For the first time, a rare species of butterflies called Polyura Agrarius commonly called Anomalous Nawab, have been spotted at the historical Tagore Hill in Ranchi. This variety of butterfly was discovered by the students Debasish Mahto and John Osga of the session 2021- 23 of the Entomology specialisation, PG Department of Zoology, St Xaviers College as a part of their dissertation work on March 25, 2023 under the supervision of Dr Manoj Kumar. The research paper of this discovery has been published in the July issue of Zoos Print, a scientific research journal available online. The species found in Ranchi have not been reported much about and it has not yet received the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) category. Butterflies are ecologically important indicators in terms of floral- faunal diversity, habitual quality, pollution indication and human- made disturbances. Their numbers are reducing in the densely populated Ranchi city. Thus spotting it here is an important finding, said Kumar. This breed of butterfly has earlier been recorded to be sighted in the states of West Bengal, Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh. It is known to be found in deep forests with rocky hilly areas. The males of this fast- flying butterfly species are highly territorial and exhibit patrolling, fighting and hill topping behaviour. As a part of our dissertation topic- Butterfly in the Urban Areas of Ranchi we found a wide variety of butterflies. Finding the Polyura Agrarius in Jharkhand will also fill the distributional gap between Chhattisgarh and West Bengal and also expand its range which will be helpful in further studies of the species and understanding its other parameters. It was spotted perching on the leaf of an Indian date tree, informed Mahto. Head of the Department of Zoology Dr Bharti Singh Raipat said, The entomology section of the PG Department of Zoology is continuously working on butterfly diversity and this finding is the result of the hard work and dedication of the students. Raipat further stated that the college administration including Principal Dr Fr Nabor Lakra, Vice Principals Dr Fr Pradeep Robert Kujur and Dr Fr Ajay Minz have continuously supported the research work and as a result the entomology section has published such good research articles in various scientific journals. Earlier, Deepshikha Sahu, a student of the session 2022-2024 also discovered a rare Papilio Polymnestor butterfly for the first time from the Dhodri Toli area of Gumla during a survey. This research paper was published in the June 2024 issue of the research journal named EJPMR along with its morphological details. It is believed that the Papilio Polymnestor is a swallowtail butterfly species found only in parts of South India and Sri Lanka.

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