Source : Beetles Taxon Page on iNaturalist

“If one could conclude as to the nature of the Creator from a study of creation it would appear that God has an inordinate fondness for stars and beetles.” (Apocryphally J.B.S Haldane)

As per different estimates of insects there are anything between 4,00,000 to 1.5 million Beetle species, accounting for an estimated 1 in 4 of all land based animals.

In the last decade, new methods of estimating global species richness have been developed and existing ones improved through the use of more appropriate statistical tools and new data. Taking the mean of most of these new estimates indicates that globally there are approximately 1.5 million, 5.5 million, and 7 million species of beetles, insects, and terrestrial arthropods, respectively.
(Ref. Stork, N. E. (2018). How many species of insects and other terrestrial arthropods are there on Earth. Annual review of entomology, 63(1), 31-45.)

Of these Beetles are still the dominant group, numbering upwards from the commonly known estimated 4,00,000 species.

The apocryphal, and much quoted statement on the “Creator’s fondness for stars and beetles” however, does not seem to have spread to citizen scientists’ interest in Beetles, both Globally and in India.

In India there seems to be a large gap in citizen science contributions of Beetle Observations, especially when compared to birds, plants, butterflies & moths and even odonates.

Many of the reasons are common across other taxa as well. Some of them bear repeating here:

1) Many places in India (most of rural India) are out of the ambit of normal research and hence even Citizen Science research is slow.

2) Hotspots of biodiversity observations seem to be co-terminus with places near important Biodiversity Zones (Attracting more researchers and naturalists)

3) Some states have many institutions of natural sciences and nature education,

4) Some states, have a higher level of basic education and higher education possibly encouraging diversified interests.

5) Generally low awareness of Citizen Science tools (along with poor internet) especially in rural areas

6) Lack of investment and support to rural communities in many sectors but also in Biodiversity Sciences and Community Outreach.

Specifically for beetles there is an additional set of other reasons:

1. A severe lack of popular literature, field guides , posters, pamphlets
2. Almost no literature in vernacular languages
3. No focussed attention to this taxa
4. No common group working on Beetle Outreach.
5. Possibly a negative view of beetles because of their known role as major crop and property pests. Wood Borers, Cotton Boll Weevil, and the Holotrichia White grubs are more well known than the beneficial ones.

To address this gap a collaborative initiative has been undertaken in the form of the inaugural B*eetle Mania 2022 event. To support and encourage the broad basing of information on Beetles and to overcome *Beetle Blindness.

Background

Citizen Science and Beetle Observations

We did a very basic review of the big three Citizen Science portals in India (see note on ebird below), and later in the document we have drawn the Beetle data, principally, from iNaturalist, for ease in access, and the availability of comparative information.

Platform Based Observations

1. iNaturalist (Inat) – Beetles of India - 36800 observations Inat source Link
2. India Biodiversity Portal (IBP) – 3000 observation IBP source
3. Bioatlas of India (BAI) – As present no website dedicated to Beetles BAI Source

Note: ebird india is focussed only on birds so does not appear here.

Globally among the Winged and Once-winged Insects Subclass Pterygota the top 5 orders with the largest number of observations are:

The difference between Butterflies & Moths, and the Beetle order is quite revealing.

India Comparison

In India the situation is lot different. Beetles are the 3rd most observed Insect order while Butterflies & Moths have an incredibly large, commanding share, primarily due to long standing interest in this taxa, regular educational and observational events and the availability of both experts and easy to access literature. It helps that butterflies (and moths) are iconic and easier to notice.

(Data : Inaturalist -) (Full table appended later)

India compared to Global Observations

Over all India has only a fraction of the Global iNaturalist Citizen Science observations :

1. iNaturalist Global 125,688,129 Observations Link
2. iNaturalist India - Observations 1,249,374 link – India accounts for 0.99% of Global Observations on the platform.

Indian beetle observations stand at 0.91% of global submissions, this is less than the 0.99 % of all Indian submissions to Inaturalist.

Important Caveat – these are very simple statement – it does not account for the collated observations across all taxa and other Indian citizen science platforms (possibly, in future to be sourced from GBIF). But in the context of the taxa of beetles it seems to be relevant.

Ignored Species

Add to that a recent article in the guardian says that

‘Generally ignored’ species face twice the extinction threat, warns study “Wildlife with little data faces double the risk of dying out – which may mean many more species are endangered than previously thought”

In order to drawn attention to these marvels of nature we are proposing “possibly the first India Citizen Science Beetle focused event” -Beetle Mania 2022

Beetles and Beetle Naturalists on Inaturalist India

Most Observed Beetles in India

1. Six-spotted Zigzag Ladybird Cheilomenes sexmaculata 570 observations
2. Small Transverse Ladybird Beetle * Coccinella transversalis* 460 observations
3. Seven-spotted Lady Beetle Coccinella septempunctata 430 observations
4. Blister Beetle Hycleus biundulatus 302 observations
5. Asian Spotted Tortoise Beetle Aspidimorpha miliaris 276 observations

Commonly Observed beetles of India

inaturalist source

Prominent Beetle Observers

There are currently Beetle 4114 observers on Inaturalist India. the current leading observer are:

Prominent Identifiers

There are currently 1652 identifiers, the top 10 are:

Women Observers & Identifiers

Women Observers

On Inaturalist India there are no women in the top 25 observers**. And in the top 100 there are between only 12 and 15 observers (based on a very cursory check of names and in some cases profiles as not all profiles have real names)

Women Identifiers

There are 1 likely 2 women beetle identifiers in the top 20. As the identifiers can be from anywhere in the world maybe this is instructive that this lack of presence of women is not only and India issue.

Observers on Inaturalist India

Number of Observers -23,485
Number of Identifiers - 11985

Beetle Observations by State & Union Territories

The map below shows the density of Beetle Observations across India.

(Map Created by Preeti Rao, Ph.D based on data from iNaturalist)

There are 3 States or Union Territories with only one Beetle Observation : Lakshadweep, Daman and Diu, Dadra and Nagar Haveli

The State and Territory wise detailed list is provided in the end.

The density of beetle observations follows a familiar pattern that has been described in this talk “Community Science and the Biodiversity Picture: Connecting People & Adding Resolution” –presented at CitSci India 2021 14 minute YouTube Video Link.

Seasonality of Beetle Observations and Observers

Which season is it best to watch out for beetles?

Given the complicated and often multiyear life cycles of many Arthropods, including beetles, invariably the focus is on their most visible, and usually, adult stage. Added to this is that the number of observers, varying across months, also seems to be a contributing factor.

Seasonality

The chart below clearly shows that in the spring and monsoon months there are a lot more observers and a lot more observations. However through the year there are beetles being observed across India.

Data from iNaturalist India reveals the following:

1. July is the peak month for beetle observations.
2. The most observations above the annual average are from the months of May to October.
3. However all months have observations being submitted.

(Regional variations across season were not explored)

Effort - Observers Across Months

This is a catch 22 situation - are more Beetles being observed because they are more easily seen in the months of May to October or is it because there are more people observing.
Quite clearly both are true - however the number of beetle observations being seen, on an average per month, is most in the same months that are showing a higher number of beetle observations.

Reference Books, Field Guides, Posters and Pamphlets

There are extensive scientific research papers on India Beetles but very few field guides, posters,pamphlets or literature or material that broadbases knowledge of Beetles in India. we have not been able to check for such literature in other Indian Languages. There we request
readers to mention any India related Beetle material in the comments. Especially material or resources that are useful for novice naturalists with a focus on Indian Beetles.

Additional Tables / Information

Insect Orders in India and the Number of Observations on Inaturalist

(Source Inaturalist as on 8th August 2022)

Comparison of the Big 3 Citizen science platform (more details)

1. Inaturalist -Beetles of India
2. India Biodiversity Portal (IBP) principal observations are digitized museum specimens – IBP
3. Bioatlas of India (BAI) has no web portal for Coleoptera - BAI
4. ebird is focussed only on birds so does not appear here

Beetle Observation in India - By State or Union Territory

Sourced from Inaturalist on 08th August 2022

(Source - Www.inaturalist.org as on 8th August 2022)

Month Wise Beetle Observations & Observers

Notes

1. The Annual Average per observer is higher because the same observers are contributing across the months
2. *Data Sourced from Inaturalist India as on 18th August 2022

Author
Ramnarayan Kalyanaranamn @ram_k

Posted on August 20, 2022 12:09 PM by ram_k