Blue Duke: State Butterfly of Sikkim

Sikkim Chief Minister Prem Singh Tamang on the occasion of World Environment Day (5 June 2022) declared Blue Duke the state butterfly.

• The Blue Duke represents Sikkim with its two unique colours blue representing the sky and white depicting the snow clad mountains of the Himalayas.
• Of the 720 species of butterflies found in Sikkim, Blue Duke was selected as the state butterfly securing 57 per cent votes in a recent online poll conducted by the Forest Department.
• Next to Blue Duke, Krishna Peacock got maximum votes to be declared as the State Butterfly of Sikkim.
• Blue Duke, which goes by the scientific name Bassarona durga, is unique to Sikkim and the eastern Himalayas. It was discovered in the state in 1858.
• Blue Duke is found at an altitude below 1500 metres in the Himalayas.
• Blue Duke falls in Schedule 2 of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972 and is a protected species in the Himalayas.