FOUR RINGED BUTTERFLY (Syllabus GS Paper 3 – Env and Eco)

Context: Recently, a four-ringed butterfly was rediscovered in the Namdapha National Park after 61 years.

Four-Ringed Butterfly

• About: The great four-ring (Ypthima cantliei) is a member of the Satyrinae butterfly subfamily.
• Survey Documentation: Photographed during a survey to document butterfly diversity in the Miao range of Namdapha National Park (2018-19).
• Identification: Identified based on general morphological patterns and habitat.
• Historical Record: Last reported in 1957 from Margherita, Assam.
• Genus Diversity: The genus Ypthima belongs to the Nymphalidae family, which includes about 6,000 butterfly species. In India, 23 of the 35 Ypthima species are found in the northeast.
• Global Diversity: Highest Ypthima diversity is in China, especially in Yunnan and Sichuan provinces, with significant diversity also in Nepal, Bhutan, Myanmar, and northeastern India.

Namdapha National Park

• Location: Situated in Arunachal Pradesh, India.
• Boundaries: Flanked by the Patkai hills to the south and southeast, and the Himalayas to the north. Positioned between the Dapha bum range of the Mishmi Hills and the Patkai range.
• Biogeographic Areas: Part of both the Palearctic and Indo-Malayan biogeographic regions.
• River: Named after the Namdapha river, which originates from Daphabum and flows north-south across the park.