Ecopark Kolkata is a protected urban park of Kolkata West Bengal, having an area of approximately 480 acres. The study was conducted from May 2020 to April 2022. This study provides baseline data of moths in Ecopark, Kolkata. This is the first documentation and evaluation of the role of moths in the food web maintenance in birds, specially focused on an urban park in Kolkata. A total of 37 species under 12 families were reported in this present Survey. Of these, Crambidae shares maximum species 12 followed by Erebidae with 9 species; Noctuidae with 4 species; Zygaenidae, Sphingidae, Pyralidae each with 2 species and Uraniidae, Pterophoridae, Euteliidae, Geometridae, Nolidae, Limacodidae each with 1 species. The maximum number of the caterpillars of moth was found on Crotalaria retusa, Hymenocallis littoralis, Hiptage benghalensis, Ziziphus ziziphus, Moringa oleifera, Pithecellobium dulce, Lantana camara etc. Preference of food in between the resident birds also were found to be variable based on the bird species and the life stage of the moth and that in an urban park where vegetation and associated diversity is limited, moths can serve as a good supplementary food source for birds.
Roy et al. (Thu,) studied this question.