Ludlow's Bhutan Glory remains no more endemic to Bhutan

(First of all, many many apologies to those who were following this blog, for not being able to mantain a continuity of blogging....for I had been bogged down firstly by the 2nd Asian Ministerial Tiger Conference, that made news in 'Kuensel-the National Newspaper' for not having enough lunch left for the Ministers and then trying to get back to where I left before the Tiger-grrrr-conference. I sincerely hope that I now will be able to blog frequently on our butterflies). Anyways.......Now that I am back...


A recent discovery of Ludlow's Bhutan Glory (Bhutanitis ludlowi) in Eaglenest Wildlife Sanctuary expands its distribution now to Arunachal Pradesh in India. The Eaglenest Wildlife Sanctuary is located closest to Daifam, now named as Jomotsangkha in the fareast of Bhutan (As it appears on Google Earth).

Image from Google Earth showing Tobrang and Eaglenest Wildlife Sanctuary

The butterfly was photographed in the 1st-2nd week of September of this year by some Indian photographers. During that time, it was mistaken as Bhutan Glory (Bhutanitis lidderdalii) and included in the species page of Bhutan Glory in the website http://ifoundbutterflies.org/54-bhutanitis-dp3 of the Indian Foundation of Butterflies. But later when Mr.Saito Motoki of the Butterfly Society of Japan saw the photographs, he identified it as a female of Ludlow's Bhutan Glory. Mr Saito was involved in last year's joint research of the species in Tobrang, Trashiyangtse.

Picture: Ludlow's Bhutan Glory from Arunachal Pradesh

 (Photo Courtesy:http://ifoundbutterflies.org/54-bhutanitis-dp3)

I peronally feel that this sighting of our National Butterfly in India is of great importance to its conservation and species survival. Prior to this sighting, there has been concerns among some Bhutanese who were worried as to what will we do if this butterfly go extinct from that small area of Tobrang to which it was believed to be endemic. Now that we have confirmed its presence in Arunachal Pradesh, our worry of its ability to survive in other areas is gone and also the focus of thought of collectors who desperately wanted to get their hands on this butterfly is at least for now spread even to India.

Three Months Old Photo Journal

On July 18th I left Thimphu for Bumthang to go farther east to Tobrang, Trashiyangtse to conduct a small study on the early stages of Ludlow's Bhutan Glory, more specifically on its pupa with Mr.Motohiro Harada, an expert on early stages of butterflies from the Butterfly Society of Japan.

The first day my travel from Thimphu to Bumthang was more or less only drive as it was drizzling all the way. And more so because i had to take control of the steering after lunch as Mr.Gyembo, an elderly man who was driving the Toyota Landcruiser Prado fell sick. Had a tough time steering its way through the dense fog of Dorji Goempa before Yotongla.

The next day was a perfect day for photographing butterflies with clear blue sky of Bumthang but as always the Chamkar Chu breeze kept the flowers swaying making it difficult for my already difficult monopod supported Canon macro lens. I treid my best and could get some little-out-of-focus pictures which I have posted for references in the future.

Chestnut Tiger (Parantica sita): With a wing span of 85-110mm, this butterfly is found in Bhutan, India (J&K to Arunachal Pradesh), Nepal, Myanmar, Afghanistan. The flight of this butterfly is strong, above tree canopy and slow dipplings at times. It is often seen visiting flowers from the month of April to December upto 3000m altitude. It is mimicked by Circe (Hestina nama) and can be mistaken as Chestnut Tiger to an untrained eye.

Indian Tortoiseshell (Aglais cashmireinsis): With a wing span of 55-65mm, this butterflies is the most commenest among Himalyan butterflies. Its distribution ranges from Bhutan, India, Pakistan, Afghanistan. It can be seen throughout the year and loves sun as it can be seen basking in the sun with open wings. Its wide distribution can be noted from its sighting from the low grasslands to 5400m altitude.

Large Cabbage White (Pieris brassicae): With a wing span of about 65-75mm it is distributed within Bhutan, India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Afghanistan and Pakistan. It loves open places and fringes of agricultural fields. Usually seen fluttering and visitng flowers. Found between 900-4000m altitude.

 

Painted Lady (Vanessa cardui): With a wingspan 55-70mm, it is commonly found in Bhutan, Nepal, Sri Lanka,  Bangladesh, Myanmar, Pakistan & Afghanistan. It is swift flier and prefers open grassy land. It can be found from lowlands to 4500m altitude. It can be seen visiting over ripe fruits and flowers.

Bhutan Tree Brown (Lethe margaritae): Bumdeling Wildlife Sanctuary, 26th July 2012

This butterfly, Bhutan Tree Brown was very recently rediscovered in Bhutan. It was first discovered in Bhutan sometime in 1930s, probably by the same guys who discovered Ludlow's Bhutan Glory.

The rediscovery was made by a team consisting of surveyors from the Department of Forests and Park Services of Bhutan along with a researcher from Butterfly Society of Japan. I was among the four who first saw this butterfly. I had joined the team to represent Wildlife Conservation Division to conduct a research on Ludlow's Bhutan Glory (Bhutanitis ludlowi) in Bumdeling Wildlife Sanctuary.

Introducing the Butterflies of Bhutan

This being my first post after the creation of this Blog dedicated to the Butterflies and Insects of Bhutan, I would like to take the advantage of my expected readers to introduce the blog and at the same time the butterflies and insects of Bhutan.
Introductory Posts:
In coming up with this Blog, I intend to celebrate the wonderful small flying jewels of Nature, call it "Chimla or Thibla" these small flying creatures have always been around us and yet we notice it so little. Give it a little effort this time and you will see it everywhere.

As an introduction, i will write few lines about butterflies, but this blog hereafter will mostly be a photographic blog for butterflies of and occasionally some insects from Bhutan, either for identification by experts or for you to appreciate its beauty.

You see butterflies only certain seasons of the year, mostly the flowering season. To add to the beauty of flowers, you have butterflies visiting them.
Among the insects, butterflies and moths come under a large Group called Lepidoptera, which means "scaly wings". These two similar insects differ from other insects in having two pairs of membranous wings which have scales on it. We all as a child must have noticed that the scales come onto our fingers when we tried to catch them.
Moths and Butterflies differ in many aspects, but the most easiest way to differentiate between the two is by looking at the antennae. While butterflies usually have a slender club shaped or hooked antennae tip, moths have very thin or a pair of feathery antennae.
Moths outnumber butterflies in being around 10 times more in number while butterflies are estimated to be about 18,000 species in the world. <br>
Bhutan should be having more than a thousand butterflies. Efforts are on to know the exact number of butterflies species in Bhutan. This blog aspires to record all the species in Bhutan one fine day.

Classification:
Presently, butterflies are classified into two superfamilies viz. Hesperiodea (The Skipper butterflies which can be easily mistaken as a moth by an untrained eye) and Papilionoidea (which includes the 'true' butterflies. Hesperiodea consists of a single family of Hesperiidae which includes all the Skippers, while Papilionoidea consisits of four families viz

1. Papilionidea (The Swallowtails)
2. Pieridae (The Whites and Yellows)
3. Nymphalidae (The Brush-footed butterflies) and
4. Lycaenidae (The Blues)

"Happy Blogging"





Indian Red Admiral-Vanessa indica