Over the past two months, forty-two butterfly species have turned up across the…

June 25, 2026Narmada Valley dry deciduous forests

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Over the past two months, forty-two butterfly species have turned up across the city's green patches — a striking diversity that speaks to pockets of refuge persisting even as development accelerates. Among them was a sighting of the (Pachliopta hector), a protected species typically found in more open countryside, on June 7 — a reminder that urban butterfly populations can include species of regional conservation concern.

That same month, an (Saraca asoca) came into flower on June 24 — a species planted at temples for millennia across the region, and now threatened by bark harvest for traditional medicine. The persistence of both the butterfly and the tree here, however precarious, suggests that intentional conservation and habitat preservation within an expanding city can still matter.

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