Rare butterfly found in Himachal valley

A rare species of butterfly -- Silvery Meadow Blue -- has been found in Paangi Valley in Chamba district of Himachal Pradesh.


Silvery Meadow Blue (Polyommatus florience) butterflies are usually found in areas 3,000 metres above sea level in meadows and areas outside forests during July when high altitude areas experience a late-flowering season.


“The butterfly, earlier found in high altitude areas of Pakistan and Afghanistan, was found in Pangi Valley for the first time,” Avtar Kaur Sidhu, officer-in-charge of the High Altitude Regional Centre of Zoological Survey of India (ZSI) at Solan in Himachal Pradesh, said.


A team of ZSI scientists comprising Sidhu, Indu Sharma, Bindu L, Kamal Sahni and Uttam Saikia surveyed the valley last year and found new species of butterflies, grasshoppers, and moths.


“The discovery of the butterfly signifies a healthy habitat of the valley as they are bio-indicators,” she said.