After 12 years, India completes first comprehensive catalogue of butterflies, moths

2 min readKolkataJul 31, 2026 02:08 AM IST India’s Lepidoptera diversity now stands at 3,705 genera, 240 subfamilies, 102 families and 31 superfamilies, spanning ecosystems from the Himalayas to the Western Ghats and the tropical forests. By Antoreep DasIndia has completed its first comprehensive national catalogue of butterflies and moths, bringing together more than a century of scattered taxonomic records into a single reference after a 12-year effort led by the Zoological Survey of India (ZSI). Announced on Thursday, the catalogue documents 13,703 species of Lepidoptera — the insect order comprising butterflies and moths — found across the country. According to the ZSI, the compilation provides the first updated national baseline for biodiversity research, ecological monitoring and con