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MISCELLANEOUS NOTES
6J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc., Vol. 115: 2018
RANGE EXTENSION OF CILIATE BLUE ANTHENE EMOLUS GODART
(LEPIDOPTERA: LYCAENIDAE) AND BLANK SWIFT CALTORIS KUMARA MOORE
(LEPIDOPTERA: HESPERIIDAE) INTO THE LOWER WESTERN HIMALAYA1
Shankar kumar2,*, Paramjit Singh3 and raj Shekhar Singh4
1Accepted May 24, 2017
2Ofce of the Chief Conservator of Forests Kumaon, Nainital 263 002, Uttarakhand, India. Email: kumarshankar86@gmail.com,
jatayupk@gmail.com
3Forest Research & Training Management, Haldwani 263 139, Uttarakhand, India. Email: paramjit57@yahoo.com
4A walk in the woods, 21/2 Vasant Vihar, Dehradun 248 006, Uttarakhand, India. Email: walkinwoods.india@gmail.com
*Corresponding author
doi: 10.17087/jbnhs/2018/v115/114782
Introduction
Butterflies have been poorly studied in the Western
Himalaya after the colonial period. Recent rediscoveries and
many reports of range extensions of several buttery species
to the Western Himalaya, especially from the hilly state of
Uttarakhand in India, indicate that there is an immediate
need to survey this faunal group. Some of the butteries that
have been recently reported from Uttarakhand are Talicada
nyseus Guérin Menéville (Singh 2005a), Poritia hewitsoni
Moore (Singh 2003a), Ampittia dioscorides Fabricius (Singh
2003b), Delias acalis Godart (Smetacek 2001), Pontia
daplidice Linnaeus and Pontia glauconome Klug (Smetacek
2002), Zesius chrysomallus Hübner (Singh 2005b), Nacaduba
kurava Moore, Flos asoka de Nicéville and Arhopala abseus
indicus Riley (Smetacek 2011). Due to lack of systematic
research and documentation, the distribution/rarity status
of most butterflies is unclear. The current survey was
carried out from March 2016 to October 2016, as part of a
larger assessment of the diversity and seasonal abundance
of rare butteries in Nainital district. During the survey, two
species, Ciliate Blue Anthene emolus and Blank Swift Caltoris
kumara, were recorded for the rst time in Uttarakhand,
constituting range extensions for Western Himalaya.
Study Area
Nainital district occupies the southern portion of
Kumaon division (28° 44′–30° 49′ N; 78° 45′–81°
01′ E). Geographically, Nainital district is heterogeneous;
its northern portion is hilly while the southern portion is
alluvial plain, called Bhabar. The study site harbours three
plant associations, namely (1) Oak Quercus lanuginosa,
Q. incana, Q. semecarpifolia, and Q. dilatata, (2) Chir Pine
Pinus roxburghii forest, and (3) elements of miscellaneous
evergreen species like Cupressus torulosa and Cedrus deodara.
Lantana is widespread here too. Nainital is ideal habitat for
most of the buttery species of Uttarakhand because of its rich
oral biodiversity. Out of the 460 buttery species found in
Uttarakhand, more than 240 are reported from Nainital.
Methodology
Surveys were carried out at various sites in Nainital
district during March 2016 to October 2016, with an aim to
document the rare buttery species of Uttarakhand. During
the survey, Ciliate Blue Anthene emolus and Blank Swift
Caltoris kumara were seen and photographed with DSLR
camera using an 18–55 mm lens. A single specimen of
each species was caught, using an entomological net, for
identication and measurement. After documentation, the
specimens were released immediately, without damage.
Details of location/site, activities, date, habitat, altitude, and
GPS coordinates were noted for each species. Identications
were conrmed with the help of literature by Evans (1932),
Wynter-Blyth (1957), and Kehimkar (2016).
Results
Ciliate Blue Anthene emolus
Ciliate Blue Anthene emolus is a small buttery belonging
to the Lycaenidae or Blues family. Its larval host plants
include Saraca asoca and Litchi chinensis. There are two
subspecies of Ciliate Blue in India, namely A. emolus
andamanicus Fruhstorfer 1916 and A. emolus emolus Godart
1824. Subspecies andamanicus is found in the Andaman &
Nicobar Islands and the nominate emolus in Bihar, Sikkim,
Maharashtra, southwards to Kerala, eastward to West Bengal,
and north-east India (Varshney and Smetacek 2015). It is
listed as common by Van Gasse (2013) from south-west India
to Goa, south Maharashtra, Orissa (now Odisha), Jharkhand,
Bihar, West Bengal, Arunachal Pradesh, and north-east
India. Evans (1932) listed the distribution of this species as
“S. India, Sikkim-Burma”. Wynter-Blyth (1957) noted it s
range as “S. India, Sikkim to Assam and Burma, Bengal,
Orissa.” Cantlie (1962) added “Bihar” to the known
distribution mentioned above. Smith (1994) documented
this species from Nepal as “Not rare across the country.”
However, there are no published records of this species from
Uttarakhand; hence these records extend its range further
westwards.
7
MISCELLANEOUS NOTES
J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc., Vol. 115: 2018
A single individual of Ciliate Blue Anthene emolus was
rst recorded ying near a nullah (stream) on May 08, 2016,
at 13:00 hrs (IST) at 800 m elevation in Bhujiyaghat (29°
18′ 52.03″ N and 79°31′ 18.29″ E), Nainital district. Four
individuals were recorded along a 50 m trail from the rst site,
feeding on bird droppings and resting on boulders. Repeated
surveys of Bhujiyaghat area between June 04 and 06, 2016,
indicated that there are healthy populations of Ciliate Blue
in this area. We also sighted this species at Fatehpur range,
Haldwani, and Dogaon in Nainital district during a survey
conducted between July 20 and 26, 2016. From this we
infer that the status of Ciliate Blue is “Common” in Nainital
district.
Blank Swift Caltoris kumara
Blank Swift Caltoris kumara is a member of family
Hesperiidae (Skippers). It has two subspecies in India, i.e.
C. kumara kumara Moore 1878 and C. kumara moorei
Evans 1926. According to Varshney and Smetacek (2015),
the nominate kumara is distributed from Gujarat eastwards
to Chhattisgarh and southwards to Kerala; subspecies
moorei is distributed from Sikkim to north-east India. Evans
(1932) described this species as Blank Swift Baoris kumara,
distributed from southern India to northern Kanara, and
Sikkim to Dawnas in Burma (now Myanmar). Van Gasse
(2013) listed this species from southern India to northern
Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, west Nepal to lower
West Bengal, Arunachal Pradesh and north-east India. There
are no previous records of Blank Swift in the literature or
preserved specimens from Uttarakhand, or from western
Himalaya in India (Varshney and Smetacek 2015).
A single individual of Blank Swift Caltoris kumara,
Moore 1866 was photographed on May 16, 2016 at 15:00
hrs (IST) at an elevation of 1,015 m in Nalena beat (29° 19′
40.40″ N; 79° 29′ 43.75″ E), in Nainital district. It was feeding
on human excreta under a road bridge. Repeated surveys of
the site were organized throughout the year, but we were
unable to nd any additional specimen.
Discussion
Nainital is a favourable destination to study butteries.
Recent sightings show the possibility of presence of Ciliate
Blue Anthene emolus and Blank Swift Caltoris kumara
between the known habitat and Uttarakhand. It is possible that
these species were present in the study area for a long time,
but absence of surveys during their ying period left them
undiscovered. Our sighting records show the potential buttery
biodiversity of this area and point out the need to develop a
species-based approach to wildlife conservation in this region.
There are at least 80+ species of butteries in Uttarakhand
which have not been sighted for a long time, and at least eight
species for which records need further verication.
REFERENCES
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group), of Brigadier Evans’ The Identication of Indian Butteries
1932 (India, Pakistan, Ceylon, Burma). Bombay Natural History
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evanS, W.h. (1932): The Identication of Indian Butteries. 2nd edn.
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azkurs.org/butteries-of-india--annotated-checklist-by-paul-van-
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kehimkar, i. (2016): Butteries of India. Bombay Natural History
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Singh, a.P. (2003a): New records on the distribution and ecology of
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Recommended Citation
Shankar Kumar, Paramjit Singh & Raj Shekhar Singh (2018): Range extension of Ciliate Blue Anthene emolus Godart (Lepidoptera:
Lycaenidae) and Blank Swift Caltoris kumara Moore (Lepidoptera: Hesperiidae) into the Lower Western Himalaya. J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc.
115. doi: 10.17087/jbnhs/2018/v115/114782
