# List of butterflies of the Western Ghats
The butterflies of the [Western Ghats](https://www.edgepedia.org/western-ghats), a mountain range along India's west coast, form a documented fauna of roughly 335 to 353 species, of which about 41 are endemic to the range. Recent checklists place the fauna at 337 species including 41 endemics[1](https://www.entomon.in/index.php/Entomon/article/view/1501), while a synthesis of 273 peer-reviewed references, including historical records, found 353 species[2](https://www.researchgate.net/publication/383667647_THE_BUTTERFLIES_OF_WESTERN_GHATS_THEIR_STATUS_AND_DISTRIBUTION); an earlier Kerala-focused review used a figure of 335[3](https://threatenedtaxa.org/index.php/JoTT/article/view/7974). The differences reflect ongoing taxonomic revision, including the elevation of several Western Ghats taxa to species level[1](https://www.entomon.in/index.php/Entomon/article/view/1501).
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Species total | 337 species with 41 endemics on the current checklist[1](https://www.entomon.in/index.php/Entomon/article/view/1501); 353 species across 273 references in a 2022 synthesis[2](https://www.researchgate.net/publication/383667647_THE_BUTTERFLIES_OF_WESTERN_GHATS_THEIR_STATUS_AND_DISTRIBUTION) |
| Latitudinal gradient | Southern and Central Western Ghats each hold 324 species (35 endemics); the Northern Ghats hold 255 species (13 endemics)[2](https://www.researchgate.net/publication/383667647_THE_BUTTERFLIES_OF_WESTERN_GHATS_THEIR_STATUS_AND_DISTRIBUTION) |
| Richest state | Kerala, with 328 species and 40 Western Ghats endemics: 19 Papilionidae, 32 Pieridae, 97 Nymphalidae, 2 Riodinidae, 96 Lycaenidae, 82 Hesperiidae[1](https://www.entomon.in/index.php/Entomon/article/view/1501) |
| Protection status | Fewer than 7% of Western Ghats butterflies are on the IUCN Red List and only 21% are protected under the WLPA 1972 and its 2022 amendment[2](https://www.researchgate.net/publication/383667647_THE_BUTTERFLIES_OF_WESTERN_GHATS_THEIR_STATUS_AND_DISTRIBUTION) |
| Richest single site | Silent Valley National Park and environs: 290 species, 87% of the Western Ghats fauna, with 31 strictly endemic species[3](https://threatenedtaxa.org/index.php/JoTT/article/view/7974) |
| Habitat association | Evergreen forest habitats support the maximum number of species endemic to the Western Ghats[4](https://biotaxa.org/cl/article/view/8.6.1197) |
| Notable endemic | Sahyadri Birdwing (*Troides minos*), the most widespread endemic in a southern Western Ghats grid study, occurring in 19 of 30 sampled grids[5](https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s41936-021-00221-2) |
## Composition of the fauna
The fauna spans the six butterfly families of the region. At [Silent Valley National Park](https://www.edgepedia.org/silent-valley-national-park) in Kerala, the recorded assemblage of 290 species comprised 19 [Papilionidae](https://www.edgepedia.org/papilionidae), 26 Pieridae, 85 [Nymphalidae](https://www.edgepedia.org/nymphalidae), one Riodinidae, 82 Lycaenidae, and 77 Hesperiidae[3](https://threatenedtaxa.org/index.php/JoTT/article/view/7974). Nymphalidae is generally the most species-rich family; at Nagarahole (Rajiv Gandhi) National Park in Karnataka it was represented by 63 of 210 species, followed by Lycaenidae (57), Hesperiidae (49), Pieridae (23), Papilionidae (16), and Riodinidae (2)[6](https://threatenedtaxa.org/index.php/JoTT/article/view/9396).
**Endemism is concentrated in the south.** The Southern and Central Western Ghats each hold 35 endemic species against 13 in the Northern Ghats[2](https://www.researchgate.net/publication/383667647_THE_BUTTERFLIES_OF_WESTERN_GHATS_THEIR_STATUS_AND_DISTRIBUTION). A four-year grid-based study in the southern Western Ghats recorded 393 records of 60 endemic species along 102 transects, and found that a study area covering 2.14% of the Western Ghats hotspot harbored almost 63.82% of the region's endemic butterfly species[5](https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s41936-021-00221-2). The highest corrected weighted endemism index in that study was 14.44, in grid 25, followed by grids 24 (12.06) and 19 (11.86)[5](https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s41936-021-00221-2).
## Notable sites and their lists
**Silent Valley National Park**, Kerala, is the richest documented locality: 269 species inside the core and 21 more in the buffer zone give 290 species in aggregate, 87% of the Western Ghats fauna and 89% of Kerala's. Thirty-one species are strictly endemic to the Western Ghats, 63 are listed in schedules of the Wildlife (Protection) Act 1972, and 19 appear in IUCN Red Lists[3](https://threatenedtaxa.org/index.php/JoTT/article/view/7974).
**Eravikulam National Park**, Kerala, holds 198 species, 59.10% of the Western Ghats fauna. Thirty-five species show some level of endemicity and 22 are strictly endemic. The park holds the Near Threatened *Parantica nilgiriensis* and montane grassland-shola dependent endemics such as *Neptis palnica*, *Telinga davisoni*, *T. oculus*, *Ypthima chenu*, *Arnetta mercara*, *Baracus hampsoni*, *Thoressa astigmata*, and *Caltoris canaraica*, which are primarily grass feeders[7](https://threatenedtaxa.org/index.php/JoTT/article/view/7840).
**Nagarahole National Park**, Karnataka, in the [Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve](https://www.edgepedia.org/nilgiri-biosphere-reserve), has an updated checklist of 210 species, of which 35 are listed under Wildlife (Protection) Act schedules and four are Western Ghats endemics; 20 species (10%) are classified as very rare there[6](https://threatenedtaxa.org/index.php/JoTT/article/view/9396).
**Other documented lists** include the Sálim Ali Centre for Ornithology and Natural History campus at Anaikatty, Tamil Nadu, with 178 species (55 Nymphalidae, 54 [Lycaenidae](https://www.edgepedia.org/lycaenidae), 29 [Hesperiidae](https://www.edgepedia.org/hesperiidae), 22 Pieridae, 17 Papilionidae, 1 [Riodinidae](https://www.edgepedia.org/riodinidae))[8](https://www.entomon.in/index.php/Entomon/article/view/1251), and a compilation of 30 localities across the Northern Western Ghats between 15°N and 20°N that produced 191 species in 117 genera and six families[9](https://kjssc.somaiya.edu.in/en/view-publication/373?id=140066&type=research). Priority areas for endemics identified in the southern Western Ghats study include Vazhachal and Nelliampathy Reserve Forests, Parambikulam Wildlife Sanctuary/Tiger Reserve, and Peechi-Vazhani Wildlife Sanctuary[5](https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s41936-021-00221-2).
## Conservation status and threats
Legal protection covers a minority of the fauna: fewer than 7% of Western Ghats butterflies are on the IUCN Red List and only 21% are protected under the WLPA 1972 and The Wild Life (Protection) Amendment Act 2022[2](https://www.researchgate.net/publication/383667647_THE_BUTTERFLIES_OF_WESTERN_GHATS_THEIR_STATUS_AND_DISTRIBUTION). In Kerala's checklist of 328 species, 22 are on the IUCN Red List, of which two are Near Threatened and the rest Least Concern[1](https://www.entomon.in/index.php/Entomon/article/view/1501).
Endemic species with specialized habitat requirements are considered at high risk from climatic and anthropogenic disturbances[5](https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s41936-021-00221-2). Even well-protected areas carry pressures: Eravikulam faces surrounding tea estates, controlled burning of primary grasslands managed for mammals, and natural forest fires, all of which can affect montane grassland and shola-dependent butterflies[7](https://threatenedtaxa.org/index.php/JoTT/article/view/7840).
## Taxonomic change
The list continues to grow and change. A 2024 Zootaxa paper described *Amathusia travancorica* sp. nov. (Satyrinae) and *Athyma inara sahyadriensis* ssp. nov. (Limenitidinae) from the Western Ghats, and synonymized *Pantoporia mera* Swinhoe, 1917 with *Athyma inara* Westwood, 1850[10](https://mapress.com/zt/article/view/zootaxa.5543.3.3). The 2025 Kerala monograph provided taxonomic evidence for splitting the two Western Ghats *Argynnis* into *A. hybrida* Evans, 1912 and *A. castetsi* Oberthür, 1891, and for elevating Western Ghats taxa including *Bindahara moorei*, *Ancema sudica*, *Halpe hindu*, and *Hyarotis coorga* to species level; it also described *Tajuria maculata sureshi* ssp. nov. from Kerala[1](https://www.entomon.in/index.php/Entomon/article/view/1501).
## References
1. [Sadasivan, K. et al. (2025). Monograph Series 1: The butterflies (Lepidoptera, Rhopalocera) of Kerala: Status and distribution. ENTOMON 49(5).](https://www.entomon.in/index.php/Entomon/article/view/1501)
2. [Sadasivan, K. & Sengupta, A. (2022). The Butterflies of Western Ghats: Their Status and Distribution. Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society.](https://www.researchgate.net/publication/383667647_THE_BUTTERFLIES_OF_WESTERN_GHATS_THEIR_STATUS_AND_DISTRIBUTION)
3. [Sadasivan, K. et al. (2023). Butterflies of Silent Valley National Park and its environs, Western Ghats of Kerala, India. Journal of Threatened Taxa 15(2).](https://threatenedtaxa.org/index.php/JoTT/article/view/7974)
4. [Padhye, A.D., Shelke, S. & Dahanukar, N. (2012). Distribution and composition of butterfly species along the latitudinal and habitat gradients of the Western Ghats of India. Check List 8(6).](https://biotaxa.org/cl/article/view/8.6.1197)
5. [Endemism-based butterfly conservation: insights from a study in Southern Western Ghats, India. The Journal of Basic and Applied Zoology (2021).](https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s41936-021-00221-2)
6. [Santhosh, S. et al. (2025). Butterfly diversity in Nagarahole (Rajiv Gandhi) National Park of Karnataka, India: an updated checklist. Journal of Threatened Taxa 17(10).](https://threatenedtaxa.org/index.php/JoTT/article/view/9396)
7. [Sadasivan, K. et al. (2022). Butterflies of Eravikulam National Park and its environs in the Western Ghats of Kerala, India. Journal of Threatened Taxa 14(6).](https://threatenedtaxa.org/index.php/JoTT/article/view/7840)
8. [Ashiq, P.P. et al. (2024). A checklist of butterflies of SACON campus, Anaikatty, Western Ghats, India. ENTOMON 49(3), 309–326.](https://www.entomon.in/index.php/Entomon/article/view/1251)
9. [Butterflies of Northern Western Ghats: Compilation of checklists. Somaiya Vidyavihar University.](https://kjssc.somaiya.edu.in/en/view-publication/373?id=140066&type=research)
10. [Kunte, K. & Basu, D.N. (2024). Two new taxa of brush-footed butterflies (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae) from the Western Ghats biodiversity hotspot, southern India. Zootaxa 5543(3), 343–367.](https://mapress.com/zt/article/view/zootaxa.5543.3.3)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Life and health › Animals › Invertebrates › Arthropods › Insects › Butterflies and moths › Butterflies and moths by region*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 21, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Last review: Oct 21, 2026*
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