Guwahati, June 25: India has welcomed a new member to its swallowtail butterfly family—the Chinese Rose Windmill(Byasa genestieri).

Long known from the misty mountains of Yunnan, Sichuan, Laos, and northern Vietnam, this striking Sino-Tibetan species had never before been documented on Indian soil—until now.

During a high-altitude reconnaissance survey for an upcoming butterfly and biodiversity meet in Mechuka, a team of researchers made a landmark sighting. Dr. Monsoon J. Gogoi and Yumlam Benjamin Bida from ATREE (Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment), along with Tajum Yomcha, a Research Officer from the PCCF office in Itanagar, photographed the butterfly—a moment they describe as both rare and exhilarating.

“This is the first confirmed record of Byasa genestieri in India,” said Dr. Gogoi. “It can be distinguished from our native Rose Windmill(Byasa latreillei) by its darker, blackish ground colour, prominent white discal spots on the hindwing, and deeper pink submarginal markings dusted with scales. It’s a stunning species.”

Until this discovery, only Byasa latreillei was known from India—seen across the Himalayas from Uttarakhand to western Arunachal, and reappearing in parts of Nagaland and Manipur. The Chinese Rose Windmill’s presence in Mechuka—deep within central Arunachal—fills a key ecological gap and suggests that this remote valley may be a critical habitat for high-altitude butterfly diversity.

The discovery comes just in time as Arunachal prepares to host a high-altitude Butterfly and Biodiversity Meet in Mechuka, aimed at turning butterfly tourism into a conservation-friendly livelihood option for local communities.

“This rare sighting strengthens the case for developing butterfly tourism in Mechuka,” said Tajum Yomcha. “These spectacular species are not just beautiful—they are ambassadors of fragile high-altitude ecosystems. Promoting their conservation can bring ecological and economic benefits to this remote region.”

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