Rare butterflies documented in city nature challenge

Time of India

07-05-2025

Panaji:
TOI
Rare butterfly species — the Aberrant Oakblue and Banded Royal — were among the standout finds in Goa during the City Nature Challenge (CNC), 2025, that was held last week. The Banded Royal, known for its elusive behaviour and forest habitat, and the shimmering Aberrant Oakblue, a seldom-seen species, were both documented by observer Devesh Naik, who also emerged as one of Goa's top contributors in the event.'The sightings of these exciting additions to Goa's butterfly records are reminders of the hidden wonders that still await discovery in Goa,' said Aditya Kakodkar, state coordinator – Goa for WWF-India. 'The documentation of such biodiversity is very important because without data we cannot fathom the amount of biodiversity or its destruction,' he toldThe CNC encourages participants to observe and document biodiversity by capturing photos of living organisms in their surroundings and uploading them via the 'iNaturalist' app. Given Goa's compact size, the entire state was counted as a single city for the challenge.Goa proved to be a haven for biodiversity, emerging among the top performers in the global biodiversity documentation event that ran from April 25 to 28. A total of 20,265 nature observations and 1,927 species were recorded as Goa ranked fourth in India for most observations and fifth for most species.One hundred and fifty-five Goan participants joined the effort, contributing to a vibrant mosaic of flora and fauna that included birds, butterflies, insects, and plants. Leading the charge was Suhani Sahani with 2,224 observations, followed closely by Devesh Naik with 2,167 and Ankush Sahani with 1,740. In terms of species diversity, Devesh Naik again led the charts with 481 unique species, followed by Vithal Naik (405) and Anvay Chati (332).'We need to encourage more people to document the biodiversity of Goa and city nature walks are a great way to do that,' Kakodkar said.The event was coordinated by zoologists Ankush Sahani and Vaishnavi Rajesh Naik, with support from Lisha Da Costa, senior programme officer with WWF-India, who managed the initiative locally.The CNC, originally launched by the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County and the California Academy of Sciences, has evolved into a global initiative where cities compete to record the highest number of species and observations. This year, Hyderabad led the Indian cities with a record 33,989 observations, while Nanakmatta in Uttarakhand topped the species count with 2,574.