India has extremely diverse terrain, climate and vegetation, which comprises extremes of heat 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 Eastern 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 dropped to an estimated 1200 species.
Contents
The following is a list of the butterflies of India. The families and the numbers of species in them, 1163 of which are listed below, are likely to change due to advances in taxonomy and collection of data regarding occurrence and distribution.
Superfamily Papilionoidea
Superfamily Hesperioidea
State-wise lists
India has 29 states and 7 union territories. The list of butterflies for each state can be found using the index below:
States
Union territories: