Why October is a great time to go butterfly watching in Arunachal Pradesh

Arunachal Pradesh is a rewarding destination for wildlife lovers, with dense forests, mountain landscapes and an extraordinary variety of butterflies. If you are exploring the state during the wetter and post-monsoon months, keep an eye on stream edges, damp ground and muddy patches. You may spot groups of butterflies gathered around the ground rather than in flowers, engaged in something known as puddling. 

Arunachal is a great place to spot butterflies puddling

Butterflies are usually associated with nectar-rich blooms, but adults also need nutrients that nectar may not provide in sufficient quantities. During puddling, they use their proboscis to take up moisture containing minerals and other nutrients from substrates such as wet soil, sand, rocks, animal dung and other organic material. Sodium and nitrogen are among the nutrients associated with this behaviour. 

A 2026 study at Talle Valley Wildlife Sanctuary examined puddling among 63 butterfly species over two years. The researchers recorded butterflies using a range of substrates, with wet sand, rocks, stream puddles and wild animal dung among the most frequently used. The study also found differences in substrate preferences between species.

Talle Valley itself is a major biodiversity destination near Ziro, and the sanctuary has also recorded the long-streak sailor butterfly, Neptis philyra, for the first time in India. 

A tourism publication on wildlife in Arunachal identifies April to October as particularly colourful months for butterflies and notes that different species appear through the year as host and nectar plants change with the seasons.

That makes the warmer and wetter part of the year particularly interesting for butterfly enthusiasts. October can also be a good time to visit parts of Arunachal more generally, although conditions differ considerably across the state. Arunachal Tourism lists October and April among the best months for several of its travel circuits. 

The next time you are walking beside a forest stream in Arunachal, look down as carefully as you look around. A patch of wet sand or mud can become a temporary gathering place for butterflies searching for nutrients. In some locations, several species may use the same general area, although their preferences for particular substrates can differ.

Email: anoushkakundu@newindianexpress.com

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