Tracking the humble cousins of butterflies

Bengaluru: Unlike others, Dr Shubhalaxmi was not fascinated by butterflies. She took up a different and challenging path, which few had dared. Studying moths is indeed difficult, but Dr Shubhalaxmi arduously pursued them for her master’s and later even did a PhD.

Now Dr Shubhalaxmi has now penned a book on moths of India. On Friday, her book Field Guide to Indian Moths authored was released at ATREE by Dipika Goyal, Deputy Conservator of Forests, Bengaluru.

Though a lot has been published and written on butterflies, this is the first book of its kind on the Indian Moths. These humble cousins of butterflies come in different sizes. They range from the world’s largest moth, the Atlas moth, to the tiny micro moths.

This book unravels the fascinating world of moths. A compendium on 774 species of moths found in India and neighboring countries, the book guides readers on how to photograph moths, moth education, role of moths, and how to identify moths. 

Since little is known about moths, the book aims to popularize these lesser known insects. Today India is the second largest producer of silk – and who produces this valuable fiber - a humble silk moth caterpillar and no machine can match its quality.

Dr Shubhalaxmi has successfully managed to collect and use the information, especially on their ecology, and she worked tenaciously all through nights during her studies since writing about moths is actually searching in the dark where references on certain groups do not exist.