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Journal of Entomology and Zoology Studies 2015; 3 (2): 365-373
E-ISSN: 2320-7078
P-ISSN: 2349-6800
JEZS 2015; 3 (2): 365-373
© 2015 JEZS
Received: 04-03-2015
Accepted: 02-04-2015
Samsur Rahman
Department of Zoology,
Jagannath University, Dhaka-
1100, Bangladesh.
Email: selim_jnu444@yahoo.com
Mohammad Abdul Baki
Assistant Professor, Department
of Zoology, Jagannath
University Dhaka-1100,
Bangladesh.
Email: mabaki@gmail.com
Anik Chandra Mondal
Department of Zoology,
Jagannath University, Dhaka-
1100, Bangladesh.
Email: anikchandramondal@gmail.com
Amit Kumer Neogi
Department of Zoology,
Jagannath University, Dhaka-
1100, Bangladesh.
Email: amit_jnu52@yahoo.com
Farzana Islam
Department of Zoology,
Jagannath University, Dhaka-
1100, Bangladesh.
Email: fislam01@gmail.com
Rajib Chandra Sutradhar
Department of Zoology,
Jagannath University, Dhaka-
1100, Bangladesh.
Email: rajibsutradhar77@gmail.com
Correspondence:
Mohammad Abdul Baki
Assistant Professor Department
of Zoology Jagannath University
Dhaka-1100, Bangladesh.
Email: mabaki@gmail.com
Checklist of butterflies of Kushtia District,
Bangladesh
Samsur Rahman, Mohammad Abdul Baki, Anik Chandra Mondal, Amit
Kumer Neogi, Farzana Islam, Rajib Chandra Sutradhar
Abstract
Till date, the Northern parts of Bangladesh are more or less neglected for any biodiversity surveys.
Keeping this in view, the present study was undertaken at the Kushtia district, which is located in the
northern region (23○
54’N and 89○
03’E) of Bangladesh with an area of 1621.15 square kilometers. A field
study was conducted to determine the existing butterfly fauna of Kushtia district, Bangladesh from
March, 2012 to February, 2014. A total of 77 species were recorded belonging to 9 families and 64
genera. Family Lycaenidae was the most dominating family with 23 species followed by Hesperiidae (14
species), Nymphalidae (12 species), Pieridae (10 species), Papilionidae (7 species), Satyridae (7 species),
Danaidae (4 species), Acraeidae (1 species) and Amathusiidae (1 species). This survey was an initial step
to know the existing butterfly number and diversity which will be helpful to take further steps in
upgrading the checklist of butterflies of our country.
Keywords: Kushtia, Butterfly, Northern part, Bangladesh
1. Introduction
Bangladesh has realm number of biological diversity for its geographical location and
favorable climatic condition for life. Kushtia district is situated in the north region of
Bangladesh, is an area of 1621.15 square kilometer. The average maximum temperature of the
locality is 37.8 0
C and minimum 9.2 0
C. Annual rainfall is about 1,467 mm. Lepidoptera
(butterfly) is widely accepted as a good indicator of ecosystem health [13]
. In Bangladesh, the
butterfly fauna is not well documented compared to the other wildlife [10]
. IUCN took the first
attempt to create a complete checklist on butterfly fauna of Bangladesh by the famous
lepidopterist Torben B Larsen. Considering the floral diversity and habitat variation it could be
predicted that 500-550 butterfly species should be present in Bangladesh [11]
. Regional
documentation of butterflies has great importance as they provide basic information to
taxonomists, zoogeographers, and ecologists; showing when and where to look for certain
taxa. Unfortunately, this sort of work is often ignored [4]
. The regional checklist of any region
or part of a country has a great importance to update existing butterflies, status and diversity
that may be a crucial help for their conservation. The present study in Kushtia was undertaken
as an inventory step to know the existing number of butterfly species and their richness which
may be helpful to create a management plan for butterfly conservation.
2. Methods and Materials
Kushtia is situated at the northern part of Bangladesh (23º54’N and 89º08’E). Study has been
carried out from March, 2012 to February, 2014. Study areas have been chosen based on
contrasting vegetation type, diversity, abundance and rate of disturbance in Kushtia districts.
Butterflies species have been documented randomly by direct visual observations. Butterflies
were primarily identified directly by watching and taking photographs using Canon-P510
camera. Sometimes species were caught gently for identification and then released without any
harm. In few cases, species were collected with sweep nets, placed in a plastic bag and carried
in laboratory for further identification. Butterflies were identified using field guides Evans
(1932), Hossain (2013) and Kehimkar (2013) [3, 5, 8]
. The scientific name and common name of
butterflies are corrected by using Larsen 2004 [11]
.
3. Results and Discussion
A total of 77 species of butterflies under 9 families including 64 genera were recorded during

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Journal of Entomology and Zoology Studies
the study period (table 1). Most dominant family was
Lycaenidae, consisting of 23 (29.87%) species, followed by
Danaidae (5.19%), Papilionidae (9.09%), Pieridae (12.99%),
Nymphalidae (15.58%), Hespiriidae (15.58%), Satyridae
(9.09%), Acraeidae (1.30%) and Amathusiidae (1.30%) (fig
2). Though urbanization made a variation in the floral diversity
of the total area of Kushtia. Vegetation was moderately rich in
herbs, shrubs and canopies. The maximum number of
butterflies was observed on the Mikania micrantha, Lantana
camera, Cosmos sp., Lippia alba, Tridax procumbens, Tagetes
patula, Ixora finlaysoniyana, Gomphrena globosa, Acmella
sp., Acacia sp., Leucas aspara, Ageratum conyzoides, Ixora
sp., Cuphea hyssopifolia, Saraca indica etc. Moreover Junonia
sp. was mostly found as very abundant in Kushtia. Most of the
butterfly species were found at the time of nectar collection
from the flowering plants. Some were observed during resting
time on the different plants. The availability and dominance of
flowering wild plants are found to influence on the butterfly
number richness. Composition of herbaceous plant species in
an ecosystem may bring an importance on butterfly species
richness; and vegetation types can contribute
disproportionately high numbers of butterfly species compared
to dominant vegetation type of the single species of plant [7, 16]
.
Woody plant species richness may not good predictor for
butterfly species richness [16]
. The species/individual richness
of butterflies was observed in the month of December during
pre-winter period. In terms of species/individual richness,
there are reasons why butterflies have been successful in
abundance during pre-winter period. The chemical range, food
plants and the variety of plant microhabitats, such as leaves,
stems, roots, seeds, and fruit that can be exploited for the other
purposes such as defense against predation and parasitism are
a driving force in abundance. Through the entire study period
some species of butterflies were found to occur frequently
such as Danaus Chrysippus Chrysippus, Euploea core core,
Papilio polytes romulus, Papilio demoleus demoleus,
Graphium doson axion, Catopsilia pomona Pomona,
Catopsilia pyranthe pyranthe, Leptosia nina nina, Eurema
hecabe hecabe, Appias albinadarada, Spindasis syama
peguanus, Pseudozizeeria maha maha, Euchrysops cnejus,
Parnara guttatus mangala, Udaspes folus, Junonia atlites
atlites, Melanitis leda ismene. The study area also occupied by
more larval host plants of some most abundant species of
butterflies such as Calotropis gigantean, Citrus sp., Polyathia
longifolia, Senna tora, Senna alata, Cassia fistula, Cassia
tora, Acacia species, Cleome viscose, Ricinus communis etc.
This list of butterflies can be used as an indication of
butterflies to be expected in these areas. The basic objective of
this study was the construction of a database on resources for
butterflies to further their conservation. Our result indicated
that most butterfly species was observed in a specific season.
The numbers of butterflies’ fauna vary greatly depending on
floral vegetation (e.g. Number of host plants, nectar plants and
visited plants) and ecological condition in around the study
areas.
Table 1: List of butterflies in Kushtia district
SL. No. Family Common Name Scientific Name
1
Danaidae
Plain Tiger Danaus Chrysippus Chrysippus Linnaeus, 1758
2 Striped Tiger Danaus genutia genutia Cramer 1779
3 Common Crow Euploea core core Cramer, 1780
4 Blue Tiger Tirumala limniace exoticus Cramer, 1775
5
Papilionidae
Common Rose Pachliopta aristolochiae aristolochiae Fabricius, 1775
6 Common Mormon Papilio polytes romulus Cramer, 1775
7 Lime Butterfly Papilio demoleus demoleus Linné, 1758
8 Blue Mormon Papilio polymnestor polymnestor Cramer, 1775
9 Common Jay Graphium doson axion Felder & Felder, 1864
10 Tailed Jay Graphium agamemnon Linné, 1758
11 Common Mime Chilasa clytia clytia Linné, 1758
12
Pieridae
Mottled Emigrant Catopsilia pyranthe pyranthe Linné, 1758
13 Common Emigrant Catopsilia pomona pomona Fabricius, 1775
14 Common Gull Cepora nerissa nerissa Fabricius, 1775
15 Three-Spot Grass Yellow Eurema blanda silhetana Wallace, 1867
16 Common Grass Yellow Eurema hecabe hecabe Linné, 1758
17 Psyche Leptosia nina nina Fabricius, 1793
18 Common Jezebel Delias eucharis Drury, 1773
19 Striped Albatross Appias albina darada Swinhoe, 1890
20 Common Wanderer Pareronia hippia hippia Fabricius, 1787
21 Pioneer Belenois aurota Fabricius, 1793
22
Nymphalidae
Danaid Eggfly Hypolimnas misippus Linné, 1758
23 Great Eggfly Hypolimnas bolina bolina Linné, 1758
24 Common Leopard Phalanta phalantha phalantha Drury, 1770
25 Common Castor Ariadne merione tapestrina Moore, 1884
26 Painted Lady Vanessa cardui cardui Linné, 1758
27 Common Baron Euthelia aconthea garuda Moore, 1857
28 Leopard Lacewing Cethosia cyane Drury, 1773
29 Common Sergeant Athyma perius perius Linnaeus, 1758
30 Grey Pansy Junonia atlites atlites Linné, 1763
31 Lemon Pansy Junonia lemonias lemonias Linné, 1758
32 Peacock Pansy Junonia almana almana Linnaeus, 1758
33 Chocolate Pansy Junonia iphita iphita Cramer, 1779
34
Lycaeni
dae
Striped Pierrot Tarucus nara kollar, 1848
35 Common Pierrot Castalius rosimon Fabricius, 1775
36 Shot Silverline Spindasis ictis Hewitson, 1865

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Journal of Entomology and Zoology Studies
37 Common Silverline Spindasis syama peguanus Fabricius, 1775
38 Long -banded Silverline Spindasis lahita himalayanus Moore, 1884
39 Common Cerulean Jamides celeno celeno Cramer, 1775
40 Dark Grass Blue Zizeeria karsandra Moore, 1865
41 Pale Grass Blue Pseudozizeeria maha maha Kollar, 1848
42 Tiny Grass Blue Zizula hylax Fabricius, 1775
43 Forget-me-not Catochrysops strabo strabo Fabricius, 1793
44 Pea Blue Lampides boeticus Linné, 1767
45 Quaker Neopithecops zalmora zalmora Butler, 1870
46 Slate Flash Rapala manea schistacea Moore, 1879
47 Gram Blue Euchrysops cnejus Fabricius, 1798
48 Lime Blue Chilades lajus lajus Stoll, 1870
49 White-disc Hedge Blue Celatoxia albidisca Moore, 1883
50 Tailless Lineblue Zizeeria otis otis Fabricius, 1787
51 Common Lineblue Prosotas nora ardates Moore, 1875
52 Apefly Spalgis epius epius Westwood, 1851
53 Monkey Puzzle Rathinda amor Fabricius, 1775
54 Peacock Royal Tajuria cippus Fabricius, 1798
55 Common Ciliate Blue Anthene emolus emolus Godart, 1823
56 Pointed Ciliate Blue Anthene lycaenina lycambers Hewitson, 1878
57
Hesperiidae
Straight Swift Parnara guttatus mangala Moore, 1865
58 Conjoined Swift Pelopidas conjuncta conjuncta Herrich-Schäffer, 1869
59 Grass Demon Udaspes folus Cramer, 1775
60 Chestnut Bob Iambrix salsala salsala Moore, 1865
61 Indian Palm Bob Saustrus gremius gremius Fabricius, 1798
62 Dark Palm Dart Telicota bambusae bambusae Moore, 1878
63 Pale Palm Dart Telicota colon Fabricius, 1775
64 Common Red Eye Matapa aria Moore, 1865
65 Grizzled Skipper Spialia galba Fabricius, 1793
66 Bengal Swift Pelopidas agna agna Moore, 1865
67 Brown Awl Badamia exclamationis Fabricius, 1775
68 Smaller Dartlet Oriens goloides Moore, 1881
69
Satyridae
Common Palmfly Elymnias hypermnestra Drury, 1773
70 Common Fivering Ypthima baldus baldus Fabricius, 1775
71 Common Fourring Ypthima huebneri Kirby, 1871
72 Bamboo Treebrown Lethe europa Fruhstorfer, 1911
73 Common Bushbrown Mycalesis perseus blasius Fabricius, 1798
74 Dark Branded Bushbrown Mycalesis mineus Linné, 1767
75 Common Evening Brown Melanitis leda ismene Linné, 1758
76 Acraeidae Tawny Costar Acraia violea Fabricius, 1775
77 Amathusiidae Common Duffer Discopfhora sondaica zal Boisduval, 1836

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Fig 1: Photograph of butterflies
Fig 2: Percentage (%) of observed butterflies of different families at
Kushtia
4. Conclusion
A total of 77 species of butterflies were recorded during the
study period. The existing checklist of butterfly is not
complete so further studies are needed to update the checklist.
This inventory work will be helpful for upgrading the checklist
of butterflies, its host plants and making conservation plan on
butterflies of Kushtia more accurately.
5. Acknowledgements
We are grateful to Butterfly Bangladesh and their research
team for great support during our research period. Also very
thankful to Md. Kawsar Khan for his useful comments and

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suggestions to prepare this manuscript. The authors are
grateful to Department of Zoology, Jagannath University,
Dhaka for providing laboratory facilities throughout the
research period.
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