Guest post by Pritha Dey, Country Coordinator for India
National Moth Week ended July 25 with over 1000 registrations from India!! In the 10th year of this global initiative, National Moth Week saw unprecedented participation from the different corners of the country.
As the country coordinator for India, I had equal fun in arranging the event and also encouraging people through articles and interviews. Moth-ers of different ages and backgrounds came together and shared their enthusiasm to document moths in their backyards, or by hosting public events. This year, during this week we had uncommon spells of rain in different parts of the country, which put some plans on hold but couldn’t dampen the moth-ing spirit.
Two of Indian Citizen-science portals announced prizes for the top contributors to incentivize the effort people put in this global initiative. In spite of the bad weather and the full moon, there were a large number of observations put up in each of the portals.
India Biodiversity Portal had 2126 observations of 664 taxa. 69 users registered, with 58 uploaders and 52 identifiers
Here is a map of observations
Moths of India, a peer-reviewed portal, saw observations of 750, of which 450 were peer-reviewed and uploaded on the website, by about 30 observers.
Here is a map of observations:
iNaturalist, as a part of DiversityIndia had 8274 records, 1045 taxa with 589 observers and 200 identifiers
Here is a map
I can’t thank the people enough who volunteered, including those who translated the NMW fliers into 21 languages and those who participated in each step of the event, making it reach more people and countries than ever before. Looking forward to next year with much more enthusiasm!