IMPHAL, April 30 � An elusive butterfly has been spotted after a hundred year and photographed near remote Kwatha village, in Yangoupokpi Wildlife Sanctuary in Chandel district of Manipur borderig Myanmar by a team led by People for Animals Manipur (PFA).
The butterfly � Slate Awlet (Bibasis Mahintha) was photographed in the Sanctuary by Basabjit Chakraborty, a wildlife photographer from Assam.
�The images (of the Slate Awlet) must be the first images of the species taken in India and this may be the first record of the species from Manipur in decades as it was last collected nearly a hundred years ago by Lt Col HC Tytler, but I am not aware of any recent records,� said Dr Krushnamegh Kunte, a butterfly scientist of Bangalore based National Centre for Biological Sciences (NCBS). �The species has been collected recently in Thailand, but the new Manipur record is quite special for India�, he added.
Manipur Chief Wildlife Warden PN Prasad, said, �I congratulate PFA and the photographer from Assam for finding a rare butterfly which was believed to be extinct/elusive.�
Manipur researchers Dr M Ingobi and Prof R Varatharjan of Manipur University�s Life Science department have recorded a total of 152 butterfly species in the State so far. Of the 1,501 butterfly species known in India, about 962 species are found in the North East.
A total of 43 butterfly species out of 152 species found in Manipur appear to be involved in pollination while 34 other species are crop pests. Besides, 73 other species have aesthetic value, Dr M Ingobi said.
