[Prem Chetry]
BOMDILA, 11 Aug: In a remarkable discovery, a rare butterfly species – Ludlow’s Bhutan glory, also known as Ludlow’s Bhutan swallowtail – a globally endangered species – has been sighted here in West Kameng district.
The butterfly was sighted by this correspondent, who has been a biodiversity enthusiast and has been observing the Bhutan Glory species since 2015. He had earlier recorded the sighting of the Bhutanitis lidderdalii in August 2016 for the first time in Bomdila.
The Ludlow’s Bhutan glory is a rare and endangered butterfly species belonging to the Papilionidae family, specifically within the Parnassiinae subfamily, which includes Apollo butterflies. The IUCN recognizes Bhutanitis ludlowi as a globally endangered species, and it is also a Schedule I species in the Wildlife Protection Act of India, 1972.
The sighting of the Ludlow’s Bhutan Glory was immediately informed to Bomdila DFO Obang Tayeng, who also witnessed the rare species and described the sighting as remarkable.
The DFO said such habitats need to be conserved and awareness should be disseminated among the people to ensure a safe stay for this rare visitor.
The discovery was confirmed by Roshan Upadhaya, the ‘Butterfly Man of Arunachal Pradesh’, well-versed in this field. He said that this sighting has “paved a new horizon among lepidopterists and butterfly enthusiasts, and can boost butterfly tourism in the region.”
Meanwhile, Eaglenest Wildlife Sanctuary (EWS) RFO Yachang Kani informed that the sanctuary is the only known habitat of the Ludlow’s Bhutan glory in the country. The first conservation project began in July 2023 by Nature Mates-Nature Club, Kolkata, funded by the Conservation Leadership Programme, which focuses on population monitoring, awareness campaigns, and collaboration with local communities and the Arunachal Pradesh Forest Department.
The Ludlow’s Bhutan glory is the national butterfly of Bhutan, and is notable for its limited distributionand unique biology. It is endemic to eastern Bhutan, specifically the Trashiyangtse valley and the Bumdeling Wildlife Sanctuary. It recently extended to western Arunachal Pradesh in EWS, and now Bomdila.
According to a source, in Bhutan this species was thought to be nearly extinct until it was rediscovered in August 2009 by a Bhutan Forest Officer, Karma Wangdi, in the Bumdeling Wildlife Sanctuary.
