Butterfly census: 76 species spotted in Delhi’s biodiversity parks

The Biodiversity Parks Programme began the week-long census of butterflies species across seven biodiversity parks in Delhi last year onwards. Earlier, there used to be a single-day Big Butterfly Count.

A total of 76 different butterfly species have been recorded across Delhi’s seven biodiversity parks during a one-week long census, with the Aravalli Biodiversity Park (ABP) in Vasant Kunj reporting the highest number of species (68), followed by the Kamla Nehru Ridge, where 59 different species were recorded, according to officials aware of the census details.

Butterfly census: 76 species spotted in Delhi’s biodiversity parks

Last year, a total of 71 different species were spotted during the census, officials added.

The Biodiversity Parks Programme began the week-long census of butterflies species across seven biodiversity parks in Delhi last year onwards. Earlier, there used to be a single-day Big Butterfly Count.

Delhi has seven biodiversity parks that are managed by the Delhi Development Authority (DDA) – Aravalli Biodiversity Park (ABP), Yamuna Biodiversity Park (YBP), Neela Hauz Biodiversity Park, Kamla Nehru Biodiversity Park, Tilpath Valley Biodiversity Park, Kalindi Biodiversity Park and Tughalakabad Biodiversity Park.

Faiyaz Khudsar, scientist-in-charge at YBP, said 5,922 members from 76 species of butterflies were spotted across the parks. Most of them were from mottled emigrant, common emigrant, plain tiger, yellow orange tip, common grass yellow, striped tiger, small grass yellow, lemon pansy, lime butterfly and common gull.

The most interesting sightings meanwhile, according to Khudsar, were the common shot silverline, the painted lady, common rose, blue tiger, Indian skipper and the parnara swift.

“The butterfly assessment for 2022 shows that DDA’s Biodiversity Parks have become a rich habitat for butterflies. Despite inconsistent weather pattern and erratic rainfall this year, the number of butterfly’s species and their density across the park have not dwindled,”said Khudsar.

The week-long exercise was held from October 10-16, with teams setting out across the seven biodiversity each day from 10am to 12noon. These consisted of 15 groups across seven parks, each consisting of two to five butterfly observers who would walk a pre-specified path to identify, count, enumerate and photographically document the sightings of butterflies.

Aisha Sultana, scientist at ABP, which recorded the most number of butterflies, said biodiversity hubs in south Delhi has seen more diversity as compared to the other parks. “At ABP, we were able to spot the common rose, the common shot silverline and several blues, which is commonly referred to a sub-family of butterflies with a blue hue or colour to them,” she said.

This year’s Big Butterfly Count, which is also held across NCR, excluding the seven biodiversity parks, recorded 67 species this year. The count was held from September 1-30.

The Yamuna Biodiversity Park recorded 47 species this year compared to last year’s 58 . ABP recorded 68 species, up from 62 last year; twenty eight species were spotted at Neela Hauz compared to 23 last year; Kamla Nehru ridge recorded 59 species this year, up from 50 last year; 41 species were seen in Tilpath Valley, compared to 47 species last year; Kalindi Biodiversity Park recorded 12 species, down from 17 last year; and Tughalakabad biodiversity park recorded 37 species this year – a sharp drop from 51 last year, according to the official count.