Butterflies of varied colour patterns are beautiful and the most admired among insects. They are natural pollinators and have close relationship with the flowering plants. The rare and beautiful butterflies are objects of pleasure to man. They are used as decorative pieces, some tribes use them as ornaments, and others worship them. Man's greed for their rarity and beauty have priced these creatures very high A single specimen of such a butterfly is valued in fabulous amount of Indian cache Consequently lucrative trade of butterflies is prevalent.
The increasing pressure of human population has adversely affected the population of these butterflies and their diversity as well. Man's encroachment the natural habitats of butterflies has led to clearing of forests for human settlement their requirements of industrialisation, urbanisation, hydroelectric projects, etc. subsequently with the shrinkage of their habitats there has been decline in their diversity and population and also disturbance in the food chain. With the latter aspect and other threats to their survival, some species have become very rare and endangered. Accordingly, these species have been protected by their inclusion in Schedule-I (Part-IV) of the Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972.
The information on butterflies has been provided on various aspects - common name, diagnostic characters, intraspecific variations, geographical distribution, habitat and ecology, threats to survival, conservation measures adopted and proposed. Of the 128 species and subspecies listed in Schedule-1, 123 occurring in India have been assigned status at national level following IUCN (2001) criteria with some modification and information available on these butterflies.
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