By Harsh Vardhan
Moths Study! Doesn’t this term sound interesting?
The meeting for Tourism & Wildlife Society of India (TWSI) held during early October, after its usual discussion on species in question and the Indian Birding Fair, resolved to work on Insects. So came up a Moth Study.
Field Guide to Indian Moths
Govind Yadav, an ace birder, has commenced the work. The Society’s President, Anand Mishra presented him a copy of (Birdwing’s) Field Guide to Indian Moths by Dr. V. Shubhlakshmi, arranged from the Amazon. He could not believe his wish would be fulfilled within less than a fortnight. Shubhu is a product of BNHS (Bombay Natural History Society) having been trained by Kihimkars at its species-museum.
Defining Moths
What are Moths? Simple answer: the insects that gave birth to silk long time ago. Scientific description is: Moths are a paraphyletic group of insects that includes all members of the order Lepidoptera that are not butterflies. There are thought to be approximately 160,000 species of moth, many of which have yet to be described.
Although the rules for distinguishing moths from butterflies are not well established, one very good guiding principle is that butterflies have thin antennae and have small balls or clubs at the end of their antennae. Moth antennae are usually feathery with no ball on the end. Some studies indicate that certain species of moths, such as those belonging to the families Erebidae and Sphingidae, may be the key pollinators for some flowering plants in the Himalayan ecosystem.
A moth trap in garden
Govind received inputs from Ian Barthorpe, Visitor Experience Officer at the RSPB Minsmere Nature Reserve (Suffolk, UK): “I have been running a moth trap in my garden since June. They are indeed very colourful insects, although some can be very variable and others can look very similar to each other, so it takes a bit of effort to get to grips with the identification.”
Trapping moths via light trap
Stephen Dean, also in Suffolk and an ardent follower of Moths, conveyed to Govind: “There are various methods to trap moths, but the most popular….is the light trap…. there is a lot more to moths than most people realize. The most spectacular ones are the larger species (the ‘macro’ moths) and generally they are easier to identify… if Govind is good at wader and raptor identification, I expect he will relish the challenge!”
And the ideal moth team
In India, the ideal Moth-Team is at: www.mothsofindia.org/website-teams, and what a galaxy of amateurs and professionals they happen to be, including ladies. So best wishes to Govind to follow their foot-paths. India would need more such keen followers.