Prelims: Current events of national and international importance | Environment
Why in News?
Recently, The Zoological Survey of India (ZSI) announced the completion of the National Catalogue of Lepidoptera (Butterflies and Moths), the final volume was published in Zootaxa.
- Authored by – Dr. Rahul Joshi and Dr. Navneet Singh
- Project – 22 distinct catalogue volumes covering Indian Lepidoptera.
- Indian Lepidoptera – 13,703 species across 3,705 genera, 240 subfamilies, 102 families, 31 superfamilies.
- Representing approximately 8.25% of all known butterfly and moth species worldwide.
- Geometroidea in India – 2,205 species across 479 genera, 13 subfamilies, 4 families
- Accounting for 8.80% of the world's known species in this superfamily.
- Final Volume – Catalogued 1,689 species, resolving long‑standing taxonomic gaps.
- Family Composition
- Geometridae – 2,100 species, 445 genera.
- Uraniidae – 95 species, 27 genera.
- Epicopeiidae – 9 species, 6 genera.
- Pseudobistonidae – 1 species, 1 genus.
- Subfamilies
- Ennominae (895 species),
- Larentiinae (565 species),
- Geometrinae (309 species).
- Epidesmiinae (Geometridae) and Heraculinae (Pseudobistonidae) are each represented by a single species in India.
The family Sematuridae is absent from Indian fauna, being largely restricted to the New World.
Reference
PIB | Butterflies and Moths
