Moth enthusiasts seek to tap into citizen science to create inventory

People asked to click pictures of moths and upload them online

A colorful moth seen in the Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly garden in Hyderabad. (File photo)

They outnumber butterflies by almost a hundred fold and they are everywhere: on forest foliage and in bulb-lit homes. Yet there is very little known about the ubiquitous moth, its incredible diversity and ecological role.

Now ‘IndiaMoths’, a group that has come together on the India Biodiversity Portal, hopes to tap into “citizen science” to create an inventory of these nocturnal insects. IndiaMoths is also the India data-partner to the National Moth Week that will be held around the world from July 19 to 27.

All you have to do is upload your images of moths, and basic information about the location on

>their website . Researchers will then add to this data with descriptive information on each moth species.

There isn’t yet a comprehensive field guide to the moths of India, said Rohit George, researcher with French Institute of Pondicherry. The British were enthusiastic observers of moths in India and much of the information available today is from the old British publications, he added.