TITLE:
Altitudinal Distribution of Papilionidae Butterflies along with Their Larval Food Plants in the East Himalayan Landscape of West Bengal, India
AUTHORS:
Narayan Ghorai, Panchali Sengupta
KEYWORDS:
Altitudinal Distribution; Papilionidae; Himalayan Landscape; Species Richness; Species Diversity; Larval Food Plant
JOURNAL NAME:
Journal of Biosciences and Medicines,
Vol.2 No.1,
March
6,
2014
ABSTRACT: The altitudinal distribution of
Papilionidae butterflies across the East Himalayan Landscape of West Bengal,
India is presented here. 26 butterfly species are known to occur across 11
altitudinal belts. Species Richness (R) and Species Diversity (H′) are said to
be highest between 1200 - 1400 masl (meters above sea level). In contrast,
lowest values of Species Richness and Species Diversity occur at the highest
altitude of 3000 masl and above. Maximum number of individuals occurs between
900 - 1100 masl while the minimum number of individuals was present at the
highest altitude of 3000 masl or above. 35 species of plants belonging to 6
families served as the larval food plant of these butterflies. Thus the
presence of suitable larval host plants probably governs the altitudinal
distribution of these papilionid species of butterflies. 30.77% of butterfly
species are strictly monophagous in nature.