Butterfly (Lepidoptera:Insecta) Diversity of Takhni Rehmapur Wildlife Sanctuary, Hoshiarpur, Punjab, India

The butterfly fauna of India has been well studied in the past, with the works of Marshall & de Niceville (1883), de Niceville (1886, 1890), Moore (1890-1905), Swinhoe (1893, 1896, 1905-1913), Bingham (1905, 1907), Evans (1932), Talbot (1939, 1947), Wynter-Blyth (1957), and Kehimkar (2008) being some of the significant publications. To date, 1641 species of butterflies have been reported from India (Varshney, 2010). Recently, much information on butterflies of different regions, states and protected areas of India has been published (e.g. Arora et al. 2009 (Himachal Pradesh); Anonymous (website of Punjab ENVIS Centre, Punjab); Kumar 2008 (Uttarakhand); Mondal et al., 1997 (Delhi); Chandra et al. 2007 (Madhya Pradesh and Chattishgarh); Haribal 1992, Maulik 2003 (Sikkim); Mondal & Maulik 1998 (Meghalaya); Kunte et al., 2012 (Garo Hills, Meghalaya); Mondal & Maulik 2004 (Manipur); Mondal & Maulik 1997 (West Bengal); Mondal & Maulik 1991 (Orissa); Gupta & Shukla 1987 (Madhya Pradesh); Maulik, 2007 (Andhra Pradesh); Kunte 2000 (Peninsular India); Sharma 2012 (Maharashtra); Ambrose & Raj 2005 (Kalakad-Mundanthurai Tiger Reserve, Tamil Nadu); Aneesh et al., 2013 (Kerala); Palot et al., 2012 (Kerala). However, butterfly diversity at the regional level remains data deficient in most of the regions and states of India.