(IN): Insect Thieves

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Insect Thieves

 

Scientists and traders are plundering our forests for rare insects

that can be smuggled

 

Glass jars, headlights and nets aren't the kind of fearsome gear you'd

associate with wildlife hunters.

 

But it wasn't big game that Czech duo Emil Kucera and Petr Svacha were

after when forest officials apprehended them in north Bengal's

protected Singhalila National Park on June 22, a crime for which

they're still awaiting trial in Darjeeling. Their prey

 

was lightweight and fragile: rare butterflies, delicate moths, and

gleaming beetles.

 

The case, which will be tried on August 25, brings to light the

large-scale smuggling of rare insects and butterflies that takes place

in India—a rampant trade that's increased in recent years, after

managing to slip away from the wildlife authorities' radar for two

decades. Over the past few years alone, French and Russian nationals

have been caught in Sikkim with butterflies and beetles, Czech

nationals in Leh with butterflies and Japanese in north Bengal with

beetles. But many, many more get away scot free.

 

The fact that collectors and traders of these rare species are heading

here is not surprising: India—particularly the Eastern Himalayas and

the Western Ghats—is among the world's 12 richest biodiversity

hotspots. The wealth of exotic insect specimens to be found, together

with tantalisingly inadequate law enforcement, continues to lure

unscrupulous traders and scientists who clandestinely sell their rich

hauls, often through the internet, at exorbitant rates.

 

Svacha's is one of many websites which promise to supply its customers

rare insects. His companion Kucera, an entomologist, is plaintively

described by Czech newspapers as so devoted to the research of the

long-horned beetle larvae that he had no personal life. They were

swiftly booked under the Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act of 1972 on

two counts: illegal entry into a protected area, and removing its

wildlife without the permission of the chief wildlife warden. To make

their offence worse, an endangered Schedule I butterfly—the Pale

Jezebel (Delias sanaca)—was found among their haul of 2,000 specimens

in various stages of growth.

 

Meanwhile, researchers and scientists divided into two camps. Some

petitioned the prime minister for the duo's release, empathetically

alluding to the inflexible laws and daunting bureaucratic

obstacle-courses getting in the way of honest scientific research.

 

Others argued that such laws existed in every other country, including

the Czech Republic, and that Indians accused of similar wrongdoings

abroad wouldn't be treated with any sympathy. They urged that an

example should be made of the two Czechs by charging them under the

more stringent Biodiversity Act, put in place in 2002 to control

foreign access to the country's bio-resources. That would escalate the

offence to a non-bailable one, with a longer maximum sentence (5

years) and a far heftier fine (Rs 10 lakh). As some laconically put

it, the case could do for this little-known law what Salman Khan's

blackbuck case did for the Wildlife Protection Act.

 

A worldwide demand drives the smuggling of beetles, moths and

butterflies: Scientists seek crucial " germplasm " (genetic information)

to build elaborate taxonomies of as many species as exist.

 

Rare, high-altitude butterflies like the exquisite Ladakh Banded

Apollo, Kaiser-I-Hind and Krishna Peacock are sought after by amateur

butterfly collectors who pay high prices for these endangered

specimens that would look dramatic splayed across their mounting

boards. Such exotic Indian butterflies are also sold to " butterfly

parks " in Europe and the US, where they spend their three-week

lifespan swooping over enchanted tourists. They're also used for

ornamentation in Southeast Asian countries, in paintings, paperweights

and jewellery. In the same region, jewel beetles are also in demand

for trinkets, and tiger beetles are ground up for traditional

medicinal brews. In Japan, bellicose beetles such as the rhinoceros

and stag species command stratospheric prices among children who like

to hold periodic " sumo wrestling " championships with their insect

pets.

 

When such a strong demand exists, even when transfers of insect

species are legalised, it's tough to say what nebulous end-use they're

put to. The " new, unholy nexus between trader and scientist " is, in

essence, what's so disturbing about this case, says Samir Sinha, who

heads Traffic, an organisation tracking wildlife trade: that a

lucrative, destructive and illegal business can be pardoned in the

name of science. " It's a way for them to collect high-value species

with assurance and then scream holy murder and ignorance when they get

caught, " adds Sinha. Concurs Sumita Ghatak, dfo, North Bengal Range,

" What was Kucera doing gathering up butterflies and moths, when he's a

beetle specialist? "

 

Over the past two years, Ghatak has found that the illegal extraction

mostly takes place during the insects' breeding season, between

mid-May and mid-September. " So we keep special informers on the alert

during this time. " Behind some of the most monstrously large

hauls—such as that of 45,000 butterflies and moths, seized ten years

ago—is the connivance of locals in remote villages. Ghatak has tried

to curb this by conducting awareness programmes on the importance of

insect conservation among school children—now her most ardent

informers.

 

According to ecologists, lack of awareness is certainly at the heart

of the problem behind why insect smuggling is allowed to continue

unchecked. Those who might wonder what difference a couple of bugs

make should know that insects are crucial to forests' survival: for

instance, beautiful high-altitude butterflies like the Kaiser-I-Hind

pollinate the rich Himalayan flora during its fleeting summer. The

population of frugivorous and insect-eating birds and bats dwindle

when large insects begin to disappear, as do those of forest creatures

like small carnivores and rodents, who depend on insect larvae for

food.

 

Says Meena Haribal, an ecologist who's written a book on the

butterflies of Sikkim, " Insect species are of great ecological value

in our fragile ecosystem. Unfortunately, considering the number of

species found in the subcontinent, nobody in India is studying the

population trends of insects! Everyone seems to concentrate on pests

and pest management. "

 

But regardless of what the impact of insect extraction is, the problem

can only be tackled by addressing the law of supply and demand.

" Illegal trade is killed by legal trade, " asserts Bombay Natural

History Society naturalist Isaac Kehimkar. " Butterfly farming projects

like the Kipepeo in Kenya have proved that extractions are sustainable

if the forest is intact. You can make local people partners in

conservation by giving them an alternative livelihood: then, they see

that more forest means more butterflies and more money. So no forest

would mean no money. "

 

 

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