Zoological Survey of India for detailed study on Lepidoptera species
Kolkata: Zoological Survey of India (ZSI) is laying emphasis on a more detailed study about species diversity of Lepidoptera particularly moths and assessment of their roles as pollinators.
According to ZSI scientists more than 95 percent of the country has been surveyed for the diversity of butterflies but in case of moths it has been hardly 50 percent.
The scientists feel that several hundreds of species of lepidoptera particularly moths can be recorded as new species to science.
"Apart from playing a significant role in pollination, moths serve as food for various predators like birds, bats, mammals, reptiles and thus form an important component of the food chain.
We have taken up a project exclusively on the' Role of Moths in Pollination on various Plant Species' which is funded by National Mission on Himalayan Studies under the Ministry of Forest , Environment and Climate Change," said Kailash Chandra, Zoological Survey of India director.
According to Zoological Survey of India, the
Gangetic plains is an area
where a more detailed study is needed.
"Arunachal Pradesh and states in the North East have seen significantly less study of lepidoptera. North Bengal and Sikkim has had detailed survey but south Bengal has had less studies and Sunderbans has hardly had any study," a senior ZSI scientist pointed out.
More than 15 lakh 70,000 lepidoptera species has been recorded worldwide among which 12000 has been recorded from India.
"We expect that a more detailed study of the diversity of these insects in
some states and union territories will record several
thousand species new to India and another several hundred new species particularly
the moths which will be recorded new to science," Chandra said.
Zoological Survey of India in September held the 6th Asian Lepidoptera Conservation Symposium where recommendations on setting up of scheme related to garden mothing survey model in all the ten biogeographic zones of India was undertaken along with setting of moth survey team and to train them for moth observation.
Recommendations have also come up for developing a network for conduction of training programme to train and involve youngsters of the country in the mission of moth conservation through its awareness and launching a YouTube channel for awareness about the moths.
A senior scientist at ZSI pointed out that people have come out of their wrong notion about moths and butterflies that they are harmful to agriculture and forestry.
"We have to conserve the lepidoptera to ensure that the food chain is not disturbed," he added.
