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44 species of butterflies spotted on Pune’s Fergusson College campus
As part of the Big Butterfly Month 2021 activity, at least 44 species of butterflies were spotted by the students of Fergusson College, department of environmental sciences on and around the campus in Pune
PUNE As part of the Big Butterfly Month 2021 activity, at least 44 species of butterflies were spotted by the students of Fergusson College, department of environmental sciences on and around the campus. These species include Grass Jewel, India’s smallest butterfly; Blue Mormon, the state butterfly of Maharashtra; Plain Puffin, a rare sighting in Pune, among others.
The Big Butterfly Month 2021 involves the participation of several educational institutes and organisations as they come together to celebrate the bio blitz. As a part of this, Fergusson College took part and organised an open event named “Let’s count butterflies” in association with the Pune Butterflies WhatsApp group. The event was held from September 4 till September 30, 2021, and its findings were released by the college on Friday.
“Butterfly is a symbol of freedom and aesthetic pleasure. To celebrate their importance in the ecosystem, Big Butterfly Month is celebrated across the country. During this month, we observe, document and learn about butterflies,” said Rajat Joshi, a student and coordinator of the event for the department of environmental sciences.
Principal Dr Ravindrasinh Pardeshi and head of department environmental sciences, Rupali Gaikwad supported the event.
“The event focused on documenting different butterfly species present on the campus of Fergusson College, the hill in the campus was also monitored. During the event, butterflies were observed, photographed and documented on well-defined paths in the college campus between 8:30 am to 11 am. Butterflies were monitored on sunny days except for a few cloudy ones when maximum species were found,” added Rajat.
According to the report, the group found species like Lemon Emigrants, Common Grass Yellows were seen in abundance due to the presence of their host plant; Senna tora situated near the foothills of Fergusson hill. Other than that, due to the mass plantations of palm varieties on the college campus, a great number of palm flies were spotted on them. Even a few of their life cycles were also witnessed by the participants. A small section close to the department of botany has plants of Bryophyllum, on which the Red Pierrot Butterflies were also seen in good numbers.
Lantana camara remained the most favourite nectar plant of butterfly species in the college premises. Lantana has widespread in the area and was favoured by most of the butterfly species which were observed during the survey. The survey even had a rare sighting of the Plain Puffin Butterfly which is a forest species but turned out in substantial numbers fluttering on the nectarine sources like Lantana in the college.
