Volume 26, Issue 77, January - June, 2025

Initial Colonization of Red Pierrot Talicada nyseus nyseus (Guérin- Méneville, 1843) (Lepidoptera: Lycaenidae: Polyommatinae) in Sikkim, Eastern Himalaya, India

Samjetsabam Bharati Devi¹, Toyesh Sharma², Ram Kumar Rai³, Jatishwor Singh Irungbam⁴, Kumar Manish⁵, Kishor Sharma^6♦

¹Department of Botany, School of Basic Sciences, Shri Ramasamy Memorial (SRM) University Sikkim, Tadong, Gangtok-737102, Sikkim, India
²Holy Cross School, Tadong, Gangtok-737102, Sikkim, India
³Khechuperi near lake side, Gyalshing- 737113, Sikkim, India
⁴Institute of Microbiology, AV ČR, Centrum ALGATECH, Novohradská 237, Opatovický mlýn, 379 01, Třeboň, Czech Republic
⁵Jindal School of Environment and Sustainability; O.P. Jindal Global University, Sonepat-131001, Haryana, India
⁶Department of Zoology, School of Life Sciences, Sikkim University, Tadong, Gangtok-737102, Sikkim, India

^♦Corresponding Author
Department of Zoology, School of Life Sciences, Sikkim University, Tadong, Gangtok-737102, Sikkim, India

ABSTRACT

Sikkim forming part of the Himalaya biodiversity hotspot harbors more than half of the butterfly diversity of India. Since its first records from Uttarakhand two decades ago, Red Pierrot Talicada nyseus nyseus (Guérin-Méneville, 1843) have been reported from other parts of the Indian Himalayan region and Bhutan. We report new distribution records of T. n. nyseus from May 2002 to August 2024 and its initial colonization in Sikkim, Eastern Himalaya, India. We have reviewed past studies on its distribution, habitat, autecology, and colonization. The study also provides future research perspectives to understand better the sub-species, distribution, colonization, and autecology of T. nyseus and their population monitoring within the Himalaya, NE India and elsewhere in its geographical range.

Keywords: Biodiversity hotspot, Butterfly, Indicator species, Indian Himalayan Region, Population monitoring, Range expansion

Species, 2025, 26(77), e7s1763

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DOI: https://doi.org/10.54905/disssi.v26i77.e7s1763

Published: 27 January 2025