author(s)
Dharm Singh Meena and Dayakrishna

abstract
Present paper deals with the species composition and status of butterflies in the campus of a high altitude zoo, situated in Nainital city of Uttarakhand, India. A total of 29 species of butterflies belonging to 25 genera and 6 families were recorded during the entire study. In terms of total number of species, Nymphalidae was the most dominant family with 9 species followed by Pieridae (7 species), Lycaenidae and Papilionidae (4 species each), Satyridae (3 species) and Danaidae (2 species), respectively. Status of butterflies significantly varied in the study area and on the basis of number of the sightings, 12 species were found fairly common followed by common (11 species) and uncommon (6 species), respectively. The findings of the present study indicate that the study area provides life supporting necessities such as host and nectar plants, ambient climatic conditions, and suitable habitat for the better growth and development of butterflies.