Butterfly Diversity and Status in Mandagadde of Shivamogga, Karnataka, India.

ABSTRACT

Biodiversity of butterflies in Mandagadde of Shivamogga of Karnataka carried out. Many butterfly species are strictly seasonal and prefer only a particular set of habitats and they are good indicators in terms of anthropogenic disturbances and habitat destruction. The richness and diversity of butterfly species is proportional to the food plant diversity, richness of flowers and intensity of rainfall. Unfortunately, butterflies are threatened by habitat destruction and fragmentation almost everywhere. A total of 52 species of butterflies belonging to 5 families were recorded during the study period. Among the 5 families, Nymphalidae dominated the list with 23 species, Paplionidae with 9 species, Pieridae and Lycaenidae with 8 species each and Hesperidae with 4 species. It is found that 9 species of butterflies are very common, 26 species are common and 17 species are rare in occurrence in Mandagadde.