Awareness programme on butterflies on Aug 15, 16

A free two-day awareness programme for nature lovers would be held at Sammilan Shetty's Butterfly Park at Belvai near here from August 15 to mark the second anniversary of the institution.
The highlights of the programme would include talk on butterflies and their conservation by Sammilan Shetty, a walk in the butterfly park along with volunteers to assist and identify butterflies and video presentation showcasing interesting facts about butterflies, a release here said.
Sammilan Shetty's Butterfly Park Belvai, which was launched in 2013, has added 18 new species to its list during the last two years raising the total count of butterfly species in the park to 131. There are approximately 339 species of butterflies in the Western Ghats.

Spotting of the rare varieties of butterflies like Aberrant Oakblue and Orchid Tit, which were usually restricted to strictly rich and diverse habitats, was the park's remarkable achievement of the year.
The park had been successfully providing a protected habitat for butterflies of Western Ghats and undertaking scientific study on butterflies. It had also inspired nature enthusiasts to create their own butterfly gardens and be a part of this conservation drive.