Guwahati, Feb. 5: Two rare butterfly species have been sighted in Nagaland for the first time in the country in 100 years.

Generally, it is Arunachal Pradesh that makes news for first-time sightings of new butterfly species in the country.

However, this discovery from Nagaland will certainly make it a new destination for butterfly lovers.

The sighting of the Tawny Emperor ( Chitoria ulupi ulupi) and Comic Oakblue ( Arhopala comica) butterflies were reported at Chizami village in Phek district of southeastern Nagaland. The last known record of these two species from India dates back to 1915.

"Among the significant records during the survey, two species, the Tawny Emperor and the Comic Oakblue, have been recorded from India after 100 years, having last been recorded during surveys by Tytler," the article on Butterflies from Chizami, Phek district, Nagaland, in the Journal of Threatened Taxa, stated.

Lt Col H.C. Tytler had spent many years collecting and reporting on the butterflies of the Naga Hills.

Sanjay Sondhi of the Titli Trust and Tshetsholo Naro of the North East Network (NEN) jointly recorded the butterflies during the three-year period (2011-14).

Phek district, covering an area of 2,026 square km, is bordered by Myanmar on the east and Manipur on the south.

Altogether 212 species were recorded during the survey, of which 34 species are legally protected under various schedules of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972.

"As there have been no recent publications on butterflies from Nagaland, indeed these are the first new records reported from the state in a very long time," Sondhi, who is the founder trustee of the Dehradun-based Titli Trust, told The Telegraph.

The article states that were two records of Comic Oakblue by Naro from the NEN compound on April 1, 2013 and April 12, 2014.

The Tawny Emperor was seen sitting on clothes and has been described as a powerful flier.

More than 50 per cent of the butterflies were seen in the compound.

Naro is a young nature conservationist based in Chizami and works with the Nature Conservation Programme of NEN, an NGO, and has been identifying butterflies from the area since 2011.

Sondhi said with Nagaland being close to Myanmar, and part of the Indo-Burma biodiversity hot spot, there is a clear likelihood of new findings if the areas are properly surveyed.

"If we do proper research then I am hoping to find new species," Naro told The Telegraph.

He said there is a need to do more awareness programmes on butterflies among youngsters in the state. "The experience of working with children in Chizami was terrific," he said.

Apart from these two first time records in a century, there are numerous other species and sub-species that were spotted for which there exist no or very few recent published records from the country. These include Assam Darter ( Ochlodes siva siva), Purple Swift ( Caltoris tulsi), Ruddy Pied Flat ( Pseudocoladenia fatua), Khaki Silverline ( Spindasis rukmini), Hedge Cupid ( Bothrinia chennelli), Blue Duke ( Euthalia durga splendens), and Green Duke ( Euthalia sahadeva nadaka).