An Updated List Of Butterfly Fauna From Dapoli Tehsil Of Ratnagiri District, Western Ghats, Maharashtra, India

Abstract The current study aimed to document the variety of butterfly species in the vicinity of Dapoli tehsil during the months of August 2021 to July 2022. It is located in the Ratnagiri district of the Kokan region in the Western Ghats of Maharashtra. Butterflies and moths belong to the class insect and order lepidoptera. It is second largest order class insecta. Its body is covered with scaly wings. It play important role in pollination. Only larva of butterflies are pest of various crops and vegetables and adults deeding on nectar and pollen as their food. It is widely recognized that insects play a crucial role in maintaining the essential life support systems within natural habitats. Among all insects, butterflies play a crucial ecological role, as they feed on nectar and serve as vital pollinators for flowering plants. Butterflies are evaluate as the good indicators of the terrestrial ecosystem. This paper includes 78 different species and subspecies, belonging to seven families that can be found in the Dapoli tehsil of Ratnagiri district in the Western Ghats of Maharashtra. Family nymphalidae represented 25 species followed by families lycaenidae, pieridae, papilionidae, hesperiidae, satyridae and danaidae with 18, 09, 08, 07, 07 and 04 species respectively.