Dynamic inventory of moths of Savitribai Phule Pune University (Pune, India) through crowdsourcing via iNaturalist

Abstract

We present here the checklist of moths (Lepidoptera: Heterocera) for the campus of Savitribai Phule Pune University, situated in the metropolis of Pune in the state Maharashra in India. We report identification of 189 unique genera along with 154 unique species. Despite the relative small size of the observation area and the location being at the heart of a busy metropolis, the moths were found to be of diverse variety, with 26 different families and 76 tribes. The identifications of the species was crowd-sourced via iNaturalist.org. An automated program was developed to fetch the identification and generate the list. The program is also being made available open source. As a result the checklist remains relevant all the time with newer identification, correcting existing identification (if required) and taxonomic updates of the future.