Abstract

PRELIMINARY REPORT ON BUTTERFLY DIVERSITY IN KALLAR HORTICULTURE FARM, WESTERN GHATS, TAMIL NADU, INDIA.

Amrutha T., Ananya P. and Rajeshkumar S.*

ABSTRACT

The biodiversity found on earth today consists of many millions of distinct biological species. Insects create the biological function for all terrestrial ecosystems. They cycle nutrients, pollination and seed formation, maintain the soil structure and fertility, control populations of other organisms, and provide a major food source for other taxa. Virtually food web in a terrestrial ecosystem will show insects as a key component although food web architecture in the ecosystems. In the present study were depicts the butterflies diversity of Kallar Horticulture Farm, Western Ghats, Mettupalayam. This type of survey carried out during August 2018 and January 2019. However, during transit sampling recorded 2976 individuals of butterflies comprising 68 species belonging to 5 families were recorded Nymphalidae (1156 species) and least number of species were recorded Pieridae (254 species). The highest number of butterflies are recorded during in the month of November (510 species) and lowest in the month of February (99 species). It is mainly due to the effect climate change that include temperature, relative humidity, rainfall and wind velocity on butterflies are scanty around the world. Some of the 9 species of butterflies are very common and 6 species are very rare in the Kallar region. The Shannon and Simpson‟s diversity index wever observed in the present study Nymphalidae is the most abundant family having H‟ value is about 1.314 and D value is about 3.414 in the study area in Kallar region. The main focusing of present study is the agricultural development depending upon the insect biodiversity, as well as provides opportunities for enhancing the resilience of soil ecosystem services by conserving soil biodiversity.

Keywords: Pollination, Ecosystems, Butterfly species diversity, Horticulture Farm, Kallar.