October 2012 - Journal of Threatened Taxa

JoTT No t e 4(12): 3137–3160Butterflies (Lepidoptera) of DibangValley, Mishmi Hills, ArunachalPradesh, IndiaMonsoon Jyoti GogoiCentre for Biodiversity and Natural Resource Conservation,Department of Ecology and Environmental Science, AssamUniversity, Silchar, Assam 788011, IndiaEmail: monsoonjyoti@gmail.comThe Mishmi Hills (95 0 49’–95 0 59’ N & 28 0 06’–28 0 23’E) are located in the eastern region of ArunachalPradesh. The altitude varies from 400–3568 m. Thehill range lies to the north of the Assam Valley.The major part of the Mishmi Hills is in the DibangValley districts of Arunachal Pradesh. The DibangValley districts have two divisions - Lower and UpperDibang Valley. The headquarters of the two districtsare Roing and Anini, respectively. Roing lies onthe plains near the Lohit River while Anini is at anelevation in the mountains and near the internationalborder with China. The valley is bounded on the northby China, on the east by Lohit District of ArunachalPradesh, on the west by Siang District of ArunachalPradesh and on the south by Tinsukia District ofAssam. Part of the Lower Dibang Valley (281.5km 2 )Date of publication (online): 10 October 2012Date of publication (print): 10 October 2012ISSN 0974-7907 (online) | 0974-7893 (print)Editor: Peter SmetacekManuscript details:Ms # o2975Received 25 October 2011Final received 14 September 2012Finally accepted 16 September 2012Citation: Gogoi, M.J. (2012). Butterflies (Lepidoptera) of Dibang Valley,Mishmi Hills, Arunachal Pradesh, India. Journal of Threatened Taxa 4(12):3137–3160.Copyright: © Monsoon Jyoti Gogoi 2012. Creative Commons Attribution3.0 Unported License. JoTT allows unrestricted use of this article in anymedium for non-profit purposes, reproduction and distribution by providingadequate credit to the authors and the source of publication.Acknowledgements: The work was undertaken by the author under NorthOrissa University, to complete fourth semester M.Sc. dissertation in Wildlifeand Conservation Biology. I am thankful to Ipra Mekola, an active wildlifeconservationist and respected person of Idu-mishmi community. Along withhim, I thank Kavi Angama, Chipra Mekola and Abidur Rahman. I also thankRakesh Saur who helped in preparing the map.OPEN ACCESS | FREE DOWNLOADis protected under Mehao WildlifeSanctuary (93 0 30’–95 0 45’N &28 0 05’–28 0 15’E) (MWS) (Image1).The Dibang River originates in the western partof China and flows through this valley in a northsouthdirection. It is one of the main tributaries of theBrahmaputra.The vegetation is characterized by tropicalevergreen forests (up to 900m), subtropical andtemperate forests (900–1800 m), temperate broad leafforest (1800–2800 m) and temperate conifer forest(2800–3500 m) (Champion & Seth 1968).MethodsStudy Area: 1. Sally Lake (Image 2): The Lake isabout 5km from Roing Town and lies at an altitude ofabout 400m. The lake is very close to the DeopaniRiver and is surrounded by hills. Small streams flowthrough the bamboo forest into the open areas. Thelake is protected under MWS.2. Deopani River Bed: The river bed remains drythroughout the year. The river gets its water fromthe streams originating in the surrounding hills nearDeopani. High elevation forest exists in this area. Theplains have secondary forest growth.3. Dibang River-bed (Image 3): It lies west of theMishmi Hills and is not under the jurisdiction of MSW.There are several small villages like Chidu. The vastgrassland of Nizamghat (elevation of 266m) is in thisarea.4. Tiwarigaon (Image 4a): A small village onthe way to Mayodia, lying at an elevation of around1300m. The place is the perfect place for the studyof high montane butterflies and is 28km from RoingTown.5. Mayodia pass (Image 4b): The area lies on theway to Anini and is about 56km from Roing Town.This area is the highest elevated point on the way fromRoing-Hunli at 2,666m and is distinguished by a coldrocky mountain.Survey methodsThe methodology involved checklist surveys onsunny days from 07 March–22 June, 2011 to determinethe maximum number of species. Visual search andJournal of Threatened Taxa | www.threatenedtaxa.org | October 2012 | 4(12): 3137–3160 3137