Riot of colours at the butterfly garden in Tata Steel Zoological Park. Picture by Srinivas

Jamshedpur, Sept. 14: The Tata Steel Zoological Park on the premises of Jubilee Park is about to add a colourful treasure to its kitty — a butterfly garden.

For students, it would prove to be a godsend.

Rimjhim Singh, a student, said: “Being a student of life science, I have to know about insects. What could be better than watching insects in this garden? It will help me a lot in my studies,” she said.

The construction of the garden would be finished within a couple of months. But the breeding process has started in a small patch of land. About 21 butterflies inhabit the garden now. The species include mormon, plane tiger and grass yellow. Plants that attract butterflies here are lily, curry leaves, lemon and akwan. To nurture caterpillars, water mixed with honey is used as nectar.

“Marigold flowers last long and help in breeding. Though winters have a good number of flowers, the rainy season is best for breeding,” said M.S. Jain, the Tata Steel Zoological Park director.

A brainchild of Jain, the garden is being set up to preserve the butterfly species in the region and to educate students, visitors and nature lovers. The garden developed over more than 4,000 sq ft is divided into breeding and display area to nurture butterflies and showcase them.

The breeding area has been developed to provide favourable conditions for the butterflies to grow. The temperature is set at 30ºC and the standard humidity varies between 60 and 70 per cent. The breeding area would consist of more than 300 plants, which would be changed according to the season.

“I spend every morning and evening here. Seeing the stage-wise development, right from when butterflies lay eggs, thrills me. Butterflies not only grow close to ones’ heart, but they help in enriching the ecosystem and pollination, too,” said Jain.