Modern, integrated, multi-platform field guides for biodiversity sciences

Biodiversity Atlas – India Field Guide Series aims to produce modern, authoritative, and multi-platform field guides that are integrated across print, mobile and online media. These Field Guides will assist a budding population of naturalists and citizen scientists in the identification, natural history and biology of species. The overarching goal is to contribute to the growth of biodiversity sciences in India through citizen science initiatives using biodiversity informatics.

India is a land of biodiversity, where watching and photographing animals and plants has now become popular. At the same time, with the rise of citizen science initiatives, amateur naturalists are increasingly interested in generating new publication-quality information on the natural history, species diversity, and biology of many popular groups of organisms, such as butterflies, dragonflies, birds, and plants. In the past decade, amateur naturalists and young scientists have made significant contributions by helping to discover hundreds of new species in India, and contributed to the understanding of distributional ranges, seasonal occurrence and abundance of species by submitting millions of observations to online biodiversity informatics platforms. Massive growth in data generation through citizen science initiatives such as Biodiversity Atlas – India (https://www.bioatlasindia.org), Atlas of Living Australia (https://www.ala.org.au), eBird (https://ebird.org), iNaturalist (https://www.inaturalist.org), and many others shows the tremendous promise of biodiversity informatics through widespread collaborations between professional and amateur citizen scientists.

At the same time, these developments highlight a need to produce modern, authoritative, and integrated multi-platform field guides that can train and assist a growing population of naturalists, citizen scientists and budding professionals in the identification, natural history and biology of species. The proposed Biodiversity Atlas – India Field Guide Series addresses this need. The Field Guides will form an integrated interface between print, mobile and online media, as follows.

The Biodiversity Atlas – India is a collaborative citizen science project (https://www.bioatlasindia.org) in which thousands of individuals from multiple institutions, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and informal citizen groups are currently involved. It provides a powerful natural history web-platform for species-based bioinformatics. Most data are contributed by amateur citizen scientists, photographers and professional scientists; and the data are peer-reviewed and curated by advanced amateurs and professional biologists. Thus, Biodiversity Atlas – India supports the efforts of integrated professional-amateur scientific communities that aggregate large datasets on Indian biodiversity with the goal of studying ecological trends, especially in the face of climate change and human development. There are currently eight taxon-based websites (i.e., on specific organismal groups): (1) butterflies (est. 2010), (2) moths (est. 2014), (3) dragonflies and damselflies (est. 2014), (4) cicadas (est. 2015), (5) reptiles (est. 2017), (6) amphibians (est. 2017), (7) birds (est. 2017), and (8) mammals (est. 2018) (see further details at https://www.bioatlasindia.org/bai-websites).

The Biodiversity Atlas – India Field Guides will take advantage of this strong and growing bioinformatics platform, as well as existing expertise of experienced naturalists and biologists in the country, to produce printed and mobile app-based field guides on various taxonomic groups. The taxon-based books and mobile apps will follow standard formats for printed and mobile-based natural history field guides, but they will share a large proportion of the text and images. These complementary media platforms will provide detailed information on the identification, natural history and conservation status of species. They will be richly illustrated with images and summary figures on various aspects of the species biology to assist students and naturalists in the field (see the attached sample). The printed books in this series are inspired by such landmark series as the National Audubon Society Field Guides and the National Geographic Field Guides.

The mobile apps and websites will be closely integrated, with two-way flow of data and features with regular updates. One of the primary goals of these two electronic platforms is to gather user-contributed information into a comprehensive database on specific taxonomic groups. Towards this end, the mobile apps will expand existing data contribution features of the websites so that the app users can contribute data directly from their mobile devices, with or without images. Each of the three media (printed, mobile, and online) may be used independently if the users so wish. However, the cross-media integration will be immensely powerful in the long term to generate new and continuously updated data and information on species in India. Further, the core use of methods and tools of biodiversity informatics will drive rapid growth of biodiversity sciences in India. The associated educational resources will be useful to students and teachers alike.

The writing of the field guides and development of the associated mobile apps and websites will be supported through partnering institutions and extramural funding. The Indian Foundation for Butterflies Trust (this website), which has developed all the existing websites under the Biodiversity Atlas – India platform, will continue to coordinate further development of the websites and mobile apps. The subsequent outreach and citizen science initiatives supported by these printed, mobile and online media platforms may be spearheaded by any partners from educational and research institutions and conservation organizations, based on their geographic reach, interests and mandates. As we have done in the past, we will do our best to develop new features and modules on the mobile apps and websites to facilitate these educational and citizen science projects so that young citizen scientists get trained well, and diverse kinds of data on Indian biodiversity are integrated in ways that can be used efficiently to understand the biology and conservation needs of species. The information generated through the websites and mobile apps will be made publicly available free of cost through the mobile and online platforms. Starting from 2026 and following the publication of the printed field guides and mobile apps, we are committing to launching a nation-wide effort to engage citizen scientists in stepping up efforts to document biodiversity and impacts of climate and other changes on its future in India.

Proposed Structure of the Biodiversity Atlas – India Field Guide Series

Chief Editor: Prof. Krushnamegh Kunte (Associate Professor, National Centre for Biological Sciences (NCBS-TIFR), Bengaluru)

Board of Editors and Reviewers: This is drawn from experienced naturalists who are leading authorities on the natural history and taxonomy of the groups of animals and plants on which they specialize. They are also authors of well-known popular natural history books. Further information is available upon request.

Proposed titles in the series:

1. Butterflies of India: A Citizen Scientists’ Guide. This book and mobile app are scheduled for release in 2026. A species-based bioinformatics platform, Butterflies of India, that gathers and displays citizen scientist-contributed data has been in operation since 2010. This platform has been driving growth in the natural history and biology of Indian butterflies, resulting in more than 20 research publications. It has contributed significantly to the proposed book and mobile app, with which it will be integrated.

2. Titles on moths and Odonata (dragonflies and damselflies) will be launched as soon as the field fuide on butterflies is released.

Citation of the Brochure:

Kunte, K., Lochana R., Lalrintluanga, and V. Nawge. 2025. Butterflies of Indian Urban Greeneries (brochure). 2nd revised edition. Indian Foundation for Butterflies Trust, Bengaluru, India. 14-page, foldable brochure.

Information about the Brochure:

This brochure is a product of an ongoing study of Indian butterflies conducted collaboratively by the Butterflies of India consortium, composed of many research institutions, NGOs and citizen science groups. It is a handy pictorial guide depicting nearly all the butterfly species of urban greeneries across India, except in the truly forested regions. It is aimed at creating awareness and educating citizens, facilitating long-term monitoring of butterfly populations, and aiding conservation efforts by State Forest Departments to protect and improve butterfly habitats and help vulnerable species persist in urban landscapes. The primary focus on well-curated images and pointers to key identification features makes this brochure accessible to beginners, including children, as well as to naturalists, students, teachers, and even urban ecologists.

The brochure is particularly helpful for educational and other outreach activities, long-term butterfly monitoring activities, and great for schools and other educational institutions. It also makes a great gift!

For more information on Indian butterflies, including research, monitoring, and conservation efforts, visit the Butterflies of India (https://www.ifoundbutterflies.org; other pages on this website) and Indian Butterfly Monitoring Scheme websites (https://www.ibms-network.in), download iButterfly Explorer and iBiodiversity Count mobile apps (https://www.ifbt.in/mobile-apps), or contact:

Indian Foundation for Butterflies Trust: Email: secretary@ifoundbutterflies.org. Phone: +91 6362-512-292 (also on WhatsApp).

or

Biodiversity Lab: Dr. Krushnamegh Kunte. Email: krushnamegh@ncbs.res.in. Phone: +91 9483-525-925 (also on WhatsApp).

How to Obtain Copies of the Brochure:

You can obtain copies in person at NCBS (GKVK campus) in the north or JP Nagar in the south of Bengaluru, or receive them by post. The brochure is a not-for-profit resource for the community, it is not produced as a commercial product. However, a contributory amount from those who can afford it is appreciated, since this will help us produce further copies for distribution to underfunded schools, and to create additional resources for butterfly-watchers. A suggested contributory amount to obtain the brochure is Rs. 125 per copy. If you can afford it, then pay more than the suggested contributory amount (see further below). You can pay by bank transfer or a UPI-based app such as PhonePe or PayTM using the details below. Email us a screen capture before you pick up copies or ask them to be shipped (include your postal address). For shipping purposes, an order of a minimum of 10 copies is required, and please include cost of shipping and handling (Rs. 150 for 10-30 copies, Rs. 400 for 31-100 copies).

Information for Bank Transfer:

Account name: Indian Foundation for Butterflies Trust

Bank details: State Bank of India, Amruthahalli Branch, Bengaluru 560092. Ac. No.: 40332965419. IFSC Code: SBIN0011821.

UPI ID: 6362512292@SBI

QR code for payment through UPI-based apps:

Sponsor This Brochure for Underfunded Schools and Budding Naturalists: All contributory funds from this brochure will go to distributing free copies to underfunded schools and to students who cannot pay, to creating new outreach and educational materials on biodiversity and conservation, and for other non-profit goals and projects. If you want to sponsor additional copies for distribution to underfunded schools and students, then please get in touch. If you want to sponsor printing of customised copies that may be distributed to a group of people you especially care about (e.g., a school, NGO, society, company, or state forest departments), then that can be arranged, too.

We would like to translate this brochure into Hindi and other regional languages and make the information about butterflies as widely accessible to as many native speakers as possible. If you can help us in this effort, then please contact us. Residents of Bengaluru or those who can visit NCBS for this work are preferred.

A MOBILE APP FOR AI-ASSISTED SPECIES IDENTIFICATION AND NATURAL HISTORY OF INDIAN BUTTERFLIES

YOU CAN DOWNLOAD THE APP FOR ANDROID PHONES FROM THE GOOGLE PLAY STORE, HERE

The iOS version will be made available on Apple App Store in due course of time.

Read about the associated iBiodiversity Count mobile app.

SEE THE FAQs FOR THE APPS HERE

The iButterfly Explorer mobile app will help take your enjoyment of watching Indian butterflies in the field to the next level. It is an authoritative field guide for species identification and natural history of Indian butterflies. The app offers AI-assisted species identification, and serves as a mobile-friendly, offline companion to the Butterflies of India website, from which it draws data.

The project is driven by an integrated professional-amateur scientific community that aggregates big data on Indian butterflies with the goals of: (a) providing helpful resources and guidance to watch and enjoy butterflies, and (b) studying ecological trends. The platform is also used extensively for educational and outreach activities, so it promotes the enjoyment, research and conservation of biodiversity.

It is a home-grown citizen science platform, custom-made for Indian biodiversity, hosted in a leading national research institution, and supported by a consortium of non-profit agencies and/or non-profit engagements.

Prominent Features:

• Easy-to-use, richly illustrated mobile app for field identification of species, aided by a rich array of peer-reviewed reference images

• Easy-to-use, highly accurate AI-assisted identification of species using your photographs

• Online as well as offline functionality, facilitating use in urban greeneries and remote field locations alike

• Useful for everyone, from nature lovers and naturalists to citizen scientists and field researchers

• It is completely free. It has no inbuilt ads, and your data and personal information will not be sold or shared with any other platform or company for a for-profit or non-profit purposes.

Read the associated full statements on data privacy and data sharing /data-privacy at the linked pages.
 

The app was produced as a collaborative effort between the Indian Foundation for Butterflies Trust, Nature's Ark and NextWealth Entrepreneurs Pvt. Ltd., first released in December 2025.

A MOBILE APP TO ENTER, ORGANISE AND RETRIEVE COUNT DATA ON INDIAN BIODIVERSITY

YOU CAN DOWNLOAD THE APP FOR ANDROID PHONES FROM THE GOOGLE PLAY STORE, HERE

The iOS version will be made available on Apple App Store in due course of time.

Read about the associated iButterfly Explorer mobile app.

SEE THE FAQs FOR THE APPS, HERE

The iBiodiversity Count mobile app helps to take your enjoyment of watching butterflies, moths, odonates (dragonflies and damselflies), reptiles, and other Indian animals, in the field to the next level. The app has advanced features to record field data on species occurrence and populations, making it a truly comprehensive citizen science platform.

The app is not only useful for noting down your observations for personal use and research projects, but it also facilitates participation in several major citizen science projects such as Biodiversity Atlas – India (BioAtlasIndia) and Indian Butterfly Monitoring Scheme (iBMS). This mobile app is driven by an integrated professional-amateur scientific community that aggregates big data on Indian biodiversity with the goal of studying large-scale and long-term ecological trends, especially those related to species occurrence and distribution, and those related to biological impacts of climate change and of changes in land-use patterns. The platform is also used extensively for educational and outreach activities, so it promotes the enjoyment, research and conservation of Indian biodiversity.

It is a home-grown citizen science platform, custom-made for Indian biodiversity, hosted in leading national research institutions and NGOs, and supported by a consortium of non-profit agencies and/or non-profit engagements.

Prominent Features:

• Online as well as offline functionality, facilitating use in urban greeneries and remote field locations alike.
• Useful for everyone, from nature lovers and naturalists to citizen scientists and professional field scientists.
• Allows users to track sightings and organise and back up observations, field notes, and population and count data, on a secure, stable and retrievable platform.
• Includes standardised formats to enter data as 30-minute counts, daily checklists and regional (location) checklists, with geo-tagged field data.
• It is completely free. It has no inbuilt ads, and your data and personal information will not be sold or shared with any other platform, individuals, company or agency for a for-profit or non-profit purposes.
• You control the use of your data by the larger community by choosing an appropriate copyright license. You can choose to either:
  (a) keep the data generated using this mobile app as completely copyrighted for personal use; that is, not share the data with others;
  (b) make the data available to others immediately for use under a creative commons license, or
  (c) make the data available to others under a creative commons license in a phased manner, for example under a 3-year or 5-year embargo, if you want to publish your results before you make the data available to others. The last option is suitable for those who are working towards their Masters or PhD theses, or working on a funded project with specific restrictions on data sharing.

Read the associated full statements on copyright, data privacy and data sharing at the linked pages.

The app was produced as a collaborative effort between the Indian Foundation for Butterflies Trust, Nature's Ark and NextWealth Entrepreneurs Pvt. Ltd., first released in December 2025.

MENTORED FELLOWSHIPS FOR PRE-DOCTORAL RESEARCH IN BIODIVERSITY AND EVOLUTION

Submit fellowship applications at: https://forms.office.com/r/aCTWijwShP

BACKGROUND: India is blessed with unparalleled biodiversity that is rich in charismatic animal and plant species, and countless microorganisms that occur across its hill ranges, forests, grasslands, rivers and marine ecosystems. Yet, a considerable portion of India’s biodiversity still remains poorly documented, with little scientific understanding of its evolutionary and genetic provenance, current ecological context, and long-term future. Additionally, many species are yet to be scientifically named and documented. The discrepancy between levels of biodiversity and knowledge gaps may be understood as shortfalls based on missing scientific insights into species discovery, the tree of life (molecular phylogenetics), species abundance and distribution, and abiotic tolerances, species interactions and genetic heritage that enable persistence of populations and species in an ever-changing world of ecological opportunity and climate. Some aspects of human-nature interaction have been crucial for the origins as well as persistence of biodiversity, and understanding them is equally important for conserving biodiversity. These factors have been engines of rich biodiversity, yet the knowledge shortfalls limit our scientific understanding of biodiversity in the Indian Subcontinent and its continued contribution to human welfare, for example through horticultural productivity and natural products. There is transparent hunger in the society to learn about these aspects and see biodiversity persist and thrive in the Indian Subcontinent.

Studying these aspects requires rigorous training in scientific thinking and methods in biodiversity sciences and associated fields such as evolutionary biology, ecology, museum sciences, and bioinformatics. Evolutionary biology forms the core of our modern understanding of biodiversity sciences, from the concept of species to systematics, phylogenetics, adaptations, and genetics and genomics. This type of training is sorely missing in the Indian educational system. The few exceptionally accomplished Indian scientists in this area invariably point to influential mentors who channelled raw energy and talent into a scientific force with the right academic opportunities, intellectual freedom, careful training in the field and in the lab, and academic discipline during early part of careers. Many of them also point to childhood exposure, some having overcome considerable challenges to nurture their love of nature and biodiversity at early stages. Many members of the fellowship committee have this experience either as budding scientists or as mentors.

Thus, the Biodiversity and Evolution Fellowships are envisioned:

• to nurture young talent in the area of biodiversity sciences,

• with the aim of preparing them to tackle knowledge gaps in species discovery, building the tree of life, and broad evolutionary, ecological and genetic insights into the biodiversity heritage of India,

• using methods in macro-evolution, macro-ecology and genomics,

• through one-year early career mentored fellowships such as at pre-doctoral level or during gap years.

The fellowships are inspired by exceptional mentors who have made a difference in the lives of young students and biodiversity researchers in India, and to the academic fields they represent. This includes Prof. Madhav Gadgil and Prof. Milind Watve, who were generous mentors to many biodiversity scientists in their early careers in India. They cast a long shadow not only on the scientific understanding of the evolution of biodiversity, but also on its persistence in a changing world. Their vision and unfailing mentoring efforts complement India’s strong commitment to nature, biodiversity, and the environment, formalized through signing major national legislation such as The Biological Diversity Act, 2002, and international treaties such as the Convention on Biological Diversity and Paris Agreement.

STRUCTURE OF THE BIODIVERSITY AND EVOLUTION FELLOWSHIPS: Biodiversity Fellowships are envisioned to be one-year pre-doctoral mentored fellowships under a suitable mentor preferably in a research institute/museum/university/trust/NGO. Fellows will be paired with mentoring scientists, who will undertake a year-long research project on any aspect of biodiversity sciences, broadly in species discovery and systematics, evolutionary biology, ecology, genomics, bio/ecoinformatics, and human-nature interaction relevant to biodiversity. Training and research may involve field, lab, or bioinformatics work. These will be full-time, on-site fellowships during which Fellows will be expected to work closely with their mentors for the entire year. The main goal will be training of the fellows in biodiversity sciences at an early stage of their professional careers. Fellows will receive a generous monthly stipend.

Duration of Individual Fellowships: 12 months. Fellowships will normally start between May and July of calendar Year 1, and continue for 12 months from the date of initiation. Candidates and mentors should be willing to commit to such a one-year mentored fellowship.

Eligibility Criteria for Candidates and Mentors: Talent shines through multiple paths and outcomes. Although the selection of fellows and mentors may be guided by the following criteria, opportunities for talented candidates should not be limited by rigid criteria. Thus, exceptions may be made in each selection criterion for truly exceptional candidates if this serves the larger goals of the fellowship programme.

• Candidates must be passionate about some aspect of biodiversity sciences, have a strong desire for a research career or for an alternative/unconventional career, and have a clearly demonstrable experience in field work/museum work/research labs/bioinformatics relevant to biodiversity studies.

• Candidates who are doing or wishing to do something out of the ordinary and/or of societal impact using scientific research in biodiversity sciences are preferred.

• Candidates from disadvantaged social, family and academic backgrounds but with a strong desire and a vision to make a contribution in the field of biodiversity sciences are particularly encouraged.

• Candidates may hold a Bachelors or Masters degree in any area of natural sciences (biology, physics, chemistry, mathematics), medical sciences, or engineering. It is fine if candidates are enroled in a degree programme at the time of application but will have finished the degree programme by the time of starting a Biodiversity Fellowship.

• Exceptional students in gap years may be considered.

• Candidates 25 years of age or younger at the time of initiation of the fellowship may be preferred, although there is no age restriction.

• A strong academic record is welcome but it is not a primary criterion. Passion and preparation for the academic field should be sufficient.

• Candidates should be Indian citizens.

• Mentors should be experienced practising scientists based in India, with a good academic record (research and publications) as well as a track record of nurturing young students, training them in scientific research, and guiding them in their careers.

• Mentors will be required to submit a one-page write-up on the research-cum-training project and a vision for mentoring the candidate during the process of finalizing the fellow-mentor pairing.

Selection Process: Applications will be invited for an openly and widely publicised nation-wide search for suitable candidates. Candidates will need to apply with their CV, a 100 to 500-word write-up about their interests and preparation in natural history/biodiversity/evolution, and names of two referees. Final selections will be made after initial screening, followed by interview of short-listed candidates with the committee constituted for the purpose. Candidates may identify their preferred mentor(s) at the time of application. However, pairing of a candidate with a suitable mentor is at the sole discretion of the Fellowship Committee.

Timelines/deadlines for Biodiversity and Evolution Fellowships 2025-2026:

• 15 March 2025: Application deadline

• 30 March 2025: Short-listed candidates will be informed about interviews

• 15 April 2025: Selected Fellows and mentors identified will be informed

• May to July 2025: Fellowships must be initiated

• April to June 2026: Fellowships must be ended 12 months after individual initiation

Mentorship Outcomes: The training and mentorship that Biodiversity Fellows receive should be personally and professionally transformative for the Fellows. Mentoring should prepare Fellows for: (a) top PhD programmes in competitive universities, research institutes and research museums in the world, and set them on course to become world-class biodiversity scientists and evolutionary biologists who study Indian biodiversity in its unique geological, evolutionary, ecological and socio-political setting, (b) alternative careers related to biodiversity sciences or unconventional paths of research outside academia, e.g., engineering or bioinformatics solutions in the service of biodiversity sciences through industry or other fields.

Scientific Outputs: Biodiversity Fellows and their mentors are expected to produce at least one original research or synthesis paper in a mainstream international scientific journal. Fellows doing unconventional projects may produce other relevant, equally impactful outputs, such as white papers, policy documents, books, or patented technology. These research outputs should be based on the work undertaken or initiated during the Biodiversity Fellowship. Biodiversity Fellows and their mentors should strive to publish their outputs within one or two years after the Fellowship has ended, although there is no mandatory timeline to do so.

PARTNERS: Fellowships will be administered as a collaborative, non-profit, educational and professional development effort between universities, research institutes, trusts, NGOs, etc. The 2024-2025 Fellowships were funded by the Sharma Kamala Educational Trust.