Biodiversity Meet, Nagaland 2018

Butterflies & moths, birds, odonates, spiders, amphibians & reptiles, cicadas and more…

Sukhai, Ghukhuyi & Kivikhu, Zunheboto District, Nagaland

Dates: 9th May to 16th May 2018

Costs: Rs.16,500/- per person (for Indian citizens), ex Dimapur, including food, stay vehicle hire on all days on first come, first served basis by transferring 50% of the contributory amount to the
bank account below:

Bank details:

Send your contributory amount to
Account name: TITLI
Bank name: State Bank of India
Address: Jakhan, Dehradun
Current account number: 31058150506
IFSC code: SBIN0006155

And email your deposit details to sanjay.sondhi1@gmail.com

Maximum capacity: 16 people

About the biodiversity meet

This Biodiversity Meet is being organised to learn and document the biodiversity of Sukhai, Ghukhuyi and Kivikhu villages in Zunheboto District, Nagaland. Pia Sethi and her team from the The Energy & Resources Institute (TERI) has been working in this landscape for the last three years. As an outcome of their efforts, the three villages above have voluntarily formed Community Conserved Areas (CCAs) in order to protect their forests and associated biodiversity. Since the beginning of 2017, Titli Trust has been supporting TERI to assess the area’s biodiversity, as well as to evaluate the opportunity to initiate nature-linked tourism as an incentive to conserve. More than 200 species of birds, 120 species of butterflies, 200 species of moths have already been documents with many endemics. At this point in time, there is no tourism infrastructure in this area, and the Biodiversity Meet participants will be staying in homes of villagers.

Meet organisers

The meeting is being organised on a voluntary basis by TERI, Titli Trust, DiversityIndia, NatureMates and Indian Foundation for Butterflies. All proceeds from the meet will go to the local communities.

Inclusions:

• Boarding at Sukhai, Ghukhuyi and Kivikhu villages.
• 3 meals per day (breakfast, lunch & dinner). Non vegetarian meals are included.
• Vehicle hire for the duration of the meet (4 people to a vehicle).
• Arranging for ILP’s.
• Local guides.

Exclusions:

• Personal expenses such as tips, phone bills, bottled water & bottled beverages.
• Rail and/or airfare to and from Dimapur.
• Insurance and medical claims.
• Lunch on the last day.

Participants need to arrive at Dimapur airport on 9th May 2018 by 1230 hrs.
Participants will be dropped off at Dimapur airport on 16th May 2018 by 1100 hrs.

Accommodation:

Village homes at Sukhai, Ghukhuyi and Kivikhu on a shared basis.

Visit day-to-day schedule:

• 9th May 2018: Departure from Dimapur airport at 1300 hrs. 10 our drive to Sukhai.
• 10, 11th May 2018: Sukhai village & surrounds. 11th May travel to Ghukhuyi (5 km, 20 minutes).
• 12th, 13th May 2018: Ghukhuyi & surrounds. 13th May travel to Kivikhu (25 km, 1.5 hours)
• 14, 15th May 2018: Kivikhu & surrounds. 15th May late afternoon travel to Wokha/Kohima.
• 16th May 2018: travel to Dimapur

Schedule of activities (based on participants):

• Brief about the area; interaction with the Sema tribe and their conservation plans.
• Trails for butterfly, bird and other faunal group daily.
• Moth/insect screens every night.
• “Herp” walks at night.
• Identification sessions for various species’ groups in the evening.
• Upload of information on various NCBS/IFB websites.

Contacts for this Biodiversity meet:

• Sanjay Sondhi, Titli Trust, sanjay.sondhi1@gmail.com, +91 9412052189
• Pia Sethi, TERI, pias@teri.res.in, +91 9811222321
• Vijay Barve, DiversityIndia, vijay.barve@gmail.com, +91 9845724832  (What'sApp and Telegram)
• Krushnamegh Kunte, IFoundButterflies, krushnamegh@ifoundbutterflies.org

Birds of India website launched

India has remarkable bird diversity, a long history of ornithology, and a strong community of birders. Thus, it is incredible that we do not have a dedicated, comprehensive and scholarly website on Indian birds. Birds of India website is an effort at developing such an online platform, providing a critical and freely available resource that has been sorely missing. It will draw upon the expertise of a large number of ornithologists and advanced birders, and contributions from amateur birders, naturalists and photographers, who together make up the Birds of India Consortium.

Birds of India website has three main objectives: (1) generate a library of carefully curated reference images of Indian birds, (2) consolidate available information on Indian birds and make it freely available on the website, and (3) encourage collection of new information on all aspects of Indian birds through rigorous natural history observations and ecological research. Like its sister websites, this website is heavily dependent on citizen scientists.

Birds of India website uses the powerful online framework developed by the Butterflies of India website. In the coming months and years, we will make this website mobile-friendly and develop a few apps that will help you contribute to this website through mobile devices. We will also think of ways to integrate and complement our efforts with other projects such as eBird. Just as critical as these developments, we want to significantly expand the Birds of India Consortium to include many more editors and reviewers who form the backbone of such a project. We invite more and more citizen scientists to contribute reference images and textual information that will make this website an indispensable reference on Indian birds. We hope that you will join us in developing this valuable resource, and strengthen citizen science in India.

-- Editors, Birds of India website,website, and the Birds of India Consortium. 1 November 2017.

The Moths of India website has 700 species

Hello everybody,

The Moths of India website has now reached 700 species, an incredible journey in less than two years. The website has also recorded more than 6,500 unique visitors, a number that is growing weekly, and bodes well for growing the “moth-ers” community in India and elsewhere. Even more encouraging is the number of contributors has increased, and many different people have started uploading moth species on the website.

Interesting records include

Comostola hauensteini, a new species described only in 2004. MOI website reports the first records from Paschimbanga and Arunachal Pradesh for this species.
http://www.mothsofindia.org/sp/356112/Comostola-hauensteini

The lovely day-flying moths Dysphania percota and Dysphania nelera. The website now has 4 species of Dysphania. 

http://www.mothsofindia.org/sp/356085/Dysphania-percota

http://www.mothsofindia.org/sp/356086/Dysphania-nelera

among many others.

Thanks to all the contributors and reviewers for making this happen.

And we are happy to report another sister website based on the architecture of these websites, http://www.indianreptiles.org/home.

The Moths of India team
http://www.mothsofindia.org/website-teams

Moths of India reaches 600 species

The Moths of India website has reached 600 species, an amazing achievement in just over 15 months since we went live. Some interesting moths posted in the last few months are...

 

The Zygaenid moth Psaphis euschemoides http://www.mothsofindia.org/sp/355920/Psaphis-euschemoides, which is an amazing mimic of another day flying Geometrid moth, the False Tiger MothDysphania militaris http://www.mothsofindia.org/sp/355022/Dysphania-militaris. Or is it the other way around?

 

 

The incredibly beautiful Zygaenid moth Campylotes-desgodinsi http://www.mothsofindia.org/sp/35591 2/Campylotes-desgodinsi

 

The Sea Buckthorn Hawkmoth Hyles hippophaes http://www.mothsofindia.org/sp/355943/Hyles-hippophaes, previously known from India only by a single specimen collected by Avinov in 1912. 

Orthobrachia hirowatarii, a species described in 2016 from China and Thailand, reported in India for the first time at http://www.mothsofindia.org/sp/355935/Orthobrachia-hirowatarii

 

The other highlight is that the number of contributors has increased to 40.

Keep “mothing" and contributing!

The Moths of India team

Butterfly spotted after 58 years - Sighted in Arunachal Pradesh

Roopak Goswami

A Howarth's Hairstreak. Picture credit: Rachit Singh Guwahati, Jan. 1: His love for the butterfly world helped young Rachit Singh to sight Howarth's Hairstreak, a butterfly species, after 58 years at Tenga valley in Arunachal Pradesh. Howarth's Hairstreak ( Chrysozephyrus disparatus interpositus Howarth) was rediscovered 58 years after it was first spotted in Sikkim in 1956. The sighting has been reported in the latest issue of Journal of Threatened Taxa and is authored by naturalists Sanjay Sondhi and Rachit Singh. This record also extends the known range of this species eastward by 350km from Sikkim to western Arunachal Pradesh. "My journey with butterflies and insects began in 2012, at Eaglenest wildlife sanctuary. I attended a camp conducted by Sondhi when I was studying in class IX. Tenga valley is an amazing place to study the microfauna and other forms of wildlife as it is right in the foothills of Eaglenest," Singh said. "After the camp, I used to go for field trips to study the biodiversity of the area. On one of those days, I found this butterfly and was told by other experts that it should be reported. Hence, I started working on it with Sondhi," Singh told The Telegraph. Singh was then a student of Army Public School at Tenga when he spotted the butterfly on May 21, 2014. He is now pursuing BSc (first year) in biotechnology, chemistry and zoology from Christ University, Bangalore. The butterfly was seen three times around a particular area along the forest streams in May 2014. The first sighting was on May 21, 2014 at 10am; the second sighting was on the next day. "The butterfly prefers shaded areas and takes small, swift flights staying 2-3 metres above the ground. While perched on leaves, it moves the hind wing to create an illusion of moving antennae using the tail, he said. Tenga valley is part of Tenga reserve forest at the northern edge of the Eaglenest wildlife sanctuary and Sessa orchid wildlife sanctuary in western Arunachal Pradesh. The specific locality where the species was sighted is Tseringpam village in Tenga valley at 1,626 metres and covered with thick green sub-tropical forest. The area is rich with variety of seasonal shrubs alongside the stream that flows through the valley, with a gradual fall in altitude. The wet patches along the forest form good mud-puddling grounds. The area is free of human disturbances and agriculture. Surveys in western Arunachal Pradesh landscape have resulted in the addition of several butterfly species that are new to India, including Gonepteryx amintha tibetana, Bhutanitis ludlowi and several butterfly rediscoveries and range extensions, including Calinaga aborica. Original News on The Telegraph

Moth of India website :: Updates September 2016

by Sanjay Sondhi

The moth website keeps chugging along, and with 510 species, 17 life cycles, 1169 images viewed by 3,002 unique visitors, we are off to a great start, given that the website  went live only a year ago in September 2015. What better way to celebrate this with an amazing moth, Dasysphecia bombyliformis which can be viewed through the link below. 

http://www.mothsofindia.org/sp/355781/Dasysphecia-bombyliformis

This clearwing moth is mimicking a bumble bee Bombus breviceps or perhaps the Hornet Vespa tropica. I mistook the same for a bee/hornet till Geetha Iyer pointed out that it may be a Sesiid. Ian Kitching confirmed that the Natural History Museum, London has only two specimens including the holotype. Type locality is in the Khasi Hills, Meghalaya collected in June 1895, described by Rothschild in 1911.

Enjoy viewing the moth, and we would welcome more contributions from people to the website.

Kaiser-i-Hind Teinopalpus imperialis imperialis from Arunachal Pradesh

By: Sanjay Sondhi

Here are photographic records of perhaps one of the rarest and most beautiful of Indian butterflies-the Kaiser-i-Hind Teinopalpus imperials imperialis on the IFB website.

http://www.ifoundbutterflies.org/sp/2845/Teinopalpus-imperialis

The credit for this goes to Reddy Bei, Range Forest Officer, Pange, Talle Wildlife Sanctuary. For those of who don’t know Reddy Bei-he is a wonderful, committed forest officer and has done terrific things at Talle WLS to support conservation and its protection.

A report in the Arunachal Times on 25 August 2014 which stated that the Kaiser-i-Hind been photographed for the first time in Arunachal Pradesh from Talle WLS prompted Reddy Bei to call me. He said that he had photographed the same butterfly from Talle in 2012. He sent me some wonderful images for confirming the identification and indeed it was the Kasier-i-Hind!

Congratulations to Reddy Bei for this sighting and photographs. And for those of you who have not visited, Talle beckons.

As a side, I spotted the Brown Gorgon Meandrusa lachinus at precisely the same location at Talle in September, a few years ago.

Mystical Bhutan Glory (Bhutanitis ludlowi) in India !

Dr. Krushnamegh Kunte reported on ButterflyIndia yahoo group today  (8th November 2012):


India now has two rather than one species of Bhutan Glory! I am very happy to report that the elusive Bhutanitis ludlowi, which was previously known only from E. Bhutan, has finally been spotted in India by Sanjay Sondhi, Pijush Dutta and Sujatha Padmanabhan:

http://ifoundbutterflies.org/54-bhutanitis/bhutanitis-ludlowi

Congratulations to those three on taking these very first Indian images of this very very rare butterfly, and for adding this species to the Indian butterfly fauna. You struck gold with this! These Indian records are particularly important because the species was rediscovered in Bhutan only in 2009 after the initial species description in 1942 based on the specimens collected in 1933-1934. You will find more information about this on the ludlowi species page under different tabs and on a few other websites.

I have now photographed all the five types of ludlowi at the BMNH London. Those images are also on the species page, with permission from the BMNH, along with Sanjay, Sujatha and Pijush’s images. Identification key to distinguish between lidderdalii and ludlowi is at:

http://ifoundbutterflies.org/54-bhutanitis/bhutanitis

For comparison, now we have a few images of wild butterflies and museum specimens on the lidderdalii page as well:

http://ifoundbutterflies.org/54-bhutanitis/bhutanitis-lidderdalii

I am sure that there will be more sightings of ludlowi in India in coming years. If you come across any, we would be pleased if you bring them to our attention and contribute good quality images to the above species pages. It will be good to build this resource for the benefit of the larger community.

Link to original message.