Create a flutter all month

Sorrel sapphire. Pics courtesy/Sohail Madan

They are pretty, colourful and mostly considered a symbol of happiness and auspiciousness among several cultures. But most importantly, butterflies are a vital part of the eco-system, facilitating pollination and acting as the food source to birds, spiders, lizards, wasps and other creatures. And there are over 1,300 species of the winged insects in India. To celebrate the insect, over 25 organisations working in biodiversity conservation have joined hands to observe September as the Big Butterfly Month, starting this Saturday.

Apart from BNHS, some of the other participating organisations for the carnival include Diversity India, National Centre for Biological Sciences (NCBS) and Indian Foundation for Butterflies (IFB). Sohail Madan, centre manager, BNHS Delhi, tells us the two-week-long celebrations are aimed at sensitising the general public about butterflies, bridging information gap on species in the country, and ultimately, protecting and opening up new habitats for them. "For the past three years, we've been observing the Delhi Butterfly Month. With the COVID-19 situation, we felt this was the best opportunity to scale it up on a national level," he shares, adding that there are activities both on a national level on the web, as well as physical ones, like walks, wherever possible locally, while observing
distancing norms.

Orange oakleaf

For those interested in learning more about the delightful species, there will be talks by experts including Butterfly Man of India Isaac Kehimkar, and Dr Milind Bhakare, who will speak about his book A Guide to Butterflies of Western Ghats. Among other outreach activities is an origami workshop, journalling competition, butterfly life-cycle and photography contests, quiz, videography and webinars. The activities are planned in a way that people learn to not just appreciate butterflies, but also contribute to conservation efforts, which includes data gathering, Madan adds. "One of the most important facets of the month is The Big Butterfly Count, which will be held from September 14 to 20 where citizens can participate. There's a huge black hole when it comes to data on butterflies. The contests and the species count are aimed at creating a large butterfly monitoring network," he explains.

Throughout the month, educational materials will also be shared to aid the identification process. While it's a step towards a larger citizen-led science movement, Madan says it's also a way to de-stress. "If you go out to see butterflies, it'll be good for your health. People are already looking at nature in their backyard for inspiration during the lockdown. We intend to tap into this opportunity to drive the conservation conversation," he signs off.

Stately Nawab

Sohail Madan

From September 5 to 20
Log on to facebook.com/ButterflyMonthIndia/ to track updates

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