Two butterfly parks to be set up in Uttarakhand

DEHRADUN: Uttarakhand government has decided to develop two butterfly parks one each in Kumaon and Garhwal regions of the state which is home to over 500 species of the flying insect out of 1300 found in the country.

The decision of the forest department is in keeping with an announcement made by Chief Minister Harish Rawat on October 1 at a Wildlife week programme, Chief Conservator of Forest (Wildlife) Dhanajay Mohan said today.

One such park is being developed at Lacchiwala in Dehradun and the other at the Botanical Garden, Nainital, Mohan said, adding the two parks will become fully functional in two years.

Since butterflies lay their eggs on host plants and feed on nectar plants, seeds of both types of plants are being sowed on the two sites chosen for the projects, he said.

Uttarakhand is home to over 500 species of butterflies out of which over 100 species are found at Lacchiwala in Dehradun and more than 80 in Nainital, Mohan said.

Prominent among the butterfly species found in Uttarakhand are Indian Mormon, Spotted Swordtail, Lime Butterfly, Line Butterfly etc, the CCF said.