butterfly in soraipung range of Dehing Patkai National Park, Assam, India

Abstract

Abstract Background The present study deals with the butterfly diversity in Soraipung Range of Dehing Patkai National Park. The site was chosen on the basis that it lies in between Eastern Himalaya and Indo-Burma which is acclaimed as global biodiversity hotspot. Results A total of 92 butterfly species belonging to 5 families were recorded during the study of which 13 species were listed as protected under various schedules of the Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 and 11 species were restricted to the Eastern Himalaya, India. Members of the Nymphalidae family were found to be dominant with (41) number of species followed by Papilionidae (17), Lycaenidae (16), Hesperiidae (10) and the least Pieridae (8). The maximum diversity is obtained in Nymphalidae family: where Shannon–Wiener Diversity Index (H′) is 3.604584 and Evenness (E) is 0.970651 while the minimum diversity is in Pieridae family where Shannon–Wiener Diversity Index (H′) is 1.936217 and Evenness (E) is 0.970651. Conclusions The study reveals that Soraipung range is rich in butterfly diversity but on the contrary their study is poorly documented. During the survey 13 threatened species and 11 species restricted to the Eastern Himalaya have been also documented in the National Park, thus making it an important butterfly habitat in the state. Therefore, its necessary to conduct more study as well as research on the butterflies in Dehing Patkai National Park for effective conservation and management programs.