Why this new encyclopedia on Indian biodiversity focuses on butterflies

Updated On: 14 March, 2023 10:44 AM IST | Mumbai | Sammohinee Ghosh

Releasing today, the first in a series of encyclopedias on Indian biodiversity focuses on butterflies

Blue pansy

Do nature guides bore you with scientific names and hard-to-process facts during a walk? Do their inputs fail to spark instant joy that should follow discoveries in the natural world? If not for adults, tepid interactions can hinder a budding interest in nature among kids. Conservationist Nikhil Bhopale (inset) identified this gap as a trekker and trainer. “I have been training naturalists in the country for years now. I believe that the cause of biodiversity can be taken forward by encouraging people into the field,” he shares. That’s how the idea for his book — The ‘Fun’cyclopaedia of Indian Wildlife Butterflies — was conceived. Bhopale’s book echoes that curiosity needs guidance at all ages, but especially during our growing up years. The objective of his series is to share awesome facts and anecdotes about butterflies. “Readers should not be restricted to differentiating one species of butterflies from another — which is what most guides startle folks with,” he notes.
Bhopale reveals, “There’s something tactile in store for attendees but I want them to find out more at the venue.” The naturalist tells us that while humans breathe through their noses, butterflies breathe using their abdomens. Now that’s something a child would involuntarily remember, we think. He also mentions that the animal world is full of contradictions. “We associate taste with the insides of our mouth. However, these winged wonders use their feet to taste food.”

Archduke