Though news about illegal poaching of tiger and its declining population has been hogging headlines every now and then, many smaller species are also facing a similar bleak future due to poaching.

H.S. Rose from the Zoology Department of Punjabi University, Patiala, has been carrying out research for the past seven years under the project earmarked by the Union Ministry of Environment to identify and document moths across the country.

While talking to The Tribune, he said 300 species of butterflies in the country had been enlisted in the red data book under the endangered species category.

Large-scale poaching and international smuggling nexus is threatening many species of butterflies and moths in the Himalayas. The appolo butterflies and swallow-tail species are the most threatened. They are found at an altitude of 12,000 feet. Near the Rohtang Pass researchers noticed that foreigners hire local people to poach these species of butterfly. The foreigners engaged in illegal trade of butterflies in the Rohtang area pay Rs 20 to 30 per butterfly to the locals. The locals on their part also collect these and sell these to foreigners for being smuggled to foreign countries.

In international market some of the butterflies have an ornamental value and are sold at a very high price. A pair of bird wing butterfly found on Tiger Hill of Jammu and Kashmir is sold at price ranging from $ 2,500 to $ 3,500 in the international market. The yellow colour in the wings of some species of butterflies is permanent. It is even used in gold ornaments in some countries. In Taiwan wall plates used for decorating houses are made from wings of butterflies, he said.

He further stated that in 1994 butterfly some smugglers were nabbed in Delhi and 26,000 specimens of moths and butterflies collected from the Himalayas were seized from them. The government on its part failed to find an expert to identify species that were covered under the Wildlife Preservation Act among them. Owing to this laxity, the smugglers were freed.

No major research has been carried on moths and butterfly species in India after Independence. The present project being run from the university is first of its kind. The researchers under the project have collected samples of about 700 species of moths found across the country.

“I want that these rare specimens should be handed over to some natural museum, Rose said.

The government should give attention to the preservation of about 1,500 species of moths and butterflies found across the country. The international borders of the country along China and South East Asian countries are the hot spots for smuggling of butterflies from the country. The butterflies are also protected under the international trade for endangered species.

They pollinate about 75 per cent of staple crops in the world and 80 per cent of all flowering plants. The economic value of pollination is about $ 200 billion.