254 species sighted during Namdapha butterfly meet

Our correspondent

Itanagar, May 3: At least 254 butterfly species were sighted during the first ever Namdapha Butterfly Meet 2018 that concluded at Miao in Changlang district of Arunachal Pradesh on Monday.

Rare species of Zigzag Flat, Yellow Gorgon, Yellow Tinsel, Kohinoor, Scarce White Commodore, Stanley Nawab and Yellow Veined Lancer were recorded during the meet, while endemic species of the Cantaley Four Ring, Assam Three Ring, Peals Palm Fly and Khaki Silver Line were also sighted.

A total of 48 participants from all over India took part in the meet, which was organized by the Society for Environment and Education Development and partnered by the Daoha Valley Tours and Travels, Miao. Minom Pertin, one of the organizing members, termed the meet a ‘huge success’ and hoped that the meet would serve the purpose of attracting tourists to the park, besides creating awareness on wildlife conservation.

Peter Smetacek of the Bhimtal-based Butterfly Research Institute, Monsoon Jyoti Gogoi of Bombay Natural History Society and Nawangla Bhutia of BAMOS, Sikkim were the research persons for the meet.

The meet, which commenced on April 27, was flagged-off by Miao additional deputy commissioner Tage Rumi and was flagged-in by local MLA and Minister Kamlung Mosang on April 30 last. The Namdapha National Park is endowed with a host of flora and fauna, including several varieties of butterflies. The park is also famous for being the only place where all the four big cats co-exist.