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Contents: 1. Introduction. 2. Recording and monitoring of moth populations: a variety of methods and case histories. 3. Preservation and determination techniques for moths. 4. Field techniques for finding, monitoring, collecting preserving and studying Indian butterflies. 5. Description of a new family. 6. Account of families present in India. 7. Species diversity in the order Lepidoptera globally compared with those in India. 8. Credits for images. 9. References. 10. Index to families.

This illustrated guide is the first ever that summarises the main diagnostic characters for all the superfamilies and families of Lepidoptera found in India. The diversity of global Lepidoptera is updated to 166,320 species, 143 families and 43 superfamilies, of which 13,124 species, 101 families and 31 superfamilies occur in India. Heliocosmidae is formally described to stabilize the nomenclature. Key attributes of the basal splitting and the superfamily compositions of various clades are summarized. The book outlines the methods to collect and curate voucher material in the field, taxonomic procedures followed in laboratory, family level identification and the knowledge about the lepidopteran diversity and patterns of distribution, globally.