Naming of a New Butterfly Species after Artist Zubeen Garg : Euthalia (Limbusa) zubeengargi Identified in Arunachal Pradesh by an Assamese Youth.

March, 27 – 2026

An Assamese youth has discovered and identified a new butterfly species belonging to the Brass-footed family in Basar, Leparada district of Arunachal Pradesh. Researchers Roshan Upadhyay and Dr. Kalesh Sadasivan published their findings, naming the butterfly Euthalia (Limbusa) zubeengargi in honor of Assam’s popular singer Zubeen Garg. After Garg’s passing, this act of naming a butterfly species after him—following the earlier naming of a plant species—has been seen as a mark of respect and recognition of his contributions to Assamese music and culture, said Roshan Upadhyay.

Roshan Upadhyay, originally from Tinsukia district of Assam, is currently serving as a constable in Arunachal Pradesh Police at Basar. A butterfly enthusiast, he is also conducting research on butterflies at the Regional Institute of Management and Technology in Punjab. Together with Dr. Kalesh Sadasivan, a physician from Kerala, he successfully identified this new species in Arunachal. Their findings on Euthalia (Limbusa) zubeengargi have been published today in the scientific journal Entomon from Kerala.

According to North East butterfly expert Dr. Monson Gogoi, butterflies of the Brass-footed family are commonly found in Basar, Arunachal Pradesh. The discovery of a new species in this family brings honor to the field of butterfly research, he remarked. Upadhyay and his collaborator have found only two specimens of Euthalia (Limbusa) zubeengargi, proving it to be a very rare species.

Before this butterfly was named after Zubeen Garg, a new plant species called Osbeckia zubeengargiana had also been discovered in Assam by researchers Barnali Das, Prashav Pulprab, and Namita Das, and named in his honor.