Butterfly Fauna of Daroji Sloth Bear Sanctuary, Hospet, Bellary District, Karnataka, India

Butterflies were enumerated during February 2010 to January 2012 using pollard walk method to assess the species diversity in the tropical thorn dry deciduous (Deccan Plateau) scrub jungle with granite boulder outcrop habitats of Daroji Sloth Bear Sanctuary, Bellary District, Karnataka. This area, a total of 5,587.30 hectares is being proposed for the conservation of threatened species of Indian subcontinent the Sloth bear, Melursus ursinus and announded as a Sanctuary. A total of 41 butterfly species belonging to Hesperiidae, Papilionidae, Pieridae, Lycaenidae and Nymphalidae families were recorded. Two species of butterflies recorded from this region have a protected status under the Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972. Habitat destruction in terms of mining activity can be a potential threat to this area and is suggested to be the reason for the reduction of species richness and abundance of butterflies in impacted areas of the study site. This study provides support for long-term conservation of these fragmented scrub forest to ensure biodiversity protection. Article Citation: Harisha MN and Hosetti BB. Butterfly fauna of Daroji Sloth Bear Sanctuary, Hospet, Bellary District, Karnataka, India. Journal of Research in Biology (2013) 3(2): 840-846 Full Text: http://jresearchbiology.com/documents/RA0331.pdf