Butterflies are an abundant and diverse group of animals that are a conspicuous part of virtually all the world’s terrestrial ecosystems. They appeal to people in a unique way. Popular imagination often separates butterflies from insects, as if the former are an entirely distinct group of animals. The study and watching of butterflies perhaps ranks second only to ornithology as a pastime for naturalists.

Butterflies of India contains over 650 colour photographs of 255 species of butterflies found across the different sub-regions of India. The book features relative abundance status, distribution, seasonality, identification characters, the larval food plants of each species of butterfly, and more such interesting details.

This handy guide designed for field identification is a must-have for all nature-lovers.

ARUN PRATAP SINGH has been working on the conservation of the Himalayan butterflies and birds at the Forest Research Institute (FRI), Dehradun, for the last 12 years. He had also served in the Himalayan Forest Research Institute, Shimla, for 4 years prior to FRI. He obtained his Ph.D on butterflies from FRI University, where he now teaches Wildlife Management and Forest Entomology. He has also been pursuing bird watching for the last 25 years and is the recipient of Dr. Salim Ali Wildlife National Fellowship Award 2001 from the Ministry of Environment and Forests, Government of India. He has 60 research papers in both national and international journals to his credit.