Dusted Apollo

About Dusted Apollo:

• It is an extremely rare butterfly and has never been photographed before in Himachal Pradesh.
• Distribution range: It is found from Ladakh to West Nepal and it flies between 3,500 to 4,800 meters in the inner Himalayas.
• Appearance

o It closely resembles Ladakh Banded Apollo (Parnnasius stoliczkanus) but the discal band on the upper fore wing in dusted apollo is complete and extends from costa to vein one while this discal band is incomplete and extends only up to vein four in Ladakh Banded Apollo.

o Moreover, the Dark marginal band on the hind wings is much narrower in Dusted Apollo while it is broad in Ladakh Banded Apollo.

• Another rare species Regal Apollo (Parnnasius charltonius) was also photographed at Manimahesh, which is protected under Schedule II of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972.
• There are 11 Apollo species recorded from Himachal Pradesh and five of them are declared as Scheduled species.
• It is an encouraging indication of the flourishing diversity of Apollo butterflies in the region.
• Threats: Apollos are considered commercially important butterflies and they fetch high prices in the poaching industry.
• Most of the Apollo butterflies are now endangered and need immediate attention for their conservation and protection.
• Conservation measures:

o Community awareness about poaching and the importance of these species may play an important role in their conservation.

o Also, establishing butterfly parks and conservation reserves in the State should be on the priority list of the government. 

Q1: What is the role of Butterfly?

These are increasingly being recognised as valuable environmental indicators, both for their rapid and sensitive responses to subtle habitat or climatic changes and as representatives for the diversity and responses of other wildlife.

Source:Dusted Apollo, a rare high-altitude butterfly, sighted for the first time in Himachal’s Chamba