Proc. Sem. “Wonderful world of Insects”, 3 rd Dec 2008 66 Seasonality of Swallowtail butterfly community (Lepidoptera: Papilionidae) of Siruvani forest, Western Ghats, Southern India Arun, P.R Green Alternatives, H2/16 Hillside Colony, Vikhroli (W), Mumbai 79. e-mail- dr.prarun@gmail.com Abstract: The present paper describes the seasonality in the swallowtail butterfly community of a natural forest of Western Ghats, in Southern India. The population trends of butterflies were monitored for two years using transect counting method as a part of the doctoral research work by the Author (Arun 2000). Of the 19 species of swallowtails found in the Western Ghats, 13 species, including three primarily evergreen species were represented in the mixed deciduous forest of Siruvani. Papilio polytes and Pachliopta hector were the most common species, while Graphium nomius and Papilio helenus were the most rare. Papilio dravidarum, restricted mostly to the evergreen forests was also present in the area during certain months. The swallowtails were most abundant in the area during the North-east monsoon season with peak abundance recorded during the month of November. Lowest population levels were recorded during the months of April and July. The result shows that the temporal fluctuations in the abundance of Papilionidae corresponded well with that of the overall butterfly community of the area, suggesting that the abundance of swallowtails might as well be considered as an indicator of the general abundance of the butterfly community of the area as well. Keywords: Papilionidae, seasonality, Western Ghats, Transect count, indicator species Introduction Seasonal patterns in abundance is an important aspect of the butterfly ecology with major conservation implications. The temporal patterns in the Swallowtail communities are controlled by various ecological determinants and are known for their value as an important ecological indicator group . The Western Ghats mountain range is one of the two biodiversity hotspots represented in India and represent around a quarter of India’s butterfly diversity. The southern part of this mountain range wherein the present study was conducted is known for its high alpha diversity of butterflies (Gaonkar 1996). Unlike other components of the insect community of this mountain, the butterflies are well documented from this mountain range (Gaonkar 1996)especially from the southern parts such as the Nilgiris ((Wynter-Blyth 1944; Larsen 1987b; Larsen 1987c; Larsen 1987d; Larsen 1988; Mathew 1996; Arun 2000). Checklists of butterflies are also available from many areas . However most of these studies were restricted in time and were practically species inventory surveys of different areas. Only a few studies (Arun 2003) have attempted the temporal aspects of butterfly assemblages from Western Ghats(Kunte 1997). The present paper describes the Swallowtail butterfly community of the Siruvani Forests of the Western Ghats. Swallowtails are true butterflies belonging to the family Papilionidae. Most of them have a tail like backward extension of the hind wings, which has earned them their common name- swallowtails-. These are an important group of butterflies, well known for their conspicuously large sizes and aesthetic value, which has made them the most coveted and highly sought-after butterflies for the butterfly collectors around the world. Many of them including the Southern birdwing (Troides minos Cramer) of Western Ghats are listed in the CITES Appendices (Convention On International Trade In Endangered Species Of Wild Fauna And Flora) and are of high conservation priority. The Papilionid butterflies of the area are also characterised by their high degree of endemicity compared to other groups of butterflies. Of the total 330 butterflies reported from the Western Ghats only 20% are endemics (to the region of Peninsular India and Srilanka), while it is 42% in Papilionidae (Gaonkar 1996). Of the two sub families and 107 species of swallowtails present in India, only one subfamily and 19 species are represented in the Western Ghats (Larsen 1987a). Out of this five species are exclusively endemic to the Peninsular India and other three species are shared endemics of Peninsular India and Srilanka. The present paper describes the status, seasonality and conservation importance of the swallowtail butterflies of the moist deciduous forest of Siruvani in the southern Western Ghats of India based on a two-year study from 1994-1996. Study area The moist deciduous forests of Siruvani falling between 10 o 56’ - 58’ N and 76 o 41’ - 45’ E in the Boluvampatti Reserve Forest located in the foothills of Western Ghats about 35 km west of Coimbator, Tamil Nadu, South India was the selected study area. The area receives good rainfall during both the North-East and South-West Monsoons. The mean annual rainfall of the area during the study period was 2092mm, much higher than that generally received by Moist deciduous zones (Champion and Seth 1968), owing to the closeness of the study area to one of the core zone evergreen forests of the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve.