Butterfly species richness and diversity in selected areas of thootha, palakkad district, kerala, india

A preliminary study on the diversity of butterflies was carried out in Thootha village Palakkad district Kerala, India from September 2020 to January 2021. A number of 26 butterfly species that belong to 5 families were recorded through visual observations of their wing patterns, color and also referring to field guides. The family Nymphalidae was the dominant among the five families with 12 (46 %) species followed by family Lycanidae comprising of 6 (23 %) species. The family Pieridae comprised of 4 (15 %) species and both family Papilionidae and family Hesperiidae with 2 (8%) species each. Common grass yellow (Eurema hecabe) and Psyche (Leptosia nina) are the most observed butterfly followed by common four ring (Ypthima huebneri). Some rare butterflies such as Plain tiger (Danaus chrysippus) and Spotless grass yellow (Eurema laeta) were observed with a minimum count.