Being the Asia’s largest butterfly park, the Tropical Butterfly Conservatory in Tiruchirappalli is the home for around 129 butterfly species. Around 300 plant species to host the conservatory. It is situated in the Upper Anaicut Reserve Forest area between Cauvery and Kollidam rivers drainage basin. Spanning in a area of 25 acres, the Conservatory was built to create awareness among the common public on butterfly conservation.
Speaking with ANI, the District Forest Officer of Trichy, Krithiga says, “Butterflies are very important for the health of the ecosystem, to conserve the biodiversity and for sustaining the entire life on earth. With this view, the Tamil Nadu Forest Department established Asia’s largest Tropical Butterfly Conservatory in around 25 acres of area in Srirangam. It is located in the Upper Anaicut Reserve Forest area. This butterfly park was established with the vision to create awareness among the common public on butterfly conservation, breeding of butterflies and how the life cycle of butterfly spans out. It also aims to provide a pleasant urban park space for the common public. In the 25 acre area, this butterfly park has four components. We have an outdoor conservatory, an indoor conservatory, a ‘Nakshatra Vanam’ and a ‘Rasi Vanam’. The outdoor conservatory mimics the natural scene of butterflies and the indoor conservatory is a climate controlled butterfly conservatory.
We also have fountains, artificial ponds, kids play area, eco-shops, VR rooms, amphitheatre and others. We also take up regular service on a daily basis. We have a Junior Research Fellow attached to us who goes for regular service in the mornings and evenings. We gave identified around 129 species of butterflies till now. There are also around 300 plant species.
A Junior Research Fellow at the Conservatory, Abinaya says, “Here, we do research about butterfly life cycle and also interaction between plants and butterflies. Butterfly life cycle has four stages i.e., egg, larva, pupa, and adult butterfly. We have documented 129 butterfly species here. We have also planted 300 butterfly host plants and nectar plants. During the summer season, the butterfly population is very low as the butterfly is a cold blooded insect. The advised time for butterfly watching is during rainy which is October to December.”
Forest Ranger V.P Subramanian says, “We are maintaining this Tropical Butterfly Conservatory from 2012. This is the largest butterfly park in Asia. The Conservatory lies in the Cauvery and Kollidam rivers drainage basin. The garden is full of nectar flowers and host plants to attract butterflies. During summer, the humidity may be less accommodating for the butterflies. To improve the habitat, an artificial lake and fountain was created in this park.”
(Inputs from ANI )
