UPSC Prelims 2016 GS Paper I · Q90 of 100 Environment & Ecology easy

Recently, for the first time in our country, which of the following States has declared a particular butterfly as 'State Butterfly'?

  1. (a) Arunachal Pradesh
  2. (b) Himachal Pradesh
  3. (c) Karnataka
  4. (d) Maharashtra ✓ UPSC's answer

Why the answer is (d)

• In June 2015 Maharashtra became the first State to declare a State butterfly — the Blue Mormon (Papilio polymnestor), a large swallowtail found in the Western Ghats — option (d).

• Other States followed: Karnataka (Southern Birdwing), Kerala (Malabar Banded Peacock), Arunachal (Kaiser-i-Hind) and Tamil Nadu (Tamil Yeoman).

• Hence option (d).

Why the other options are wrong

(a) Arunachal Pradesh
Arunachal declared its State butterfly later (2021).
(b) Himachal Pradesh
Himachal has not declared one.
(c) Karnataka
Karnataka followed Maharashtra in 2016.

Asked in the GS Paper I of the UPSC Civil Services Preliminary Examination 2016, held on 7 August 2016. Question and answer key: Union Public Service Commission. Explanation: UPSC Answer Check.

Reading the answer is not the same as getting it right under a clock. Practise this question with UPSC's negative marking, and anything you miss goes into an error notebook until you get it right twice.

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