Sunday mornings in Delhi NCR can start late, with bed tea, waffles, puri halwa, bacon and eggs, and more. September 17 this year — an unusually humid day — began differently for some. By 8am, groups of camera-toting enthusiasts had gathered at more than 12 locations. The mission was to count the number of butterfly species in the Capital. Leading the campaign was a team from the Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS) at the Asola Bhatti Wildlife Sanctuary, near the Shooting Range on Surajkund Road.
The butterfly count of September 17 was the culmination of events the BNHS had planned and hosted during its Delhi Butterfly Month. This survey comes 31 years after the last such endeavour. Through workshops and guided walks in gardens and parks, as well as university and college campuses, BNHS has concluded that there are at least 69 butterfly species in Delhi NCR (30 per cent lower than the 1986 tally).
The first such walk was held at Delhi University’s botany department. Students and their teachers scanned the greener areas of the campus and counted 31 species.
There were rare sightings — the psyche butterfly, spotted after a gap of three years in India; red pierrot; Indian red flash; and African babul blue among others. The grass jewel and the tiny grass blue were found in big numbers in the southern ridge areas.
Photos: Rajeev Tyagi