ITANAGAR, 6 Apr: A group of butterfly enthusiasts stumbled upon the elusive Neptis philyra, also known as the long-streak sailor, in Tale Valley Wildlife Sanctuary in Lower Subansiri district.
This marked the first recorded sighting of the species in India, originating from Pange.
The team included Atanu Bose, Mahesh Baruah and Abhishek Dutta Choudhury from Assam’s Bongaigaon, and Anitava Roy from West Bengal. They were supported by Wiki Loves Butterflies and the field expertise of Kojmama Taman and Punyo Chada.
The butterfly was first described by M Ménétriés in 1859 from Russia. This species has been found in East Asia, including eastern Siberia, Korea, Japan, Taiwan, China, Tibet, Yunnan and Vietnam.
The groundbreaking discovery was later documented and disseminated in Florida (USA)-based international scientific journal, Journal of Tropical Lepidoptera Research, on 5 April.
