Arunachal’s State butterfly - Kaiser-i-Hind

Why in news?

• The State Cabinet of Arunachal Pradesh on 14^th November approved the large, brightly coloured Kaiser-i-Hind as the State butterfly

About Kaiser-i-Hind:

• Kaiser-i-Hind (Teinopalpus imperialis) literally means Emperor of India.
• This butterfly with a 90-120 mm wingspan is found in six States along the Eastern Himalayas at elevations from 6,000-10,000 feet in well-wooded terrain.
• The butterfly also flutters in Nepal, Bhutan, Myanmar, Laos, Vietnam and southern China.

Habitat:

• It is one of the very rare and elusive swallowtail butterflies which are found at medium and higher elevations.
• It flies high in the canopy of broad leaved temperate evergreen forests.

Protection Status:

• IUCN: Near Threatened
• CITES: Appendix II
• Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972: Schedule II

Other state butterflies:

• Maharashtra - Blue Mormon
• Uttarakhand - Common peacock
• Karnataka - Southern birdwings
• Kerala - Malabar Banded Peacock or Buddha Mayoori
• Tamil Nadu - Tamil Yeoman (Cirrochroa Thais)

PRACTICE QUESTION:

Consider the following pairs:

State               : State butterflies

1. Kerala               : Blue Mormon

2. Karnataka      : Buddha Mayoori

3. Uttarakhand : Kaiser-i-Hind

Which of the pairs given above is/are correct?

(a) 1 only

(b) 2 and 3 only

(c) 1 and 3 only

(d) None of the above

Answer