Zoological Survey of India (ZSI) Completes Catalogue of 13,703 Butterfly and Moth Species

Exam-focused facts from the 1 August 2026 current affairs briefing.

Key facts

The Zoological Survey of India (ZSI) has completed India's first national catalog of butterflies and moths, a 12-year project.
The catalog documents 13,703 species, accounting for 8.25% of all known butterfly and moth species worldwide.
The project was led by ZSI taxonomists Navneet Singh and Rahul Joshi, consolidating over 100 years of scattered records.
The catalog includes 2,205 Geometroidea moths and documents 1,689 remaining species.
ZSI Director Dhriti Banerjee stated that the catalog is essential for biodiversity research, ecological monitoring, and global conservation strategies.