Preliminary checklist of Butterflies recorded in four blocks of Chamoli District, Uttarakhand, India

The present study is the first checklist of butterflies from this area of Chamoli District, Uttarakhand. This research provides a comprehensive checklist of butterflies, detailing their relative abundance and references related to the Indian Wildlife (Protection) Amendment Act, 2022 (No. 18 of 2022). It includes the species in the study area, their respective families, and their subfamilies. Butterflies from four blocks, namely Gairsain (376.72 km2), Karanprayag (285.04 km2), Narayanbagar (187.50 km2), and Tharali (153.33 km2), in between 750 m – 3000 m altitude. We recorded 8844 individuals of 99 species of butterflies. All these species are identified with the help of relevant available literature and books (Sondhi and Kunte, 2008; Kehimkar, 2008; Varshney & Smatecek, 2015). A field survey of butterflies was conducted in the study area from March 2023 to December 2024. A total of 99 butterfly species from 06 different families have been identified, namely, Nymphalidae (42%) are more abundant than Lycaenidae (21%), Pieridae (19%), Papilionidae (7%), Hesperiidae (7%), and Riodinidae (4%) were recorded during the survey. The findings could enhance our knowledge of the ecological patterns found in various altitudes of hilly areas, supporting conservation initiatives and influencing strategies for managing biodiversity.