A group of senior citizens conducting a research on butterflies in Chandigarh recently found new species of butterfly here.
Lepidopterologist Kulbhushan Kanwar said, “Red eye skipper butterfly scientifically known as matapa aria (moore) of hesperiidae family having wingspan of 40-55 mm was photographed at Sector 49, Chandigarh, near the forest reserve area on by Tilak Sharma. Normally, this butterfly is found in South India up to Mumbai, Bengal and Uttarakhand to Northeast and the Andaman Islands. It is also found in Nepal, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Sri Lanka and Bhutan.”
Besides, they also spotted spangle butterfly scientifically known as papilio protenor (cramer) of the palilionidae family having wingspan of 100-130 mm.
Kulbhushan Kanwar who also manages the Forest Department, Chandigarh Facebook page “Butterflies of Chandigarh”, said it was clicked by him at Sector49. He said, “In India, it is found in Jammu and Kashmir to Arunachal Pradesh in the Himalayas.