Roopak Goswami
Guwahati, Nov 18: In a landmark addition to India’s biodiversity records, researchers have documented the smallest butterfly ever recorded in the country – a female Tiny Grass Blue (Zizula hylax) measuring just 13.2 millimetres in wingspan. The discovery, published in the latest issue of Bionotes, establishes a new national minimum size for butterflies.
The tiny specimen was collected on August 20, 2025, by naturalist Anil Sarsavan in the Kekadiya Gorge Community – Conserved Area, Bhilwara district, Rajasthan. After detailed measurement and cross-verification, co-author and lepidopterist Peter Smetacek confirmed it as the smallest butterfly ever scientifically recorded in India among the 1,403 species listed to date.
For decades, the title of India’s smallest butterfly was attributed to the Small Grass Jewel (Freyeria putli), previously believed to measure as little as 12 mm. But that historic 12 mm figure came from an old Nepal specimen measured using a different method. When re-measured using the standard Evans (1932) technique, the Nepal specimen too measured 13.2 mm – identical to the new Indian Zizula hylax.
This means the smallest butterfly ever recorded in Nepal is Freyeria putli, while the smallest butterfly ever recorded in India is Zizula hylax.
Experts say though tiny it has a vast distribution. The global distribution of Zizula hylax is from the west coast of Africa to the east coast of Australia. There is almost no geographical variation across this vast range. It occurs in arid regions as well as in tropical savannah, “borders of tropical forests, ascending up to 1,500 m in the Himalaya”. In India, it is common in city parks as well as open, degraded areas.
This record is also unusual because it is of a female butterfly. In butterflies, females are usually larger because they carry eggs. The new finding also updates the species’ known size range: Zizula hylax, long recorded as 16-24 mm, must now be revised to 13-24 mm, revealing a size variation far wider than previously realized.
Researchers say the discovery highlights the ecological value of community-protected landscapes. “This was possible only because of the sustained conservation efforts of the Kekadiya village community,” the authors note. The specimen has been deposited at the Butterfly Research Centre, Bhimtal, for further study. The authors have thanked the whole community of Kekadiya village for their support during field visit, remarkable dedication and sustained efforts in the protection and conservation of their common land.
