Butterflies on verge of extinction

By Ali Raza
LAHORE: THE population of colourful butterflies has drastically reduced in the provincial capital mainly due to the increasing level of pollution.
This was revealed in a recent study carried out by the Environment Protection Department (EPD), Punjab. The study was an attempt to gauge the impact of rising pollution on the population of butterflies in the provincial capital.
Officials said a meeting of the officers of the EPD, Punjab, was held on March 26, 2010 under the Chairmanship of secretary of the department, Sajjad Saleem, while its Director General Dr Shagufta was also present. The meeting discussed the issue of reduction in number of butterflies in various parks of Lahore.
The EPD secretary deputed a team of the biodiversity section of the department to visit various parks of Lahore and calculate number of butterflies and to observe types/colours and size of the butterflies. The study, he said, would help establish the impact of pollution on butterflies.
Experts say butterflies play a significant role in the ecosystem and are used as indicators of the health of the environment. They say butterflies’ most important role in the environment healthy is pollination of plants. The diet of adult butterflies consists mostly of nectar from flowers and while gathering nectar, they pick pollen and transfer it to neighbuoring flowers and plants, continuing the life cycle of plants that other animals depended on for survival.
Experts are of the opinion that as caterpillars, some butterflies eat aphids in addition to leaves, removing the destructive aphids and help control their population. Some adult butterflies eat rotten fruit, helping to break it down and assisting in the composting process. At the end of their short life, butterflies help the environment simply by providing nourishment to other creatures. Butterflies are an important food source for many animals that play a vital part in the food chain and in the environment, i.e. bats, snakes, birds, lizards, frogs and etc.
Officials said the EPD’s biodiversity team visited six major public parks in the provincial capital, i.e. Lawrence Garden (Bagh-e-Jinnah), Botanical Garden of Government College University, Model Town Park, Gulshan-e-Iqbal Park, Racecourse Park (Jilani Park) and Shalimar Gardens to study butterflies.
Data and statistics, collected by the team, reveal that colorful butterflies are vanishing from these six gardens of the provincial capital, discovering that only five species are seen in the parks. The five species are: Cabbage Butterfly (scientific name Pieris Rapae), Little Yellow, Little Sulphur (Eurema Lisa), Monarch (Danaus Plexippu), Violet Copper (Lycaena Helle) and Iolas Blue (Iolana Iolas/Debilitata).
The team also conducted interviews of gardeners and visitors who stated that they observed white butterflies while other colorful butterflies are scarcely seen. The proof of the fact is that the most common butterfly, which was found in all the six gardens was Cabbage Butterfly (Pieris Rapae). In Lawrence Garden the team found 26 Cabbage Butterflies, 32 in GCU Botanical Garden, 67 in Model Town Park, 11 in Gulshan-e-Iqbal Park, 39 in Racecourse Park and 35 in Shalimar Gardens.
Team members said that Cabbage Butterfly is a small to medium sized butterfly species of the Yellows and Whites family Pieridae. It has creamy white colour with black tips to the forewings. Females also have two black spots in the center of the forewings. Its under wings are yellowish with black speckles. It is sometimes mistaken for a moth due to its plain-looking appearance.
The second most common butterfly found in all the six parks was Monarch as the team found two Monarch in Lawrence Garden, four in Botanical Garden GCU, seven in Model Town Park, nine in Gulshan-e-Iqbal Park, eight in Racecourse Park and 10 in Shalimar Gardens.
The upper side of wings of Monarch is tawny orange, the veins and margins are black, and in the margins are two series of small white spots. The fore wings also have a few orange spots near the tip. The underside is similar but the tips of the fore wings and hind wings are yellow-brown instead of tawny-orange and the white spots are larger. The male has a black patch of androconial scales responsible for dispersing pheromones on the hind wings, and the black veins on its wing are narrower than the female’s. The male is also slightly larger.
The third most seen specie was Iolas Blue, which was found 16 in number in four gardens, i.e. Model Town Park (2), Gulshan-e-Iqbal (4), Racecourse (4) and Shalimar Gardens (6). The underside of this species is rather unmarked with only the post discal line of spots being of note. The upper side is a uniform blue with fine black borders in the male and broad black borders in the female.
The biodiversity team of the EPD found 13 Little Yellow, Little Sulphur butterflies in four parks, i.e. Model Town Park (6), Gulshan-e-Iqbal (1), Racecourse (2) and Shalimar Gardens (5). The team found only one Violet Copper in Model Town Park. The team in its finding stated that there were about more than 400 species of butterflies and moths in the country.