Indian Foundation for Butterflies – Butterflies of India

Krushnamegh Kunte: I am a naturalist and professional biologist interested in studying the organization and evolution of biodiversity. I have a PhD in Biology from the University of Texas at Austin. Currently I am a Post-doctoral Research Fellow at Harvard University, where I study the ecology, evolution and genetics of mimicry in butterflies. Indian butterflies has been my overwhelming passion for most of my life. I have published several dozen research papers and two books on various aspects of the biology of Indian butterflies. Now my field work is concentrated on documenting butterfly diversity all over India, with a special focus on the Himalaya and NE India. Contact me by This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or visit my website if you want to learn more about my research and writing, the Indian Foundation for Butterflies, this website or Indian butterflies.

Rudra Prasad Das: I was born and brought up in a small village in Howrah District, West Bengal. I completed my M.Sc. in Zoology from University of Calcutta, and now I am doing doctoral research on butterfly communities of West Bengal. I am also documenting butterfly diversity in north-eastern India. Apart from my work on butterflies, I love birds, damselflies, dragonflies and spiders, and I have briefly studied red panda and Manipur brow-antlered deer. For the last five years I have worked with several NGOs such as Nature Mates, iREBEL and Prakriti Samsad in the field of nature conservation, animal welfare and wildlife management in rural and urban areas. Macro insect photography and trekking are my hobbies. This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it me if you want to learn more about my work.

Hemant Ogale: I am a mechanical engineer by training and I worked at Bajaj Auto in Pune for seven years before I found my calling. In 2003 I returned to my hometown Amboli in south-western Maharashtra and started a small resort, Whistling Woods. Since then I have been documenting amphibians, reptiles, plants and butterflies in the Amboli area, which is quite biodiverse. Since 2009 I have started to study butterfly diversity of Amboli at various altitudes, their early stages, larval host plants and variation in preferred host plants. I am a member of the Malabar Nature Conservation Club, an NGO from Amboli, which conducts environment awareness programs in the local school and elsewhere in our town.

Rohan Lovalekar: I survey and monitor butterflies in the northern Western Ghats. I have especially been studying their species richness and seasonal occurrences, and swarming and migratory behavior of Crow (Euploea) and Blue Tiger (Tirumala) butterflies. I am based in Chiplun in the coastal Konkan region of  Maharashtra, and work at the Bank of Maharashtra. I also volunteer with the  Chiplun-based nature-related NGO, Sahyadri Nisarga Mitra.

Gaurav Ganesh Agavekar: I am originally from Chiplun, a small town in the district of Ratnagiri, Maharashtra. Currently I am living in Pune for my college education. I have a keen interest in butterflies and I love photography.

Amol Patwardhan: I am an entomologist by training (M.Sc.), and I studied the taxonomy of click beetles (family Elateridae) for my PhD. I have four new species and one new genus to my credit. I was introduced to butterflies just before my M.Sc., when I was using an SLR camera with a magnifying glass held in front of a manual 50mm lens to get macro shots. Days passed and like any macro photographer, I evolved from film camera to digital field. Since then I have visited many places in India to photograph butterflies. Currently I am working in Mumbai on mangrove conservation. Visit my blog  or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it me to learn more about my work or to see my pictures.

Ankur Arun Patwardhan: I am a field biologist and my basic interest is plant ecology. I hold a doctorate degree in Environmental Sciences and currently serving as Head of the Department of Biodiversity, Abasaheb Garware College, University of Pune. My ongoing research projects focus on recovery, including ex-situ, quantification and mapping of threatened plant taxa from Western Ghats of India, one of the 34 global biodiversity hot-spots. I am interested in looking at association of butterflies with plants, their feeding behaviour and their distribution with respect to habitat and disturbance. I also guide young research enthusiasts as RANWA, an NGO dedicated to biodiversity assessment and environmental protection (www.ranwa.org). I am an honorary member of the Task Force on Cities and Protected Areas (part of The World Conservation Union's [IUCN] World Commission on Protected Areas) and review editor of African Journal of Environmental Science and Technology. This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it me or visit my website to learn more.

Aparna Watve: I am a botanist by training and ecologist by choice. After my doctorate in Vegetation Ecology, I worked in Botanical Survey of India on floristic surveys in Maharashtra. My Post-Doctoral work was on plant communities that grow on rock outcrops in northern Western Ghats and have endemism as a result of habitat specificity. I have interest in biodiversity data digitization and coordinated development of electronic catalogue of Indian fauna working closely with National Chemical Laboratory and Zoological Survey of India. At present I work as a consultant with, under the name of BIOME Consultants, for biodiversity data collection and analyses required in ecorestoration, biodiversity surveys, environment education, human-wildlife conflict issues, developing of databases, websites and publications. I have interest in guiding young researchers and manage an e-group of Indian Plant Ecologists. This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it me if you have any questions.

Sanjay Sondhi: I am Dehradun-based naturalist with an interest in writing and photography. Though an engineer by qualification, I quit my job in 2008 to devote myself to nature conservation and environment protection. I am mainly interested in birds, butterflies and herpetofauna. I have co-authored a book, "Birds of Pune" (Kalpavriksh/CEE publication), and am currently co-writing another book, "Amphibians and Reptiles of Uttarakhand", which will go in print shortly. I am Founder Trustee of TITLI TRUST and associated with Kalpavriksh, an environmental NGO. I spend my time studying, photographing and writing about nature as well as working on conservation projects with a focus on western and eastern Himalaya. My work includes faunal surveys, conservation education, PA management plans, and man-animal conflicts. If you want to know more about my work, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it me.