Bhutan – home to multi-hued butterflies
Bhutan has about 800 to 900 species of butterflies, a huge number for a small country. An incredible range of climatic zones from sub-tropical in the south to alpine in the north provides a vast array of habitats. Some species are rare and internationally protected.
A group of farmers, on their way from their village in Womenang valley to Chorten Kora, the capital of Trashi Yangtse Dzongkhag (district), crosses a ridge and are met by an unusual sight. On the trail ahead, a chilip (white foreigner) crawls through the dirt on all fours. As they get closer he gets up, wishes them a cheerful Kuzu zangpola and closes the lens of his digital camera. The farmers, who did not see a small fast butterfly take off, continue on their way agreeing that the ways of the westerners are weird.
Taxi drivers plying on the road between Doksum and Chorten Kora have got used to seeing bicycle dumped on the roadside and the same Chilip, known as Bumdeling Butterfly Man, clambering on the slope above or kneeling on the tarmac at places where small streams cross the road.
They all have met the Bumdeling Butterfly Man. Talking to him in the field is often frustrating as he is known to stop midway conversations to pursue a passing painted lady – a common tiger or a glossy bluebottle, a few of the hundreds of butterfly species that abound in Bhutan. One and a half years ago, he did not know much about butterflies than most of us – there are white ones, blue ones, orange ones and two field guides to the butterflies of nearby countries, he figured out that it was possible to identify most of them. He developed an interest that took up most of his spare time while working for the Bumdeling Wildlife Sanctuary.
Bhutan probably has some 800 to 900 species of butterflies, but official records are hard to find. Most of the butterflies are found in the sub-tropical zone. However, an amazing number can be found at mid-elevations and some in the mountains even at an elevation of 4,000 m or higher. The hardy high altitude ones fly mainly in summer.
For a small country like Bhutan, 800 to 900 species of butterflies is a huge number. Here there are more butterfly species than in the whole of North America which has 680 species, and about double the number found in the whole of Europe. The incredible range of climatic zones from sub-tropical in the south to alpine in the north, presents a vast array of habitat niches for butterflies. Palaearctic and Indo-Malayan species including some species that are unique to the eastern Himalayas are also found in Bhutan.
Butterflies differ from moths in the shape of their antennae. Butterflies have antennae with a clubbed end, while moths generally have branched antennae. Most butterflies fly during the day while most moths do so during the night but there are exceptions.
Quite a number of butterflies are easy to identify by their size, colour and the patterns on their wings. Others, especially a number of the small Blues, look almost the same at first sight. At second sight, some of them still look very similar and some are so similar that a microscope is needed to study their genitalia to determine to which species they belong. Bushbrowns, satyrs and other browns are also a difficult group, especially in the dry season when many of their distinguishing eye-markings shrink to hardly noticeable dots.
Butterflies never eat, but suck nectar from flowers or minerals and wet soil or dung. Females are seen less often that the males. They have less time to flutter about as they are busy propagating the species.
A few butterflies, such as the Bhutan Glory and the Kaiser-i-Hind are rare and internationally protected. In Bhutan, collection of butterflies does not appear to be much of a problem. The man natural predators of butterflies are spiders, lizards and birds. Nature has provided protection to butterflies against predators, which include scary eyes on the wings, fake heads and antennae-like tails. Some butterflies are poisonous, bad tasting or foul-smelling (Yellow Costers). A few species have mimicked some of the poisonous species in order to protect themselves from predators.
The best places to look for butterflies are gardens, sun-exposed slopes, forest clearings and valleys with small streams. In order to take photographs of butterflies, one should have a camera with a close-up setting. There is a small booklet comprising 210 pictures of 122 species of butterflies in Bhutan which helps in identifying.
By: Piet van der Poel, Former advisor to the Bumdeling Wildlife Sanctuary, mountain biker, trekker and amateur lepidopterist.