The Nilgiris mountains see the downward migration of the butterflies from the highlands in May to the plains of Tiruppur and Salem and a reverse migration upwards in September following the monsoon winds.
Gregarious swarms of the blues namely the blue tiger butterflies are a fascinating sight. There are other butterflies that are endemic to the ranges which are found in patches. As land conversion occurs in these mountains into either construction or plantations, there is a shrinking of the host plants.
In an effort to increase the diversity of pollinators including butterflies, bees, solitary and social, as well as other insect pollinators, this park was set up. Similar parks are being set up to increase pollinator numbers. As plantations do not support large pollinator populations, and agriculture pesticides use increases it is vital to add such habitats for these ecosystem service agents.
Just as tigers and other charismatic mammals draw attention for conservation, a pollinator park interchangeably is also called a butterfly park. This park is open to the public and also offers an introduction to pollination and pollinators. The number of plants in the park is around 700 comprising 60 species. The park was designed by Dr. Chaitrika from FRLHT, Bangalore.
