MILIUSA TOMENTOSA (ROXB.) J. SINCLAIR: WILD FOOD PLANT FOR LARVAL HOST OF BUTTERFLIES IN TRIBAL DOMINATED AREA OF ABU ROAD IN SIROHI DISTRICT OF RAJASTHAN, INDIA.

Abu Road is one of the tribal dominated area of Rajasthan famous for Garasia tribes who are unique in their ethno cultural heritage, far from the modern civilization and mostly depend on the forest and forest produce for their livelihood including the other tribes. These tribes are most backward and live in the interior forest. Livelihood systems in the study area is complex. Agriculture and daily labour are the major source of livelihood. People in the area work as daily labourer but also visit nearby areas in absence of the labour opportunity. This area comes under dry deciduous forest, common species in natural forest include Butea monosperma, Anogeissus latifolia, zizyphus spp., Azadirachta indica, Madhuca longifolia, Boswellia serrata, Manilkara hexandra, Diospyros melanoxylon, Phonix spp., Pithocellobium dulce, Annona squamosa and Miliusa tomentosa. Miliusa tomentosa (Roxb.) J. Sinclair is commonly known as Hoom. It is a large deciduous tree, growing up to 20 m tall. The fruits are edible and the wood is used for making cots in the region. Fruits are given to children to build up stamina and is also used to cure respiratory disorders. During the study the survey has been done and this tree is observed as the larval host plant for the various species of butterflies. The butterflies play an important role as the pollinator, carries pollen from one flower to another. Their larvae act as the pest, injurious to various crops. Present study was carried out at tribal dominated area of Abu road of Sirohi district, Rajasthan, during May 2015 to May 2016 to record the species composition of butterflies. During this study a total of 16 species and 04 families were reported. The reported families Nymphalidae covered 37.5 %, Papilionidae 31.25 %, Danaidae 12.5 % and Pieridae 18.75 % biodiversity of butterflies of the study area. In Nymphalidae included, Junonia orithya, Junonia almana, Byblia ilithyia, Hypolimnas bolina, Hypolimnas misippus and Cynthia cardui. In Papilionidae included Graphium nomius, Graphium doson, Graphium Agamemnon, Graphium teredon and Charaxes psaphon. In Danidae included Danaus chrysippus and Danaus genutia. In Pieridae included Cepora nerissa, Catopsilia crocale and Colotis etrida. Species diversity index (H') was highest (0.425) in case of family Nymphalidae compared to other. It is suggested that butterfly species diversity generally increases with increase in vegetation and declines with the increase in disturbance. A detail study is required for further exploration of butterfly fauna of tribal dominated area of Abu road of Sirohi district.