A Glimpse into Moths from India’s Most Biodiverse Regions - Andaman Islands
Updated: 8 hours ago
Brief photographic stories on moth diversity across three of India’s richest ecosystems: Meghalaya, the Western Ghats and the Andaman Islands. All the moths were documented in and around different homestays/homes without using any active methods to attract them.
Moths are in the order Lepidoptera (the same as butterflies), though for every species of butterfly, there are approximately ten more species of moths, meaning the variation among moths is enormous. Globally, around 160,000 moth species have been described, including over 12,000 moth species recorded from the Indian subcontinent. They can often be distinguished from butterflies by their antennae and other morphological characteristics. Most moths are nocturnal, meaning they are active at night, though some are active during the day as well. Despite their diversity, moths often go unnoticed, even though they play an important role as bioindicators of environmental health. This is our small attempt to help you appreciate these captivating insects.
SWARAJDWEEP - 0 m
The Andaman Islands have been known by many names: Agadaemon (Claudius Ptolemy, 2nd century), Lakhabalus (9th-century Arab merchant Suleiman), Timaittivu (in the Tanjore inscriptions of the Chola Empire, dated 1050 AD), Angaman (Marco Polo, 1292 AD), and Kala Paani (the name associated with the islands’ penal history). More recently, they have been marketed to starry-eyed tourists as the “Emerald Islands.” While these names reflect the many ways in which the archipelago has been perceived and understood, what remains constant is its immense ecological, indigenous, and geological significance.
Geographically isolated in the Bay of Bengal, the islands have functioned as a natural evolutionary laboratory, allowing species to evolve independently over time. The archipelago spans two globally recognised biodiversity hotspots, with the Andaman group falling under the Indo-Burma and the Nicobar group under Sundaland, and contributes significantly to India’s faunal diversity, with approximately 10% of the country’s fauna represented in the region (ZSI).
Having grown up on these islands on and off, and Priya having grown up here, we have had the privilege of witnessing this extraordinary landscape firsthand. We are by no means experts; nor do we claim to know the Latin names of the species we encounter. Rather, we are observers, fortunate to have lived alongside the islands’ remarkable biodiversity and witnessed its richness (and now depletion) over time.
In a 1992 survey published by the Zoological Survey of India (ZSI), K. Chandra and S. Kumar recorded 415 moth species across the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, 41 of which were endemic. Since then, research has expanded our understanding of the region’s moth diversity, with the recorded number now exceeding 600 species. Among these, families such as Erebidae, Crambidae, Geometridae, and Noctuidae account for the vast majority of the archipelago’s macro-moth diversity.
With erratic weather patterns and growing artificial light across a small island such as Swarajdweep, the conditions that shape the lives of moths are changing. Over the past twelve months, moths have appeared around our homes. This is a record of those appearances.
Baphomet moth (Creatonotos gangis) - Family: Erebidae Illustration of Baphomet moth male Cyana sp. - Family: Erebidae Orange-bodied Snout (Filodes sexpunctalis) - Family: Crambidae Bean leafroller (Omiodes diemenalisOmiodes diemenalis) - Family: Crambidae Endotricha sp. - Family: Pyralidae Cotton leaf roller (Haritalodes derogata) - Family: Crambidae Three-spotted leaf roller (Notarcha aurolinealis) - Family Crambidae Ischyja sp. - Family: Noctuidae Pseudosesia sp. - Family: Sessidae Tropical tiger moth (Asota caricae) - Family: Erebidae Yellow tail tussock moth (Somena scintillans) - Family: Erebidae Cirrhochrista sp. - Family: Crambidae Family: Erebidae Psichotoe duvaucelii - Family: Erebidae Bocana sp. - Family: Erebidae Acropteris sp. - Family: Uraniidae Seven-spotted handmaiden moth (Amata cyssea) - Family: Erebidae Idaea sp. - Family: Geometridae Eggplant Fruit and Shoot Borer (Leucinodes orbonalis) - Family: Crambidae
Click an image to see each moth's tentative ID.
A Glimpse into Moths from India’s Most Biodiverse Regions
About the author
Priya is a local girl from Havelock who is both an engineer and an educator. She has been teaching island kids for the past 3 years. She has helped and supported more than 500 children with school and empowered them to realise their dreams and ambitions.
About the author
Sarah is a silly goose who waddles through life with a microscope in one hand and a paperback in another. She loves exploration, science, maps and swears by Lord of the Rings.
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