Two more butterfly species recorded at conservatory

Two more butterfly species have been recorded at the Tropical Butterfly Conservatory at Srirangam here taking the total tally of species recorded so far to 120 now. The 119th species was the Black Spotted Pierrot. This species was recorded late last month at the 27-acre green conservatory.

The 120th species recorded a few days ago was the Common Snow Flat. This species had been recorded in the western ghats and in the eastern ghats but was rare in the plains, said V. Muthukrishnan, Junior Research Fellow, at the conservatory. The number of butterfly species had been steadily increasing at the conservatory ever since it was opened five years ago in 2015. Butterflies are bio-indicators of a healthy ecosystem and play an important role in the food chain, Mr.Muthukrishnan added.