Uttarakhand's first butterfly gallery opens in Dehradun; over 100 species displayed

The research branch of the Uttarakhand Forest Department has set up the States first butterfly gallery at the Nature Education Centre in Jolly Grant DehradunThe gallery displays highresolution photographs of butterflies from Uttarakhand providing visitors with an engaging display of these unique speciesThe gallery serves as an educational and awareness platform highlighting the ecological importance of butterflies in pollination food chains and overall ecosystem healthMukul Sonal Forest Range Officer told ANI that the butterfly gallery is of great benefit to those who study butterflies Uttarakhand is home to around 500 species of butterflies Here we have highresolution displays of 105 of them The lifecycle of butterflies is demonstrated here Also the migration of Munnar butterflies from one generation to the next is displayed with locations The mudpuddling behaviour modelling of a butterfly where butterflies take sodium from mud for reproduction is also demonstrated here Sonal saidUttarakhands State butterfly is the Common peacock Here its structure is displayed along with that of the Munnar butterfly We have also kept specimens of important butterflies in Uttarakhand Those who study butterflies can benefit from this This gallery is open to the public Sonal addedThe butterfly gallery is an effort to highlight Uttarakhands remarkable butterfly diversity and promote greater appreciation for these ecologically important species By educating visitors about their role in the ecosystem the gallery aims to encourage conservation efforts and raise awareness about their protection said officialsUttarakhand is home to around 500 species of butterflies The gallery displays 105 butterfly species from five different families Papilionidae Hesperiidae Lycaenidae Nymphalidae and PieridaeOf the 1318 species of butterflies reported from India over 460 species have been recorded in Uttarakhand This vast variety of butterflies greater than the total variety of butterflies found in peninsular India or the whole of Europe inhabit different types of forests which are found at different elevationsThe best time to see butterflies in Uttarakhand is between April and June in the lower Himalayas July and August in the high Himalayas and the transHimalayan area and again September to November at medium and low elevationsIn Uttarakhand butterflies have been reported up to an elevation of 5800 meters At such an elevation air is thin and only a few species can surviveIn some cases the strikingly beautiful colours of butterflies signal the fact that they are poisonous some brightly coloured butterflies that are not poisonous mimic poisonous species Some species also camouflage themselves as a strategy to save themselves from predationThe state butterfly of Uttarakhand is Papilio polyctor which is known as the Common PeacockThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoeveratOptionskeyd0ddb8ef8f1a62a8cdd22fac27fc5ea7formatiframeheight90width728params