Three rare species of butterflies have been spotted during a bi-monthly follow-up survey of butterflies held in the Chinnar wildlife sanctuary in Munnar on Sunday. The three new sightings are Sullied Sailor, Indian Ace, and Painted Courtesan. With this, the total number of butterfly species spotted in Chinnar had touched 225, said G. Prasad, Wild Life Warden at Munnar.
The checklist of Chinnar wild life sanctuary had touched 222 butterfly species as on September 27, he said.
The survey was conducted by the Kerala Forest Department in association with the Travancore Natural History Society (TNHS) and the Kottayam Nature Society (KNS).
Mr. Prasad said the Nilgiri Tit, a very rare butterfly species found in the biodiversity hotspots of Western Ghats and Sri Lanka, was a major sighting in Chinnar.
As per the available records, it was the British scientist, Frederick Moore, who had spotted the Nilgiri Tit in Kerala way back in 1883. Moreover, the sighting of Nilgiri Tit in Kerala was recorded only in Chinnar, said E. Kunhikrishnan, academic and butterfly enthusiast.
Earlier, the big butterfly survey held at the Chinnar Wildlife Sanctuary as well as the four national parks of Mathikettan Shola, Pampadum Shola, Anamudy Shola, and Kurinjimala wildlife sanctuary in Munnar had spotted 206 new species.
