A group of researchers have recorded 38 species of butterflies including two species as Pointed Ciliate Blue Jamides Bochus and Dark Cerulean-Anthene Lycaenina reported first time from Chhattisgarh at the Government Nursery of Bhatagaon from May to July 2020. There are now a total of 165 species of butterflies recorded from Chhattisgarh.

 

Chhattisgarh’s rich butterfly fauna with an impressive catalogue 162 species of butterflies had been documented in a review of literature by Anupam Sisodia in 2019 and recent fieldwork by Anupam Sisodia & Nilesh Kumar Kshirsagar in 2020. The recent observation was taken place at Bhatagon nursery, which is maintained by the Government of Chhattisgarh for supplying plants to various government projects, local farmers, schools and colleges, etc. These plants are the host for various butterfly species; therefore, the nursery is rich in butterfly diversity. The nursery was established in 2008 and is spread over 15 acres.

 

The researchers as Department of Zoology, Sant Guru Ghasidas Govt. P. G. College Kurud Assistant Professor H N Tandan, Department of Botany, Government NPG College of Science, Raipur Reseacrch Scholar Gulab Chand, C R OW. Foundation Jagdalpur member Ornithologist Ravi Naidu & Lecturer Biology, Government HSS, Kurud Swati Tandan contributed in the recording the butterfly species.

 

Field identification of butterfly was undertaken with the help of Evans (1932); Wynter Blyth (1957); Haribal (1992) & Smetacek (2016). During the study, a total of 38 species of butterflies belonging to five families were photographed. During this study, researchers found two species belonging to Lycaenidae which were not recorded earlier from Chhattisgarh and therefore have added these to the butterfly fauna of the state.

 

The new species was first photographed on July 1, 2020, on a cloudy day at Government Nursery, Bhatagaon and subsequently, it was observed at the same location on July 19, 2020. The butterfly was flying very actively over a grassland, settling only for few seconds at a time. Mainly the species was found flying about 1.5 to 2 m high bushes and also flying over mango trees at a height of up to 3 to 5 m. It was also observed at the residence of Gulab Chand on July 25, 2020, & July 27, 2020, at Atang village, and in Kurud village of Dhamtari district by Swati Tandan on July 22, 2020. The present observations confirm the presence of this species in Chhattisgarh, so, it is not range extension. Anthene lycaenina (R Felder, 1868) Pointed Ciliate Blue. The specimen was photographed on July 19, 2020, Government Nursery, Bhatagaon, Chhattisgarh; Gulab Chand.

 

There are two subspecies of J. Bochus recorded in India, JB Bochus distributed throughout India including the Andaman Islands and JB Nicobaricus from the Nicobars Island by Varshney & Smetace in 2015.

 

The known Distribution range of the two species expands from Gujarat southwards to Kerala and eastwards to Odisha and W. Bengal. (Varshney & Smetacek, 2015). Jharkhand