Ecological Insights into Butterfly Diversity of Hari Ghel, Pakistan’s Himalayan Foothills
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.38211/joarps.2025.06.316Keywords:
Butterflies, Hari Ghel, Richness, Diversity,, HimalayanAbstract
Butterflies have long been known as symbols of beauty. This study, conducted in Hari Ghel, Azad Jammu and Kashmir, from January 2020 to December 2021, examines the diversity and ecology of various butterfly species. Different research methods were employed, categorized into two types: direct observations and indirect observation methods. The study shown a rich diversity of butterflies in Hari Ghel, with a total of 239 specimens collected from various localities. Ultimately, 27 different species belonging to six families and 20 genera were identified. The research used a variety of diversity measures to assess butterfly biodiversity, including dominance (0.06522), Simpson Diversity Index (0.9348), Shannon Diversity Index (2.96), Evenness Index (0.7146), and Margalef Index (4.748). Most dominant species of butterflies in the study area are Painted lady, Common peacock, Blue pansy, Common Mormon, Common wall, Indian fritillary, Common yellow swallowtail, Great windmill and Common windmill.
Downloads
References
Abbasi, A. G. M., Bashir, S. M., Adil, S., & Awan, A. (2020). Diversity and ethnomedicinal uses of Butterflies in district Bagh, Azad Jammu and Kashmir, Pakistan. Briefings in Biology, 1(3), 1-8.
Abbasi, A. G. M., Nazer, S., Awan, A., Khan, N., Hamid, N., Abbasi, A. R., & Altaf, M. (2019). Assessment of diversity of Butterflies in Dhirkot, Azad Jammu and Kashmir, Pakistan. Journal of WIldlife and Ecology, 3(3), 10-17.
Adams, J. M., Kang, C., & June-Wells, M. (2014). Are tropical butterflies more colorful? Ecological Research, 29, 685-691. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11284-014-1154-1
Altaf, M., & Umair, M. (2022). Ecology of Mountain Ranges in Pakistan-a review. Journal of WIldlife and Ecology, 6(3).
Babar, M., & Kanwal, R. (2021). Wildlife as a bioindicator-a review Journal of WIldlife and Ecology, 5(3), 139-145.
Bashir, T., & Saddam, B. (2024). Altitudinal Distribution of Moths (Lepidoptera) in District Bagh, Azad Jammu and Kashmir. Journal of WIldlife and Ecology, 8(2), 133-143.
Bibi, M., Bibi, S., Akhtar, N., Ullah, Z., Khan, M. F., & Qureshi, I. Z. (2022). Butterfly (Order: Lepidoptera) species Richness, diversity and distribution in different localities of Battagram, Pakistan. Saudi Journal of Biological Sciences, 29(3), 1853-1857. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sjbs.2021.10.039
Bibi, S. S., Minhas, R. A., Awan, M. S., Ali, U., & Dar, N. I. (2013). Study of Ethno-Carnivore relationship in Dhirkot, Azad Jammu and Kashmir (Pakistan). Journal of Animal and Plant Sciences, 23, 854-859.
Chhangani, G., Mahla, M., Swaminathan, R., Jain, H., Ahir, K., & Sharma, K. (2022). Diversity of Insect Fauna Associated with Summer and Monsoon Cowpea [Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walp.]. Legume Research: An International Journal, 45(6). DOI: https://doi.org/10.18805/LR-4529
DRU. (2007). District Profile Bagh District Reconstruction Unit, Bagh and Earthquake.
Haribal, M. (2000). The Butterflies of Sikkim Himalaya and their natural history.
Haroon, M. S., & Ahmad, T. (2013). Diversity of butterfly fauna of Union Council Koaz Bahram Dheri. Pakistan. Journal of Entomology and Zoology Studies, 1(6), 113-117.
Hassan, S. A. (1994). Butterflies of Islamabad and Murree Hills.
Hussain, A. I., & Tanveer. (2023). The Hidden Threat: Investigating the Effects of Triazophos Insecticide on Kidney of Rock Pigeon. Journal of WIldlife and Ecology, 7(2).
Imtiaz, K., Bibi, A., & Khan, A. (2023). Ethnoecological studies of plants collected from district Bagh, Azad Jammu and Kashmir, Pakistan. Journal of WIldlife and Ecology, 7(2).
Jacob, D. E., Nеlson, I. U., Okweche, S. I., Oko, P. A., & Izah, S. C. (2024). Suitability of Mammals Indigenous to the Global South as Bioindicator Species for Assessing Environmental Health. In Biomonitoring of Pollutants in the Global South (pp. 451-484). Springer. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-97-1658-6_13
Jahangeer, M., Awan, M. S., Saleem, M. M., Mughal, T., Arshad, M., Bashir, M.,…Minhas, R. A. (2025). Biodiversity and Spatial Distribution of Dragonflies in the State Biosphere Reserve: Ghamot National Park, Neelum Valley, Pakistan. Journal of Wildlife and Ecology, 9(1), 22-30.
Khan, M., Nasim, M., Khan, M. R., & Rafi, M. (2004). Diversity of butterflies from district Muzaffarabad, Azad Kashmir. Pakistan Journal of Biological Sciences, 7(3), 324-327. DOI: https://doi.org/10.3923/pjbs.2004.324.327
Khan, M. R., Rafi, M. A., Munir, M., Hussain, S., Baig, M. W., & Khan, M. W. (2007). Biodiversity of Butterflies from Districts Kotli, Mirpur and Bhimber, Azad Kashmir. Pakistan journal of Zoology, 39(1), 27.
Kocher, S. D., & Williams, E. H. (2000). The diversity and abundance of North American butterflies vary with habitat disturbance and geography. Journal of biogeography, 27(4), 785-794. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1365-2699.2000.00454.x
Kunakh, O., Volkova, A., Tutova, G., & Zhukov, O. (2023). Diversity of diversity indices: which diversity measure is better? Biosystems Diversity, 31(2), 131-146. DOI: https://doi.org/10.15421/012314
Mangi, A., Panhwar, W. A., Shaikh, A. M., Sirohi, M. H., et al. (2023). Biodiversity of Butterflies (Lepidoptera): a Regional Study of Larkana, Sindh, Pakistan. Journal of Applied Research in Plant Sciences, 4(1), 378–384. DOI: 10.38211/joarps.2023.04.01.46 DOI: https://doi.org/10.38211/joarps.2023.04.01.46
Nijhout, H. F. (1981). The color patterns of butterflies and moths. Scientific American, 245(5), 140-153. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/scientificamerican1181-140
Pallottini, M., Goretti, E., Argenti, C., La Porta, G., Tositti, L., Dinelli, E.,…Selvaggi, R. (2023). Butterflies as bioindicators of metal contamination. Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 30(42), 95606-95620. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-023-28930-x
Parmesan, C. (2003). Butterflies as bioindicators for climate change effects. Butterflies: ecology and evolution taking flight, 541-560.
Rafi, M. A. (2000). Papilionid (swallowtails) butterflies of Pakistan. Pakistan Agricultural Research Center.
Rahman, U., Mahmood, K., & Arif, T. (2011). Murree Biodiversity Park - Baseline Report on Entomofauna.
Shehzad, M., Yousaf, H., Majid, A., Abdullah, M., Shah, S. M., & Din, S. u. (2025). Spiders (Arachnids) of District Kohat, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. Journal of Wildlife and Ecology, 9(1), 43-51.
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Mehwish Altaf, Asma Mustafa, Babu Saddam, Maryam Faiz, Muhammad Altaf
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
