Diversity and Abundance of Butterfly (Lepidoptera) Fauna in Kalaimahal College Campus, Sembanarkoil, Tranqubar Taluk, Tamil Nadu

Butterflies are the sensitive insects which react quickly to any kind of disturbances like changes in the habitat quality and environmental variation. Apart from pollinators they play a major key role in food chain, being prey for birds, reptiles, spiders and predatory insects.  It is one of the most important assemblages of insects that act as biodiversity indicators as well as nature’s gardeners.  The objective of the present survey is focussed on the assessment of the diversity and abundance of butterfly conservation priorities in the study area. A total of 33 species of butterflies under 5 families and 26 genera were recorded during from December 2017 to February 2017 in the Kalimahal College campus, Sembarnarkoil, Tharangambadi Taluk. Nymphalidae was recorded as the most dominant family in terms of number of species (13) and number of genera (9), followed by Pieridae 8 species (6 genera), Lycaenidae 6 species (5 genera), Hesperiidae 3 species (3 genera), and Papilionidae 3 species (2 genera). Species richness (25), Simpson diversity index (0.7206) and Shannon ‘H’ index (1.783) were high in the month of December 2017.  Simultaneously the Dominance index (0.6634) and Species Evenness (0.2871) were high in the month of February 2018.  The outcomes of the present study highlight the importance of institutional campuses as a preferred habitat for butterflies. If the landscaping and maintenance of gardens are cautiously planned, the diversity of butterflies may increase in college campus providing a rich ground for butterfly conservation as well as for research.