The Forest Department and Act for Moths (an initiative of Act for Butterflies) are gearing up for a unique documentation in the insect world in Tamil Nadu. The partnership will conduct surveys mainly in the night as the insect species they plan to document are mostly nocturnal -- moths.
Experts in the moth world will conduct a year-long study in seven forest ranges in Coimbatore to document moths, approximately 1,000 species of which are believed to be in Coimbatore.
According to H. Sankarraman, an expert on moths and a research scholar in entomology, moths often do not come to the lime light or get importance in conservation aspects unlike their celebrated cousins, butterflies (butterflies and moths belong to the order Lepidoptera).
“There will be not less than 4,000 varieties of moths in Tamil Nadu. However, these insects were not documented in the State and we do not know their distribution and conservation status. There are only a few number of reference books on moths of India. There is an urgent need to create awareness on moths, to protect their ecosystem and to conserve them,” he said.
According to him, Field Guide to Indian Moths by V. Shubhalaxmi published in 2018 and ‘The Fauna of British India, including Ceylon and pre-independent era series named ‘The Fauna of British India, including Ceylon and Burma’ by G.F. Hampson were among the guides to study about moths in the country.
Mohan Prasath from Act for Moths said that the idea of documenting moths in Coimbatore was a result of the National Moth Week celebrations held in the last week of July in Coimbatore. As many as 274 species were identified by experts this year.
“There is not much documentation and scientific studies on moths in the recent years in Tamil Nadu. Moths play a major role in food chain and they are good pollinators. There are many beautiful moths that come to our home at night as they are attracted to lights. Moths and their caterpillars are feed for birds and small animals. Act for Moths helps citizen to understand the importance of moths and document them for the future generations,” he said.
Moth expert from Kerala Balakrishnan Valappil, who has documented life cycles of 500 species of moths, also took part in the Moth Week celebrations and extended support for the year-long study, added Mr. Prasath.
D. Venkatesh, District Forest Officer, Coimbatore forest division, said that the documentation of moths will give more insights to the insect world in Coimbatore and shed light on their roles in the ecosystem.
