List of butterflies of Pakistan

A Papilio polyctor in the lower Himalayas of Pakistan. This butterfly is found along the humid subtropical forests of the Himalayas.

Pakistan has a high diversity of biomes and landscapes, from the Floodplains of the Indus River consisting of xeric shrublands and tropical dry broadleaf forests to the dry western areas of the Iranian plateau and ranges like the Safed Koh, Hindu Kush, Ras Koh Range, as well as the Himalayas up north consisting of subtropical moist broadleaf forests, subtropical coniferous forests, temperate coniferous forest, temperate broadleaf and mixed forests and up to the Northwestern Himalayan alpine shrub and meadows, further up are the Karakoram, Pamir, upper slopes of the Hindu Kush and the Tibetan plateau forming Alpine steppe and tundra. All of this paired with two Biodiversity hotspots (Himalayas and Mountains of Central Asia) result in an incredibly high diversity with both the Indomalayan and Palearctic realms.

There are thought to be over 400 species of butterfly in the country.[1] Apollos inhabit the high altitude cold areas, with the hypermnestra helios being found in the western deserts of Balochistan. Species like the papilio polyctors, kallima inachus and papilio protenor inhabit the dense jungles in the lower Himalayan subtropical moist forests. The Papilio demoleus can survive in a variety of biomes from dry to wet. The byblia ilithyia and pachliopta hector occur in the southernmost parts of the country in tropical grasslands and shrublands. The pachliopta aristolochiae and byasa dasarada are found in the temperate forests in the Himalayas. The papilio machaon is found throughout the Himalayas.

The following is a list of the butterflies of Pakistan.

Family Papilionidae (Apollo butterflies and swallowtails)

Subfamily: Parnassiinae (Apollo butterflies)

Common Mormon
Common blue Apollo (Parnassius hardwickii)
Banded Apollo (Parnassius delphius)

Subfamily: Papilioninae (swallowtails, peacocks and mimes)

Common mime (Papilio clytia)

Family Pieridae (whites and yellows)

Subfamily: Pierinae (whites)

Subfamily: Coliadinae (yellows)

Family Nymphalidae (brush-footed butterflies)

Indian purple emperor

This huge family is represented in Pakistan by following 11 subfamilies:

Subfamily: Charaxinae (leafwings)

Subfamily: Apaturinae (emperors and allies)

Subfamily: Calinaginae (freaks)

Subfamily: Biblidinae (castors etc.)

Ariadne merione in Taxila

Subfamily: Nymphalinae (nymphs, fritillaries, pansies, eggflies, etc.)

Subfamily: Cyrestinae (maps)

Subfamily: Pseudergolis (tabbies)

Subfamily: Limenitidinae (sergeants, sailers, barons, etc.)

Subfamily: Heliconiinae (heliconians or longwings)

Subfamily: Danainae (milkweed butterflies)

Subfamily: Libytheinae (beaks)

Subfamily: Satyrinae (browns)

Family Lycaenidae (gossamer-winged butterflies)

Subfamily: Polyommatinae (blues)

Subfamily: Lycaeninae (coppers and sapphires)

Subfamily: Theclinae (hairstreaks and allies)

Subfamily: Aphnaeinae

Family Riodinidae (metalmarks)

Subfamily: Nemeobiinae (punches)

Family Hesperiidae (skippers)

Subfamily: Coeliadinae (awls)

Subfamily: Pyrginae (spread-winged skippers: flats and angles)

Subfamily: Hesperinae (grass skippers: swifts and darts etc.)

References

  • Pakistan Agriculture Research Council
  • Evans, W. H. (1927). The Identification of Indian Butterflies. The Diocesan Press, Madras: Bombay Natural History Society.
  • Koçak, A. O & Kemal, M. (12 July 2014). "Preliminary annotated checklist of the species recorded in Pakistan". Cesa News. Ankara. (96).
  • iNaturalist observations: Lepidoptera, Pakistan
  • First record of two Nymphalid butterflies from Pakistan
  • Rewilding Indus Library
  • Naz, F.; Ilyas, M.; Ashfaque, M. & Shahzad, A. (2010). "The genus Junonia (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae) in Pakistan". Sarhad Journal of Agriculture. 26 (2): 267-270.
  • Pages, J. (15 November 2007). "A new Pseudochazara from Pakistan". Nota Lepidopterologica. 30 (2): 361–365. ISSN 0342-7536.
  • Pages, J. & Charmeux, J. F. (1 June 2004). "Une nouvelle espèce du genre Turanana du Pakistan (Lepidoptera: Lycaenidae); Phegea. 32 (2): 63-69.
  • Van Gasse, Paul Butterflies of India – Annotated Checklist.
  • Roberts, T. J. (2001). Butterflies of Pakistan, Oxford Univ. Press, 5-Bangalore Town, Shahra-e-Faisal, Karachi, Pakistan.
  • Ashfaq, M. et al. (2013). "DNA barcode analysis of butterfly species from Pakistan points towards regional endemism". Molecular Ecology Resources. 13 (5): 832-43. doi:10.1111/1755-0998.12131
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