Butterflies in urban India: Diversity, conservation actions and future prospects

Rapid urbanization threatens biodiversity, yet well‐managed urban green spaces can support wildlife. Butterflies provide pollination, environmental indicators and conservation engagement, but remain understudied in India's cities.

This study synthesizes the current status of butterfly diversity and conservation initiatives in urban India, identifies major gaps in research and management and proposes targeted strategies for strengthening urban butterfly conservation.

We conducted a comprehensive literature search of Scopus, Web of Science and PubMed for studies published between 2001 and 2025. We also reviewed relevant legislation, protected areas, government programmes, NGO activities, citizen science initiatives and international examples to develop recommendations for urban butterfly conservation in India.

We found that studies on urban butterfly diversity were conducted in only 23 Indian cities. These studies documented 360 species belonging to 180 genera and 6 families. Guwahati recorded the highest richness (247 species), followed by Thrissur (139) and Nagpur (119).

Among these species, 71 are protected by Schedules of Wildlife (Protection) Act of India. Only 41 species have been assessed by the IUCN, revealing a critical conservation‐assessment gap. Existing urban butterfly conservation initiatives include butterfly parks, urban sanctuaries, institutional campuses, urban forests, butterfly corridors, citizen science and community monitoring.

Urban India supports considerable butterfly diversity but remains sunder‐surveyed and inadequately integrated into biodiversity governance. We proposed 10 actions encompassing biodiversity‐sensitive urban planning, standardized monitoring, habitat connectivity, native plant restoration, research, citizen participation, education, symbolic recognition and stronger government–NGO collaboration. Integrating these measures into urban development can transform cities from biodiversity sinks into resilient conservation landscapes.