Beetle Mania 2022 - Conclusion

Dear Friends,

First, a big thank you to all the participants of Beetle Mania 2022 event. This is the first, and hopefully with your participation and support we can widen interest in and knowledge of these beautiful jewels of nature with more talks, walks and observations.

The 7 day observation event from, 22nd to 28th August, had 173 Observers and 83 identifiers.

1157 beetle observations were submitted from 23 states and union territories.

Karnataka, Uttarakhand, and West Bengal being the top three contributors. A full list of all the represented States and Union Territories is in Annexure 1

83 Identifiers helped to identify 217 species. There are 236 research grade and quite amazingly only two casual observations.

Quality Grade		Observation Count
Research		236
Needs ID		919
Casual		2
Total Result		1157

This entire note is available as a PDF - here

About India's Nature : Beetle Mania 2022

A first event to encourage an interest in Beetles (Order Coleoptera) among nature enthusiasts, students, rural natural historians in India.

Beetle Mania 2022 was organized under the aegis of India's Nature Monsoon Beauty 2022.

Event Outputs

Species and Taxa Observed

In the 7 day observation period a total of 1157 beetles were observed, these included :

• 108 species identified till Species (395 observations)
• 41 families are represented out of 114 families known to be present across India

The top 10 observed species are

Rank	Species (Scientific Name)	Common (or General ) Name	Observation Count	Family
1	Zygogramma bicolorata	Parthenium Beetle	45	Leaf Beetles (Chrysomelidae)
2	Aulacophora indica	Skeletonizing Leaf and Flea Beetles	35	Leaf Beetles (Chrysomelidae)
3	Hycleus biundulatus		24	Blister Beetles (Meloidae)
4	Coccinella transversalis	Small Transverse Ladybird Beetle	22	Lady Beetles (Coccinellidae)
5	Cheilomenes sexmaculata	Six-spotted Zigzag Ladybird	15	Lady Beetles (Coccinellidae)
6	Clinteria klugi	Flower Scarabs	15	Scarabs (Scarabaeidae)
7	Aspidimorpha furcata	Furcated Tortoise Beetle	13	Lady Beetles (Coccinellidae)
8	Agrilus acutus	Spiral Borer	12	Jewel Beetles (Buprestidae)
9	Coccinella septempunctata	Seven-spotted Lady Beetle	11	Lady Beetles (Coccinellidae)
10	Platycorynus peregrinus		9	Leaf Beetles (Chrysomelidae)

*This list is of the top 10 species Later in Annexure 2 a complete list of beetles identified till Species, and Genus is provided. *

---

The top 10 families are :

Rank	Family Name (Taxa)	Popular Name	Observation Count
1	Chrysomelidae	Leaf Beetles	341
2	Scarabaeidae	Scarabs	247
3	Coccinellidae	Lady Beetles	120
4	Curculionidae	True Weevils	83
5	Tenebrionidae	Darkling Beetles	46
6	Carabidae	Ground Beetles	44
7	Meloidae	Blister Beetles	44
8	Cerambycidae	Longhorn Beetles	31
9	Lycidae	Net-winged Beetles	24
10	Attelabidae	Leaf-rolling Weevils	16

• A complete list of the families is provided in Annexure 3

---

Some Popular Beetles from the project

---

Top Identifiers

Thank you to all the identifiers. Without them our Beetle Event would be much less interesting.

The top 10 identifiers of Beetles during the event are

Rank	Identifier	Identifications	Rank
1	@sdjbrown	243	1st
2	@rob-westerduijn	153	2nd
3	@ram_k	106	DNQ
4	@borisb	84	3rd
5	@malacoderm	41
6	@herman83	23
7	@ambytbfl	22
8	@beetlemaniac	18
9	@nimithatr	18
10	@stegobups	16

The top 3 identifiers would receive a beetle related gift, while all who made 50 or more identifications would receive a certificate identifiers

The full list of identifiers is at the end of the article in Annexure 4.

The Table below shows the how many identifications were made by how many different people. the bulk of the identifications are by a small subset of identifiers, indicate that Beetle identification not easy and that it is an area that needs more resources (guides and material) and more involvement

Number of Identifications (Range)	Number of People
> 200	1
151 to 200	1
101 to 150	1
51 to 100	1
21 to 50	3
11 to 20	8
6 to 10	6
2 to 5	25
1	37

Top Observers

As at the time of counting (00:06 am on the morning of 8th September 2022) 173 people had submitted 1163 beetle observations.

The top 10 observers are ranked and listed below.

S.no	Observers	Observations	Species	Rank by Observations
1	@rajkoranga	184	14	1st
2	@kunikimu	161	17	2nd
3	@finding_nimo_	69	3	3rd
4	@ram_k	67	3	DNQ
5	@dhrish_krish	61	11	Certificate
6	@abhiapc	61	18	Certificate
7	@venusclickz	53	7	Certificate
8	@debashischowdhury	51	6	Certificate
9	@purabchowdhury	48	7
10	@renjithjacobmathews	36	9

Observers with over 50 observations qualify for an event certificate, while the top 3 observers would receive special beetle related souvenirs.

The full list of observers is in Annexure 5

The event is likely to have attracted many 1st time observers, and the observations show the typical skew of some dedicated observers.

Observation Range	Observers	% Contribution
150-200	1	15.82%
101 to 150	1	13.84%
51 to 100	6	31.13%
21 to 50	2	7.22%
11 to 20	5	6.36%
6 to 10	6	4.13%
5 Observations	6	2.58%
4 Observations	8	2.75%
3 Observations	10	2.58%
2 Observations	30	5.16%
1 Observation	98	8.43%
Total	173	100.00%

Project Members

Totally 173 people participated in the event
of these 143 members posted observations, while 33 joined the project purely as identifiers.

110 observers posted observations via the direct add to project option, while 63 joined the project.

learnings

1. People posting via the add to project options would be encouraged to join the event so that :

• their observations automatically show up, and
• the would receive updates from the project

Event Time Line

Apart from the observation event some additional programmes were organized

Observation Event

India's Nature - Beetle Mania 2022 Observation Event 22nd to 28th August 2022
Project Link

Online Talks

1. 21st August, 2022 Introduction to Beetles - Dr Amol Patwardhan (Flabella Team) (Zoom) Video Link to the talk

2. 27th August 2022, Dr Kailash Chandra, Beetle Diversity of the Himalayas (Zoom)
   Video will be made available soon

Beetle walks

1. 22nd August 2022 - Munsiari, Uttarakhand. Organized by Himal Prakriti and India's. Participants 5. Walk Lead by @rajkoranga

1. 27th & 28th August 2022 - Simhachalam and Kambalakonda, Andhra Pradesh, organized by East Coast Conservation Team and lead by @srichakrapranav

---

Partners

Beetle Mania 2022 was a collaborative effort.

The partners

India's Nature

• @ram_k
• Email: indias.nature01@gmail.com

DiversityIndia

• @vijaybarve
• Email : DiversityIndia@gmail.com

East Coast Conservation Team

• @srichakrapranav
• Email : eastcoastconservationtrust@gmail.com

Flabella Ecoservices LLP

• @amolpatwardhan @beetlemaniac
• Email : flabella.ecoservices@gmail.com

Himal Prakriti – A Trust for Nature

• @triloksinghrana
• Email : ranatriloksingh30@gmail.com, himal.prakriti@gmail.com,

Nature Mates-Nature Club

• @naturemates
• Email : naturemates@gmail.com

Nature Science Initiative

• Email : nsi@ naturescienceinitiative.org, prasadsoumya@gmail.com

Titli Trust

• @sanjaysondhi
• Email : sanjay.sondhi1@gmail.com, titlitrust@gmail.com

Special thanks to the following for helping organize the talks, and some of walks

1. Amol Patwardhan, Ph.D, and Team Flabella (Harshad Parekar and Drashti Danani)
2. Vijay Barve (Diversity India)
3. Sanjay Sondhi (Titli Trust)
4. Trilok Rana (Himal Prakriti)
5. Srichakra Pranav Tamarapalli (East Coast Conservation Team)

Volunteers

Thank you to our volunteers who helped with design, data and some social media :

1. Jennifer Divyadarshi @mountainjen
2. Mehar Arunika
3. Preeti Rao

Resources and Support

Online resources (zoom) and some financial support were received from Uma and S Kalyanaraman and Ramnarayan Kalyanaraman

---

---

Annexes

All the data is collated as on (as on 08/09/22 (between) 00:00 and 00:10 a.m IST)

Annexure 1 - Distribution of observations across India

Rank	State or Union Territory	Observation - Count
1	Karnataka	267
2	Uttarakhand	231
3	West Bengal	164
4	Tamil Nadu	162
5	Andhra Pradesh	74
6	Maharashtra	72
7	Gujarat	65
8	Kerala	62
9	Chhattisgarh	28
10	Rajasthan	5
11	Assam	4
12	Telangana	4
13	Odisha	3
14	Arunachal Pradesh	2
15	Goa	2
16	Himachal Pradesh	2
17	Meghalaya	2
18	Sikkim	2
19	Uttar Pradesh	2
20	Bihar	1
21	Haryana	1
22	Jharkhand	1
23	Nagaland	1
	Total Observations	1157

---

Annexure 2 - List of Species Observed

Rank	Species (Scientific Name)	Observation Count
1	Zygogramma bicolorata	45
2	Aulacophora indica	35
3	Hycleus biundulatus	24
4	Coccinella transversalis	22
5	Cheilomenes sexmaculata	15
6	Clinteria klugi	15
7	Aspidimorpha furcata	13
8	Agrilus acutus	12
9	Coccinella septempunctata	11
10	Platycorynus peregrinus	9
11	Protaetia aurichalcea	9
12	Heterorrhina elegans	8
13	Hoplasoma unicolor	8
14	Laccoptera nepalensis	8
15	Cassida circumdata	6
16	Cyrtozemia cognata	5
17	Lema praeusta	5
18	Gametis versicolor	4
19	Henosepilachna vigintioctopunctata	4
20	Maladera formosae	4
21	Oryctes rhinoceros	4
22	Xystrocera globosa	4
23	Anthia sexguttata	3
24	Aspidimorpha miliaris	3
25	Aspidimorpha sanctaecrucis	3
26	Curinus coeruleus	3
27	Epepeotes uncinatus	3
28	Meristata sexmaculata	3
29	Micraspis discolor	3
30	Myllocerus undecimpustulatus	3
31	Peribleptus scalptus	3
32	Sagra femorata	3
33	Sphenoraia hopei	3
34	Broscus cephalotes	2
35	Calvia albida	2
36	Celosterna scabrator	2
37	Chilocorus nigritus	2
38	Cteniopinus semicoccineus	2
39	Epicauta hirticornis	2
40	Epilachna varivestis	2
41	Episomus chinensis	2
42	Lema lacertosa	2
43	Lilioceris cheni	2
44	Monolepta signata	2
45	Nicrophorus nepalensis	2
46	Oides palleata	2
47	Paratrachelophorus nodicornis	2
48	Parindalmus vestitus	2
49	Phrynocaria perrotteti	2
50	Sternuchopsis fabricii	2
51	Adoretus sinicus	1
52	Anomala perplexa	1
53	Anomala rufiventris	1
54	Anthelephila pedestris	1
55	Apomecyna saltator	1
56	Aspidolopha decora	1
57	Aulacophora nigripennis	1
58	Basilepta subcostata	1
59	Brassicogethes aeneus	1
60	Callistethus auronitens	1
61	Callistethus marginatus	1
62	Campsosternus auratus	1
63	Catharsius molossus	1
64	Chilocorus cacti	1
65	Chiridopsis bipunctata	1
66	Chlaenius emarginatus	1
67	Chrysochroa rajah	1
68	Chrysolina sturmi	1
69	Clinteria confinis	1
70	Copris lunaris	1
71	Coptops aedificator	1
72	Cordylocera livida	1
73	Cosmogaster lateralis	1
74	Craspedophorus mandarinus	1
75	Cryptalaus sordidus	1
76	Cryptocephalus sexsignatus	1
77	Diapromorpha turcica	1
78	Epilachna tredecimnotata	1
79	Epuraea aestiva	1
80	Eretes griseus	1
81	Halyzia sanscrita	1
82	Harmonia dimidiata	1
83	Henosepilachna pusillanima	1
84	Hippodamia variegata	1
85	Hoplapoderus gemmatus	1
86	Illeis confusa	1
87	Luperomorpha vittata	1
88	Micraspis univittata	1
89	Monolepta orientalis	1
90	Myllocerus dorsatus	1
91	Myllocerus viridanus	1
92	Necrobia ruficollis	1
93	Necrobia rufipes	1
94	Necrophila rufithorax	1
95	Oides affinis	1
96	Olenecamptus bilobus	1
97	Paragymnopleurus sinuatus	1
98	Paridea octomaculata	1
99	Podontia quatuordecimpunctata	1
100	Popillia japonica	1
101	Prosopocoilus biplagiatus	1
102	Rhynchophorus ferrugineus	1
103	Rosalia lateritia	1
104	Serica brunnea	1
105	Sternocera sternicornis	1
106	Sternochetus mangiferae	1
107	Strigapoderus tranquebaricus	1
108	Xylobiops basilaris	1
	Total Observations	395

---

Annexure 3 - List of Observed Families

Rank	Family Name	Observation- Count
1	Chrysomelidae	341
2	Scarabaeidae	247
3	Coccinellidae	120
4	Curculionidae	83
5	Tenebrionidae	46
6	Carabidae	44
7	Meloidae	44
8	Cerambycidae	31
9	Lycidae	24
10	Attelabidae	16
11	Buprestidae	16
12	Lampyridae	14
13	Elateridae	13
14	Staphylinidae	10
15	Cantharidae	9
16	Hydrophilidae	6
17	Lucanidae	6
18	Anthicidae	4
19	Anthribidae	4
20	Cleridae	4
21	Erotylidae	4
22	Nitidulidae	4
23	Dytiscidae	3
24	Endomychidae	3
25	Scirtidae	3
26	Silphidae	3
27	Silvanidae	3
28	Brentidae	2
29	Cryptophagidae	2
30	Histeridae	2
31	Prionoceridae	2
32	Ptinidae	2
33	Bostrichidae	1
34	Callirhipidae	1
35	Dermestidae	1
36	Gyrinidae	1
37	Laemophloeidae	1
38	Melyridae	1
39	Mordellidae	1
40	Passalidae	1
41	Ptilodactylidae	1
	Total Observation	1124

** Totally out of 1157 beetles observed some could only be identified to a higher taxonomic level (Super Family, Suborder or Order (Coleoptera)*

---

Annexure 4 - Complete List of Identifiers

(as on 08/09/22 time 00:07:38 am IST)

Rank	Identifier	Identifications
1	@sdjbrown	243
2	@rob-westerduijn	153
3	@ram_k	106
4	@borisb	84
5	@malacoderm	41
6	@herman8	23
7	@ambytbfl	22
8	@beetlemaniac	18
9	@nimithatr	18
10	@stegobups	16
11	@anubhav-agarwal	14
12	@debashischowdhury	14
13	@abhijatshakya	14
14	@odonut	12
15	@naturalist_aditya	12
16	@mpintar	10
17	@mydadguyfieri	8
18	@apoderus	7
19	@joshuabasham	7
20	@norose	7
21	@itsamantis	6
22	@purabchowdhury	5
23	@muddytortoise	5
24	@ihuangwen	5
25	@juhakinnunen	4
26	@chickenparmesan24	4
27	@nilmani_goswami	4
28	@venusclickz	4
29	@fornax313	4
30	@vijaybarve	3
31	@atom	3
32	@zhaomzhai	3
33	@zealouswizard	3
34	@ilya_zabaluev	3
35	@pranavchandrabose	3
36	@spiessberger	3
37	@cosimo_costanzia	3
38	@avipsha_mondal	3
39	@harleywyrm	3
40	@dkavanaugh	2
41	@sonukumar	2
42	@aminoa	2
43	@carabid_47	2
44	@vinod_shankar	2
45	@tribolonotus_gracilis	2
46	@molypoly	2
47	@yuan1717	1
48	@claasdamken	1
49	@subbu107	1
50	@devinth09	1
51	@emilianofranci	1
52	@harshithjv	1
53	@gabrif	1
54	@renju	1
55	@nishantpurushottamberde	1
56	@tusharagarwal18	1
57	@abtsmith	1
58	@ruzickajan	1
59	@jesteves	1
60	@marina_gorbunova	1
61	@alboertoalcala	1
62	@sciencegirl02	1
63	@naturalist14740	1
64	@raycama	1
65	@pjeganathan	1
66	@jameskdouch	1
67	@gopi1	1
68	@dannynelson94	1
69	@charlieglasser	1
70	@renjithjacobmathews	1
71	@grigorenko	1
72	@srichakrapranav	1
73	@kenneth_g	1
74	@thousif	1
75	@shkr	1
76	@staslit	1
77	@tepecoacuilcana	1
78	@that_bug_guy	1
79	@green_darkie	1
80	@stepanski	1
81	@drabys	1
82	@natzumi	1
83	@bastav	1

---

Annexure 5 - Complete list of Observers

S.no	Observers	Observations	Species
1	@rajkoranga	184	14
2	@kunikimu	161	17
3	@finding_nimo_	69	3
4	@ram_k	67	3
5	@dhrish_krish	61	11
6	@abhiapc	61	18
7	@venusclickz	53	7
8	@debashischowdhury	51	6
9	@purabchowdhury	48	7
10	@renjithjacobmathews	36	9
11	@tusharagarwal18	19	7
12	@itsamantis	16	7
13	@triloksinghrana	16	0
14	@srichakrapranav	12	7
15	@avipsha_mondal	11	5
16	@seemamerchant	10	3
17	@bonpradhan	9	1
18	@aniruddha_singhamahapatra	9	0
19	@sanjaysondhi	8	0
20	@mohua	6	0
21	@shanmukhavarma	6	1
22	@cs21b013	5	0
23	@aparnarao	5	2
24	@the_forest_spirit	5	2
25	@vikrantk	5	2
26	@kapil_chand	5	4
27	@ashwinv	5	1
28	@lakshmanadc	4	1
29	@nambirajan	4	0
30	@sumesh-pb	4	3
31	@diya_a	4	3
32	@nikhilasajeev	4	1
33	@naturalist_aditya	4	1
34	@swatiudayraj	4	1
35	@herman8	4	1
36	@elijah5311	3	1
37	@siva11	3	1
38	@maya318	3	1
39	@jashvant000	3	2
40	@sudheesh	3	2
41	@thousif	3	1
42	@shyamal_saikia	3	0
43	@altonfernandes	3	2
44	@subbi	3	1
45	@oligoglot	3	1
46	@ce21b037	2	1
47	@krishna71	2	1
48	@cs21b028	2	1
49	@cs21b053	2	1
50	@ramaashenoy	2	1
51	@ritika_chatterjee	2	1
52	@ok_owl_2869	2	1
53	@anciya_v_r	2	0
54	@cs21b042	2	1
55	@gannu03	2	0
56	@ravindra4	2	1
57	@hejil	2	0
58	@vidswami	2	2
59	@pranavchandrabose	2	0
60	@sandipan2001	2	1
61	@vivekbgirija	2	0
62	@carapiranha	2	1
63	@samrudhnandagopal	2	0
64	@odonut	2	0
65	@wild_sapien	2	0
66	@csbandi	2	0
67	@gs5	2	0
68	@gopisundar	2	1
69	@somebodyelse	2	2
70	@ashirwad	2	1
71	@thenatureaffair	2	2
72	@susmitabera	2	1
73	@rajukasambe	2	0
74	@dhruthi2	2	1
75	@ivijayanand	2	0
76	@komalg	1	1
77	@mansidhingra	1	0
78	@harini135	1	0
79	@satendra2	1	0
80	@iambalu	1	0
81	@yuhan_s_kochuparambil	1	0
82	@pushpa3	1	0
83	@bina6	1	0
84	@basanti1	1	0
85	@jacob1493	1	1
86	@cs21b058	1	1
87	@sreya_l	1	1
88	@akshara_p	1	0
89	@sai_srividya_mnv	1	0
90	@aeromaster213	1	0
91	@sneha_suresh	1	1
92	@debamita	1	1
93	@kiranyadav	1	0
94	@muhammed33	1	1
95	@vivek53	1	1
96	@kashyapsaji_	1	0
97	@abhisishdeb	1	0
98	@dharanendra	1	1
99	@sanju17	1	0
100	@kirankempanna7	1	0
101	@ruchag	1	0
102	@anilny	1	1
103	@sacredreinard	1	1
104	@deepsats	1	1
105	@swami_bogim	1	1
106	@rintz	1	0
107	@mayankbagchi91	1	1
108	@gayatri_11	1	0
109	@swapnilsuryakantgosavi	1	0
110	@loner1	1	0
111	@kaithavana	1	0
112	@mousumee	1	1
113	@aditya1_	1	0
114	@hrisikesh	1	0
115	@parul10	1	0
116	@davidhopkins27	1	0
117	@maria_anjum	1	0
118	@neelxd	1	0
119	@nutan1	1	1
120	@vinod_shankar	1	0
121	@ti_lamare	1	0
122	@asterix8	1	1
123	@ritu2008	1	0
124	@safwan0825	1	1
125	@kchandan	1	0
126	@brahmasoor	1	0
127	@hrishikesh_nayak	1	1
128	@babloo_farswan	1	1
129	@sarveshkp_gws	1	1
130	@manojbhat	1	0
131	@kothapalli_thanusree	1	0
132	@radhikaagarwal	1	0
133	@aadyathammaiah	1	0
134	@mrudula_g	1	0
135	@rakeshmuni	1	0
136	@sunilkumar16	1	1
137	@vivek_patel	1	0
138	@shivaprakash	1	1
139	@shashikanthbkambannavar	1	1
140	@rajivthanawala	1	0
141	@nishandv	1	0
142	@srinivas7	1	0
143	@richakedia	1	0
144	@sonukumar	1	0
145	@prajwaldeep	1	0
146	@kartikeyasaxena	1	1
147	@devendrakumargurjar	1	0
148	@elavarasan_mm	1	1
149	@parthkansara	1	1
150	@ninadsr	1	0
151	@akitamyoko	1	0
152	@gopi1	1	0
153	@amt1205	1	1
154	@awayk3n	1	0
155	@rajabandi	1	0
156	@surabhi_srivastava_gaur	1	0
157	@prashanthns	1	0
158	@trsraman	1	1
159	@srinivasan2	1	1
160	@mittal_g	1	1
161	@pjeganathan	1	0
162	@pranav11	1	0
163	@jayantdeshpande	1	1
164	@covemom	1	0
165	@saurabhsawant	1	0
166	@arungeorge	1	1
167	@kartiksundar	1	0
168	@afsarnayakkan	1	0
169	@renju	1	1
170	@jenis	1	1
171	@devinth09	1	0
172	@subbu107	1	0
173	@ashoksengupta5	1	1
	Total Observations	1163

Dear Friends,

Based on requests from observers who various reasons, including ill health, were unable to submit their observations we are extending the last date for submission of beetle observations (taken between 22nd and 28th August 2022) to Wednesday 7th September 2022.

Following the final submissions on Wednesday 7th September 2022 we would display the final analysis and other data.

Thank you

ram_k

Dear Friends,

Just to remind you that till tonight 11:59 PM IST, 2nd September 2022, you may submit Beetle observations that were made between 22nd and 28th August 2022

This is as per the original schedule, as shared in the event About page,

This is for observations documented during the event period 22nd to 28th August 2022.

Original Schedule

1. Monday 22nd to Sunday 28th August - Beetles observation event period
2. Monday 29th August to Friday 2nd September 2022 - Time to process and upload observations that were photographed during the event period only).
3. Saturday 3rd September 2022 - Announcing of Results

Your are invited to a Zoom Talk

Beetle Diversity of the Himalayas

(Beetle Mania 2022)

Date: Saturday , 27th August 2022,

Time: 6:30 to 8:00 PM IST - Mumbai, Kolkata, New Delhi

---

Speaker Dr Kailash Chandra

Former Director, ZSI

(Leading Entomologist & Beetle Expert)

Registration is required to participate in this talk

Follow the link below to proceed to the registration page.

---

Zoom Link

You have been invited to a scheduled Zoom meeting.

Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89459343412?pwd=RFU2MmJXZEM3V1dNWW9YZytZb3A0QT09

For more information contact:

• indias.nature01 at gmail.com
• @ram_k on the inaturalist messaging service

---

Invitation Poster

---

---

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:

Rank	Insect Order	World (No. of Obs.)
1	Butterflies and Moths Order Lepidoptera	12206044
2	Dragonflies and Damselflies Order Odonata	1938452
3	Beetles Order Coleoptera	3939992
4	True Bugs, Hoppers, Aphids, and Allies Order Hemiptera	2610628
5	Ants, Bees, Wasps, and Sawflies Order Hymenoptera	3659404

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.

Rank	Insect Orders	India (Obs.)	% to Pterygota		World (Obs.)	% Obs. to the world
1	Butterflies and Moths Order Lepidoptera	356452	62.45%		12206044	2.92%
2	Dragonflies and Damselflies Order Odonata	45527	7.98%		1938452	2.35%
3	Beetles Order Coleoptera	35794	6.27%		3939992	0.91%
4	True Bugs, Hoppers, Aphids, and Allies Order Hemiptera	34869	6.11%		2610628	1.34%
5	Ants, Bees, Wasps, and Sawflies Order Hymenoptera	33660	5.90%		3659404	0.92%

(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:

Rank	User	Observations	Species
1	@anubhav-agarwal	1,150	121
2	@aniruddha_singhamahapatra	608	103
3	@ivijayanand	560	124
4	@rajkoranga	545	41
5	@babloo_farswan	543	30
6	@subbu107	524	51
7	@lifemeetsthelens	506	73
8	@hopeland	486	37
9	@karan_7	441	46
10	@ygurjar	437	55

Prominent Identifiers

There are currently 1652 identifiers, the top 10 are:

Rank	User	Identifications
1	@borisb	13,367
2	@malacoderm	1,748
3	@anubhav-agarwal	1,641
4	@vitalfranz	1,428
5	@chudamanikashyap	1,239
6	@sdjbrown	1,048
7	@richyfourtytwo	735
8	@muddytortoise	705
9	@fboetzl	628
10	@mpintar	600

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)

Range (of Observations)	States of UT’s
> 4000	3
2000-4000	3
1000-2000	5
500-1000	3
100-500	11
50-100	2
<50	10

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

Rank	Insect Orders	India	% of Order to Subclass in India
1	Butterflies and Moths Order Lepidoptera	356452	62.45%
2	Dragonflies and Damselflies Order Odonata	45527	7.98%
3	Beetles Order Coleoptera	** 35794**	** 6.27% **
4	True Bugs, Hoppers, Aphids, and Allies Order Hemiptera	34869	6.11%
5	Ants, Bees, Wasps, and Sawflies Order Hymenoptera	33660	5.90%
6	Flies Order Diptera	27427	4.81%
7	Grasshoppers, Crickets, and Katydids Order Orthoptera	20610	3.61%
8	Mantises Order Mantodea	6898	1.21%
9	Cockroaches and Termites Order Blattodea	3400	0.60%
10	Antlions, Lacewings, and Allies Order Neuroptera	2440	0.43%
11	Earwigs Order Dermaptera	833	0.15%
12	Stick Insects Order Phasmida	741	0.13%
13	Mayflies Order Ephemeroptera	727	0.13%
14	Caddisflies Order Trichoptera	583	0.10%
15	Barklice, Booklice, and Parasitic Lice Order Psocodea	390	0.07%
16	Webspinners Order Embiidina	130	0.02%
17	Thrips Order Thysanoptera	87	0.02%
18	Scorpionflies, Hangingflies, and Allies Order Mecoptera	72	0.01%
19	Alderflies, Dobsonflies, and Fishflies Order Megaloptera	60	0.01%
20	Stoneflies Order Plecoptera	56	0.01%
21	Fleas Order Siphonaptera	4	0.00%
23	Snakeflies Order Raphidioptera	0	0.00%
24	Twisted-wing Insects Order Strepsiptera	0	0.00%
22	Ice Crawlers and Heelwalkers Order Notoptera	0	0.00%
25	Angel Insects Order Zoraptera	0	0.00%
	Totals (Summed)	570760	100.00%

(Source Inaturalist as on 8th August 2022)

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

	Inaturalist India 1	India Biodiversity Portal 2	Bioatlas India 3
OBSERVATIONS	36377	2488	No Data
SPECIES	1713	347	No Data
IDENTIFIERS	1627	419	No Data
OBSERVERS	4070	261	No Data

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

Rank	State	OBSERVATIONS	SPECIES	IDENTIFIERS	OBSERVERS
1	Karnataka	5530	587	438	695
2	Kerala	5338	493	491	626
3	Tamil Nadu	4082	504	384	463
4	Uttarakhand	3932	334	359	325
5	Maharashtra	3688	438	461	515
6	West Bengal	2420	449	310	242
7	Assam	1938	392	278	226
8	Chhattisgarh	1342	232	312	197
9	Gujarat	1178	266	188	162
10	Andhra Pradesh	1115	213	197	231
11	Himachal Pradesh	1040	250	186	80
12	Odisha	715	184	146	94
13	Telangana	576	137	147	105
14	Meghalaya	521	171	94	42
15	Rajasthan	401	108	103	114
16	Madhya Pradesh	348	139	104	77
17	Uttar Pradesh	313	84	102	108
18	Arunachal Pradesh	308	118	119	63
19	Goa	280	102	104	96
20	Jharkhand	231	90	76	39
21	Delhi	210	64	92	69
22	Bihar	173	65	65	41
23	Haryana	158	50	87	58
24	Jammu and Kashmir	133	68	61	44
25	Sikkim	105	54	58	38
26	Punjab	79	36	39	35
27	Puducherry	52	31	44	22
28	Manipur	35	22	32	10
29	Andaman and Nicobar Islands	32	24	28	18
30	Nagaland	32	18	31	21
31	Ladakh	24	13	19	7
32	Chandigarh	20	10	22	13
33	Mizoram	19	16	14	9
34	Tripura	12	8	7	8
35	Lakshadweep	1	1	1	1
36	Daman and Diu	1	1	0	1
37	Dadra and Nagar Haveli	1	1	2	1
	INDIA (sum of this)*	36383
	INDIA (site)	36384	1713	1628	4070

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

Month Wise Beetle Observations & Observers

Month	Observations	Observers	Average per observer	Month as % of Total Observation
January	994	365	2.7	2.72
February	816	337	2.4	2.23
March	1338	427	3.1	3.66
April	2198	608	3.6	6.01
May	3735	910	4.1	10.20
June	4553	1078	4.2	12.44
July	6726	1197	5.6	18.38
August	5001	1088	4.6	13.66
September	4723	1139	4.1	12.90
October	3184	855	3.7	8.70
November	2058	619	3.3	5.62
December	1275	496	2.6	3.48
SUM TOTAL	36601	4103	8.9	100.00
As Per the site	36956	4103	9.0

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