A rare sub-species of butterfly has been discovered by two scientists at Eaglenest Wildlife Sanctuary in West Kameng district of Arunachal Pradesh, much to the delight of in the country.
Sanjoy Sondhi and Purnendu Roy, the scientists working at Dehradun-based Titli Trust, a non-profit body working for conservation of nature, spotted the butterfly in April, last year.
However, the official confirmation came only in the latter part of August this year when the Journal of Threatened Taxa, an international peer-reviewed periodical, published the two Indian naturalists' report.
The Tibetan Brimstone, a butterfly sub-species seen just once before in history, that too in China-occupied Tibet region by British naturalist Frank Ludlow in 1938, has thrilled Indian naturalists.
Sondhi and Roy, who have been extensively researching butterflies and moths in the Northeast for years, were jubilant at the discovery, considering the fact that the butterfly sub-species was seen in India for the first time.
Tibetan Brimstone (Gonepteryx amintha thibetana nekrutenko), the winged visitor from neighbouring China, is pale yellowish green in colour that gives it the look of a leaf.
The impression accentuated by the vein-like ridges running across its sail-shaped body.
"It's discovery came close on the heels of another unexpected butterfly sighting at Eaglenest last year, which is Bhutan's national butterfly. The sighting at Eaglenest busted the myth that Ludlow's Bhutan Glory exists only in the country after which it is named," Sondhi told PTI.
"Arunachal, especially Eaglenest, is a rich biodiversity zone and probably many more species of butterflies and birds are waiting to be discovered there," Sondhi said.
