After 12 Years of Research, ZSI Publishes India's First Complete Catalogue of Butterflies and Moths
After more than 12 years of labor, India has finished its first comprehensive catalogue of moths and butterflies, recording 13,703 species and filling in taxonomic gaps that have existed for more than a century, according to the Zoological Survey of India (ZSI).
According to a news statement from the ZSI, the 22-volume catalogue, which was created by the Union Ministry of Environment, Forests, and Climate Change, offers an updated taxonomic inventory of Indian Lepidoptera, the insect order that includes moths and butterflies. ZSI taxonomists Dr. Rahul Joshi and Dr. Navneet Singh wrote the series' last volume, which was published in the global journal Zootaxa.
According to the survey, 13,703 species of moths and butterflies from 3,705 genera, 240 subfamilies, 102 families, and 31 superfamilies may be found in India. This represents about 8.25 percent of the known Lepidoptera variety worldwide.
The final volume completes what the ZSI referred to as the nation's first authorized and centralized taxonomic reference on the group by cataloging the remaining 1,689 species. A specialized catalogue of the moth superfamily Geometroidea, which lists 2,205 species under 479 genera, 13 subfamilies, and four families in India, is a significant part of the project.
According to the analysis, the Geometroidea fauna accounts for 8.8% of the superfamily's known diversity worldwide. Among the four families, Geometridae is the largest with 2,100 species, followed by Uraniidae with 95 species, Epicopeiidae with nine species and Pseudobistonidae with a single species. The family Sematuridae is absent from India.
The most species-rich subfamilies are Ennominae with 895 species, Larentiinae with 565 species and Geometrinae with 309 species, it added. The project involved extensive field surveys, examination of museum collections and verification of scientific literature over more than a decade. ZSI Director Dr Dhriti Banerjee said the catalogue would serve as a key national resource for biodiversity research, ecological monitoring and conservation planning.
"These catalogue volumes will serve as a vital national asset for biodiversity research, ecological monitoring, and global conservation strategies. Such comprehensive catalogues ensure these species are given an authoritative voice, a clear legal identity, and a permanent place in scientific history," she said.
According to the report, moths and butterflies play a crucial role in the food chain for birds, bats, and other insectivores as well as being significant pollinators, herbivores, and detritivores. Numerous species also have important effects on forestry and agriculture. It stated that a scientific baseline for biodiversity assessment, ecological monitoring, and studies on the effects of climate change across India's different ecosystems will be provided by the consolidated inventory to academics, conservationists, and policymakers.
