On a Single Day Catch of Butterflies (Insecta:Lepidoptera) from Karhandla Village of Umred-Karhandla Wildlife Sanctuary, Maharashtra

Umred-Karhandla Wildlife Sanctuary is a recently notified Wildlife Sanctuary in Maharashtra. It was established in the year 2013. It is located at a distance of 55 km. from Nagpur city and spread over an area of 189 sq. km. in Umred, Kuhi, Bhivapur and Pauni talukas of Nagpur district. This Sanctuary has tropical dry deciduous type forests and is rich in invertebrate and vertebrate fauna. During a visit to this Sanctuary, different species of butterflies were collected from roadside vegetation in Karhandla village. The butterflies were identified through the handbook by Kehimkar (2008). A total of 22 butterfly species belonging to 8 families of Order Lepidoptera have been recorded. The study area is located in Vidarbha region in the eastern part of Maharashtra. Tiple (2011) has listed the butterflies of Vidarbha region. Some important Conservation Areas are located in this region. Sharma and Radhakrishnan (2005, 2006) have reported the Lepidoptera of Pench National Park and Tadoba Andhari Tiger Reserve, respectively. Chandrakar et al (2007) have reported the butterflies of Melghat Tiger Reserve.