Sikkim: Rare butterfly species sighted in Dzongu

Neptis manasa Moore, [1858] – Pale Hockeystick Sailer one of the rarest butterflies has been sighted in Dzongu, North Sikkim for the first time. According to a report by the ifoundbutterflies organisation, this butterfly was recorded in Arunachal in the year 2015 and in Bhutan in 2016.

Also read: Sikkim gets first COVID-19 testing lab, continues corona free status

The Butterflies of Sikkim are under threat. Their habitat is damaged by urbanization, infrastructural developments, invasion of exotic, non-native plants and climate change. The Butterfly Reserve’s main purpose is to stop this downward spiral and become an invigorator where butterflies can thrive and repopulate the region. However in order to generate a much wider base of conservation support amongst people the reserve provides the opportunity for visitors to understand the importance of the unique nature of Sikkim through these winged wonders.

This inherent conflict between behavior of humans and the habitat butterflies, forms the central theme of the design of the proposed butterfly Reserve in Sikkim. It is known that, if there is too much human disturbance, butterflies can migrate away from that area and thereby defeating the objective of the reserve. Therefore any architectural intervention needs to be sensitive of its social and physical environmental impact.

There are two major groups of Himalayan butterfly species - forest species that are found in densely wooded slopes of the outer Himalayan ranges and valleys and the other ones found at high altitudes and which never occur below timberline.

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