Pune: The city is gearing up for Big Butterfly Month this Sept, with nature groups, citizen scientists, photographers and butterfly enthusiasts preparing to document its rich winged diversity.The month-long initiative will feature guided butterfly walks, species surveys, photography sessions and awareness activities across the city’s hills, gardens, campuses and surrounding habitats, turning everyday green spaces into hotspots for observation and recording.“Butterfly numbers might increase if we have longer spells of sunlight in Sept. In 2024, there were 4,200 butterfly observations and 140 species reported during Sept. In 2025, there was a slight dip, with 3,500 observations and 137 species recorded due to prolonged rains and cloudy weather, which is unfavourable for butterfly watching. This year, we have identified more butterfly-spotting zones, so we expect the counts to be higher,” said Rajat Joshi, a butterfly expert and Pune district coordinator of Big Butterfly Month.A total of seven butterfly walks have been planned for Sept, with several new locations added for butterfly counting this season. Enthusiasts are particularly looking forward to walks at locations such as the Pune Forest Research office and the Ram-Mula River confluence, among others.“I have been documenting butterflies for the last few years. I am excited to participate in the butterfly walks this time, especially at many of the new locations,” said Ujwal Shengde, a Baner resident.“We will be organising two to three guided butterfly walks next month. We are already seeing an abundance of species such as the Common Tiger and Red Pierrot. We have also increased the number of host plants,” said Amol Nargolkar, who runs Sipna Farms, a 21-acre private sanctuary located 22km from Pune.Activities are expected at butterfly-rich locations including Vetal Tekdi, Sinhagad Fort, Tamhini and Saswad.“The Butterfly Month has helped generate a lot of awareness. We will continue nectar and colour preference studies this season. With the rains reducing, there will be an increase in sightings. Many species, such as the Blue Tiger and Common Lime, have delayed their breeding activities due to the late monsoon. However, we expect a lot of sightings later this month,” said Dr Ankur Patwardhan, founder of Ecoreviva Nature Foundation.
