DIVERSITY OF BUTTERFLY SPECIES IN THE CAMPUS OF NIRMALA COLLEGE FOR WOMEN, COIMBATORE, TAMILNADU, INDIA

Butterflies are one of the most conspicuous species of Earth's biodiversity.Being extremely responsive to any changes in their environment, namely, temperature, humidity, light, and rainfall patterns, these insects are identified as useful bioindicators.The present study aims to examine the diversity and distribution of butterflies.A total of 26 species of butterflies distributed under 5 families viz., Nymphalidae, Papilionidae, Pieridae, Hesperiidae, Lycaenidae were recorded during the study period.Nymphalidae was found to be the most dominant (42%) family represented by 11 species, followed by Papilionidae (30%) with 7 species, Pieridae (19%) with 5 species, Hesperidae (8%) with 2 species and Lycaenidae (4%) with 1 species was being reported.Among the 26 species of butterfly observed in the study area, six species were occasional, fourteen species were common and six species were rare.Population index of the butterflies was also carried out which showed, Shannon -Wiener index (H') Component for the selected study area to be 1.35.Evenness of the species in the selected site to be 0.841, Simpson's Index (D) to be as 0.27.Simpson's Diversity Index (1-D) for the study site was 0.73.The Simpson's Reciprocal Index (1/D) was recorded as 3.73.The study area is rich in butterfly diversity and further research could be conducted to obtain more details and documentation on butterfly diversity.