Assessment of the Diversity and Abundance of Butterfly Fauna in and around Choolanur Peafowl Sanctuary in Palakkad, Kerala, India

This study investigates the diversity and abundance of butterflies in two selected sites, Choolanur (protected area) and Pazhambalakkode (an area close to sanctuary) of Palakkad district of Kerala, India. The study was done only in and around the peafowl sanctuary and Choolanur forest premise and the diversity of butterfly was found to be a little high at Site 1(Choolanur), with Nymphalidae family being most abundant. The number of butterflies from the Papilionidae and Lycaenida family was recorded to be in less numbers as compare to the Nymphalidae. The diversity of butterflies at at Site 2 (Pazhambalakkode) the diversity was almost similar to the diversity of Site 1, which may be due to the immigration of species. The butterflies were sampled by direct search method and photographs were identified with the help of keys and specialists. The species belonging to Nymphalidae family was seen to be high, followed by species of the Lycaenidae family, Pieridae family and the species of the Papilionidae family was recorded to be least. Our results not only confirm the importance of protected sites for protecting biodiversity within a particular area but also highlight their beneficial effects in their surroundings.