New Butterfly Species Discovered in Kerala

• 04 Apr 2023

Why in News?

Recently, a butterfly subspecies (Caltoris bromus sadasiva) from the fringes of Akkulam and Vembanad lakes in Kerala has been discovered.

What are the Key Points Related to the Discovery?

• About: It belongs to the skipper butterfly family of Lepidoptera (moths and butterflies).
  • It is the first documented subspecies of the Bromus swift ( Caltoris bromus) butterfly in the Western Ghats and Peninsular India.
• Number of Butterfly Species: The discovery of Caltoris bromus sadasiva brings the count of butterfly species in the Western Ghats to 336 and the count of skipper butterflies to 83, with the last skipper butterfly discovery being almost 75 years ago.
• Caltoris: Caltoris, an Indo-Australian genus has over 15 species distributed across south-east Asia. Caltoris bromus, one of them, has two other subspecies Caltoris bromus bromus and Caltoris bromus yanuca.

What are the Key Facts about Vembanad Lakes?

• This is the largest lake in Kerala and the longest Lake in India.
• Vembanad Lake is also known as Vembanad Kayal, Vembanad Kol, Punnamada Lake (in Kuttanad) and Kochi Lake (in Kochi).
• The lake has its source in four rivers, Meenachil, Achankovil, Pampa and Manimala.
• It is separated from the Arabian Sea by a narrow barrier island and is a popular backwater stretch in Kerala.
• In 2002, it was included in the list of wetlands of international importance, as defined by the Ramsar Convention.
  • It is the second-largest Ramsar site in India only after the Sundarbans in West Bengal.

UPSC Civil Services Examination Previous Year Question (PYQ)

Q1. Recently, for the first time in our country, which of the following States has declared a particular butterfly as State Butterfly? (2016)

(a) Arunachal Pradesh
(b) Himachal Pradesh 
(c) Karnataka
(d) Maharashtra

Ans: (d)

Exp:

• Maharashtra became the first State in the country to have a ‘State Butterfly’. It declared the Blue Mormon (Papilio polymnestor) as the State Butterfly.
• It is the second largest butterfly in India after the Troides minos commonly known as the Southern Birdwing.
• It is found only in Sri Lanka, Western Ghats of Maharashtra, South India and coastal belts of the country.
• It has velvet and black wings with bright blue spots. Therefore, option (d) is the correct answer.

Q2. In which of the following regions of India are you most likely to come across the ‘Great Indian Hornbill’ in its natural habitat? (2016)

(a) Sand deserts of northwest India
(b) Higher Himalayas of Jammu and Kashmir
(c) Salt marshes of western Gujarat 
(d) Western Ghats

Ans: (d)

Exp:

• Great Indian Hornbills are large and wide-ranging birds and most species are dependent on tropical forest habitats that contain large and tall trees.
• India has nine Hornbill species, of which four are found in the Western Ghats – Indian Grey Hornbill (endemic to India), Malabar Grey Hornbill (endemic to the Western Ghats), Malabar Pied Hornbill (endemic to India and Sri Lanka) and endangered Great Indian Hornbill.
• India also has one species that has one of the smallest ranges of any Hornbill – the Narcondam Hornbill, found only on the island of Narcondam in Andaman Sea. Therefore, option (d) is the correct answer

Source: TH