Naturalists in Central Gujarat mark National Moth Week

A group of naturalists marked the National Moth Week (NMW), the annual global event dedicated to observing, studying, and recording moth diversity, by observing moths in central Gujarat.

Led by Venus Joshi, project manager of Community for Conservation of Nature (Cocoon), an initiative of NGO Shivranjani Trust in Halol in the Panchmahal district, naturalists have been observing moths in the Panchmahal district for the last week. “We have organised moth-viewing sessions in urban areas, on the outskirts of town as well as in Jambughoda forests. We are conducting sessions of viewing moths mostly at night as that is the time when these insects are most active,” Joshi, who is also a well-known birdwatcher in Gujarat, said.

NMW is a global citizen science initiative launched in 2012 by members of Friends of the East Brunswick Environmental Commission, an NGO in New Jersey dedicated to local environment education and conservation. This year’s initiative concluded on Sunday.

“Moths are very important in the ecosystem as they act as pollinators besides being an important part of the food chain,” said Joshi, adding that the team will analyse data they have collected over the last week to ascertain the number of moth species they have observed.