The National Butterfly Trail Day , a pioneering event to simultaneously document butterflies all over India , initiated by the National Butterfly Club, Mumbai evoked a good response in the Nilgiris on Sunday.

Over a hundred volunteers undertook a survey of butterfly species, under the aegis of the Wynter-Blyth Association, in various parts of the district including Gudalur, Kotagiri, Coonoor,Kallar and Ooty which were identified as high diversity areas for butterflies.

The trails,according to Vinod Sriramalu,an organiser, covered a variety of elevations and forest types like Kallar with dry deciduous and riverine tracts, the sholas of the Southern slopes of Coonoor, grass lands and sholas of Ooty, the deciduous forests of the Segur slopes and the dry deciduous and riverine tracts of Devala and Pandiyar in Gudalur.

Trail leaders compiled and collated the data.

Stating that 88 unique species were recorded,Mr.Sriramalu told The Covai Post here on Tuesday that Kallar and Gudalur accounted for the maximum number of species .

However though the figures were impressive, the Wynter-Blyth Association was not very happy because it was of the view that more could have been recorded if the South West and North East monsoons had not played truant last year and the conditions in the Nilgiris were not as dry as they were when the survey was conducted.

The lack of butterflies and supporting vegetation were apparent, with the density of butterflies being very low in all trails.

The highlights of the walk were the sighting of the Clipper, the Malabar Tree Nymph, White-tipped Lineblue, Many-tailed Oakblue and the Large Branded Swift.

Pointing out that enhancing awareness about butterflies among the public was one of the main objectives of the association,Mr.Sriramalu said that in the just concluded exercise nature enthusiasts from Mettupalayam based Wildlife Wranglers had extended a helping hand.