Book explains how a caterpillar turns into a butterfly and more

Did you know there are about 17,000 to 20,000 species of butterflies on Earth, out of which about 1,335 species are seen in India? Or that butterflies are found in all continents except Antarctica? And that caterpillars are known to eat 27,000 times their body weight during the ‘hungry’ stage in life?

Butterflies can be as tiny as a micro sim card. The tiniest known butterfly is the Small Grass Jewel, which is just 12 mm. And the biggest one is the Southern Birdwing, which measures 190 mm, except one known individual of Golden Birdwing which measured 194 mm! That’s as tall as your school notebook or as big as your wide-spread palm.

The longest known butterfly migration is by the Painted Lady butterfly and they are known to cover a distance of up to 12,000 kms.

Several interesting facts has been brought by Green Works Trust (GWT) in the form of butterfly series of The ‘Fun’cyclopaedia of Indian Wildlife.

The e-book has been authored by Nikhil Bhopale, co-founder and managing trustee, GWT, and Krupa Patil, co-founder and trustee, GWT. The e-book was released by BNHS director Bivash Pandav in presence of Bhopale, Patil and Milind Pandit, co-founder and trustee, GWT.

“This is a perfect way to introduce children to our nation’s rich biodiversity and spread awareness among the younger generation that will encourage them to study and protect our natural heritage. I am sure that such innovative initiative will attract younger generation to appreciate insects like butterflies, moths, dragonflies and other insects with a renewed interest,” said Dr Issac Kehimkar, chairman and director, Navi Mumbai-based iNaturewatch Foundation. Kehimkar is considered as ‘The Butterfly Man of India’.

With fun facts, the e-book explains the story of butterflies right from eggs to caterpillars to pupa to adult butterflies.

The book also explains about the short-distance and long-distance migration of the butterflies.

“We know that there are 1,335 species of butterflies in India. That means so many different types of butterflies! We must be so proud of so much diversity!! Some have interesting antennae, while others have fascinating legs. Some have unique wings, while others have interesting eyes. So many shapes, so many colours, so many patterns. And what makes it more interesting? This amazing diversity is seen in all four stages of life— eggs, caterpillar, pupa and butterfly,” said Bhopale.

The book also tells about three butterfly hotspots of India - Eastern Himalayas (Eaglenest Wildlife Sanctuary, Talle Wildlife Sanctuary from July to October), Indo-Burma (Balpakram National Park, Baghmara Reserve Forest, Siju Wildlife Sanctuary in Garo Hills in October, November or March-April) and Western Ghats & Sri Lanka (Tungareshwar Wildlife Sanctuary, Cotigao Wildlife Sanctuary, Sharavathi Wildlife Sanctuary from July to October and in February and March).