About the Website
The idea to develop an up-to-date checklist of Guyana's butterflies from scattered records and then feature those records on a website was conceived by Hemchandranauth Sambhu, a local butterfly specialist. Along with his partner, Alliea Nankishore, Hemchandranauth first published the checklist in Zootaxa, a peer-reviewed journal (http://www.mapress.com/j/zt/article/view/zootaxa.4371.1.1). He then applied for and secured funding support from the Guyana Wildlife Conservation and Management Commission to develop the website. The website is intended to continuously gather and provide access to information about Guyana's butterflies. This is made possible by enlisting the assistance of citizen scientists to share their observations of butterflies, verifying information with regional butterfly specialists, making information accessible to the general public, and building a more comprehensive database of butterflies in Guyana.
About Us
Hemchandranauth Sambhu holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Biology from the University of Guyana, a Master of Science Degree in Plant & Environmental Sciences from the University of Warwick, and a Doctoral Degree in Environmental Science & Management from James Cook University. He has extensive knowledge of and experiences with Guyana's butterflies, and has based both his Masters and Doctoral research projects on butterfly ecology. Hemchandranauth once managed the Kawê Amazonica Butterfly Farm, a local butterfly farm that was developed in the North Rupununi region to promote research and conservation, as well as to generate revenue through the sale of pupae (http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.894.8199&rep=rep1&type=pdf).
Alliea Nankishore holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Biology from the University of Guyana, and a Master of Science Degree in Biodiversity Conservation & Sustainable Development from the University of the West Indies. She is a butterfly enthusiast and has experience in identifying, photographing and sampling butterflies.