Kolkata, July 30 -- India has been firmly positioned among a select group of megadiverse nations possessing a fully updated, centralized, and authoritative baseline inventory of its butterfly and moth diversity with the Zoological Survey of India (ZSI ) officially announcing the completion of the comprehensive "Catalogue of Lepidoptera (Butterflies & Moths) of India." The catalogue bridges critical taxonomic gaps that persisted for more than 100 years since the first historical attempts to document the region's insect fauna.
Spearheaded by ZSI taxonomists Dr. Navneet Singh and Dr. Rahul Joshi, this project represents over 12 years of continuous, dedicated effort involving extensive field exploration, museum curation, and rigorous literature verification.
According to the 22 distinct catalogue volumes in this connection, India harbors 13,703 species of butterflies and moths across 3,705 genera, 240 subfamilies, 102 families, and 31 superfamilies. Indian Lepidoptera represent approximately 8.25 percent of all known butterfly and moth species worldwide.
A key milestone within this initiative is the catalogue dedicated to the moth superfamily Geometroidea,
establishing India as a global sanctuary for nocturnal pollinators. Geometridae dominate the superfamily with 2,100 species in 445 genera, Uraniidae has 95 species in 27 genera, Epicopeiidae consists of 9 species in 6 genera and Pseudobistonidae has 1 species in 1 genus. The family Sematuridae is absent from Indian fauna, being largely restricted to the New World.
India hosts 2,205 species of Geometroidea across 479 genera, 13 subfamilies, and 4 families-accounting for 8.80 percent of the world's known species in this superfamily.
Butterflies and moths play crucial roles in maintaining ecological equilibrium. They serve as essential herbivores, detritivores, and pollinators, while acting as vital food resources for birds, bats, and other insectivores.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.