Common Indian Butterflies

袖珍指南常見印第安蝴蝶

The identification of butterflies is something one usually leaves to experts. This new app breaks ground here, bringing the power to identify butterflies within the grasp of a cellphone, regardless of one’s expertise. Called A Guide to Common Indian Butterflies, it leads one effortlessly to the butterfly species one has observed, using a few basic shapes, colours or names, either common or scientific. The 100 species covered and their variations are illustrated with over 400 photographs by some of India’s finest butterfly photographers.

The application was created by information and inputs by Peter Smetacek a renowned Lepidopterist of the Indian Subcontinent. The butterflies were chosen with a great deal of care, so that those often found over most of India are included. Besides India, the app may be used to identify butterflies in Bhutan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Pakistan, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, China, Japan, Singapore, Laos, Vietnam and Iran.

A crisp text tells one how to confirm the identity of the butterfly, its distribution within India and some details about its habits and habitat. Technical terms have not been used. Instead, photographs have been marked to draw attention to distinctive features.