Diversity of butterfly fauna in and around Gudavi bird sanctuary, Sorab, Karnataka.

The quantification of butterfly diversity and species richness is of core importance for evaluating the status of protected areas. Gudavi bird sanctuary is one of the well known bird sanctuaries of Karnataka and this area due to its geographical speciality evokes wide range of butterfly fauna, which plays a vital role in pollination of various flowering plants besides a key component of food chain. A total of 115 species representing 78 genera belonging to five families and 15 subfamilies were recorded in the present study. Of these, the family Nymphalidae was found to be the most dominant with 34.78% (40) species followed by Lycaenidae (25 species), Hesperiidae (18 species), Papilionidae and Pieridae (16 species). Large scale availability of larval hosts and adult nectar plants is the main reason for abundant diversity of butterflies in the region.