Diversity of Butterflies (Lepidoptera) in Kanju, District Swat, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan

Butterflies are one of the most beautiful creatures on earth. They belong to the phylum Arthropoda, class Insecta, and order Lepidoptera. Butterflies play an important role in the ecosystem, contributing significantly to pollen transfer. They play an important role in pollination, and their foraging behavior enhances the genetic diversity. Additionally, they also play an important role in the food chain and serve as prey for birds, reptiles, and other insectivore organisms. The current study was conducted to find out the diversity and distribution of butterflies in Kanju district Swat, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. A total 203 specimens were collected from August to December 2018, from various habitats such as gardens, vegetation, meadows, wetlands, urban, and forest. The morphologically identified specimens represented 10 species, 7 genera, and 3 families i.e Pieridae, Papilionidae and Nymphalidae. The five species belong to family Pieridae were Eurema hecabe, Catopsilia pomona, Pieris canidia, Pieris brassicae and Colias croceus and was the largest family on the basis of species richness. This was followed by family Papilionidae containing three species including Papilio demoleus, Papilio paris and Papilio machaon. The Nymphalidae family contains 2 genera and 2 species, including Junonia orithya and Danaus chrysippus. Based on abundance of specimens Junonia orithya was the most widely distributed species with 61 specimens collected from the study area. Similarly, Colias croceus was the rarest based on specimens’ abundance with only 6 specimens collected from the study area. The highest diversity was recorded in the month of August and then sharply declined by December due to cold climatic conditions.