List of butterflies of India

The following is a list of the butterflies of India.

India has extremely diverse terrain, climate and vegetation, which comprises extremes of heat and cold, desert and jungle, of low-lying plains and the highest mountains, of dryness and dampness, islands and continental areas, widely varying flora, and sharply marked seasons. India forms a large part of the Indomalayan biogeographical zone; many of the floral and faunal forms show Malayan affinities with some taxa being unique to the Indian region. In addition, India hosts three of the world's biodiversity hotspots: the Western Ghats, the Himalayas, and the hilly ranges bordering India and Myanmar, each having numerous endemic species. Accordingly, India's diverse and varied fauna include a rich variety of butterflies and moths. Brigadier William Harry Evans recorded approximately 1439 species of butterfly from British India, including Ceylon and Burma. After 1947, the rise of several new nations led to a reduction of the area forming part of India proper, and the number of species has been noted to be an estimated 1403 species.

Many papers and books have been written on Indian butterflies, some of the most famous are the Synoptic Catalogue of the Butterflies of India and The Book of Indian Butterflies.

Here is a key to the terms used in this list-

  1. Endemic: Endemic species are species found only in a particular region, in this case, India.
  2. Schedule 1: This is used on all species under Schedule 1 of the Wildlife Protection Act (Amendment 2022).
  3. Schedule 2: This is used on all species under Schedule 2 of the Wildlife Protection Act (Amendment 2022).


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