MADURAI: The Post Graduate and Research Departments of Economics and Zoology of The American College in Madurai had jointly organized a workshop on butterfly and green initiatives in the college campus on September 24th 2024 to mark the ‘Big Butterfly Month Celebration’.
Dr.M.Swamiappan, professor of entomology and Registrar (Retd), Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore, who was the chief guest had highlighted important facts about butterflies, their role in green economy and he displayed his vast collection of butterfly stamps.
“Butterfly help a lot in pollination of flowers. They can travel 2,700 kms from Canada to Mexico as migration. Butterflies originated 85 million years ago. In the year 1893, the first butterfly stamp was introduced and now there are 7,745 butterfly stamps in the world. Malaysia has 100 butterfly stamps, in Tamil Nadu there are butterfly stations at Sarakonnai in Coimbatore and at Alagar Hills in Madurai,” he informed.
Dr.Swamiappan said that the Pacific Grove in California in USA is known as butterfly town and he showcased his stamps on butterflies from his collection of 5,000 stamps. Dr.C.Muthuraja, Head, PG and Research Department of Economics, explained about the purpose of conducting this workshop and narrated the importance of green economy initiatives through butterfly family.
Dr.M.Davamani Christober, Principal and Secretary of American College, has said that it was the first time that the two departments-economics and zoology- had jointly organized a meeting and he spoke about the butterfly garden in the college campus.
Dr.E.Joy Sharmila, Head, PG and Research Department of Zoology, welcomed the gathering while Dr.G.Kannabiran, Head, UG Department of Economics, had proposed a vote of thanks. Dr.P.Velladurai, Head, UG Department of Zoology, Dr.M.Sheela and K.J.Dhananjeyan were among those present in this workshop along with students and staff where various issues related to butterflies and green initiatives were highlighted, according to a press release.
