Saturday, Dec 06, 2003 They are liked by everyone. And most people would love to just touch these winged creatures. Seeing them flit across is such a delightful experience. Butterflies are the most beautiful of all insects. On sunny days, butterflies fly flower to flower. Their slow flight exquisitely brings out their large, vividly coloured wings. Adult butterflies cannot chew food. Instead they suck up liquids through their long proboscis (tongue), which act as drinking straws. The larva of butterflies feed on the leaves and stems of their own food plant. There are about 1,500 species of butterflies in India, many of which are unique. In Coimbatore, they are found in large numbers in the Western Ghats. But, of late, their numbers have been dwindling. A study on "Butterfly diversity and conservation" by Prof. K Murugan, senior lecturer, Department of Zoology, Bharathiar University, has found that there has been a sharp decline in their population "due to the decrease in forest cover and use of forest land for agriculture. The butterfly population in the Western Ghats has come down drastically." The destruction of ecosystems and forest fires are some of the other reasons. Butterflies are not just beautiful insects. They play an important role in ecological impact assessments and act as a good environmental monitor, besides being pollinators. The study focussed on butterfly-host plant interaction and threw light on the relationship between butterflies and plants. A butterfly feeds on a number of larval host plants. "They have a complex life cycle and are highly vulnerable to human activity. A butterfly should have at least three larval host plants. Only then can they survive," says Prof. Murugan. "To conserve butterflies, one needs to protect the host plants they feed on," he says. What can be done to conserve butterflies? "We are planning to set up a butterfly garden in the University. Butterflies would be reared and then released to the forests. This will help in restoring the balance and to increase the butterfly population," he states. Butterflies look for two things when they enter a garden-nectar, the food and host plants. A butterfly garden should have both, he says. The research also established that the Papilonid butterflies such as Pachliopta aristolochiae and Pachliopta hector feeds Aristolochia indica during larval stages. "During the last two years the rainfall has been inadequate. As a result the population of these two important butterflies has also come down," he observes.