A first record of Clanis hyperion Cadiou & Kitching, 1990 (Lepidoptera: Sphingidae) in Bhutan, and a preliminary checklist of the hawkmoths of Mendrelgang, Bhutan

Irungbam Jatishwor Singh ¹ & Ian J. Kitching ²

¹ Department of Science, MendrelgangMiddle Secondary School, Mendrelgang, Tsirang District, 36001, Bhutan

² Department of Life Sciences, The Natural History Museum, Cromwell Road, London SW7 5BD, UK.

¹ jatishwor.irungbam@gmail.com (corresponding author), ² i.kitching@nhm.ac.uk

doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.11609/JoTT.o3399.5386-8 | ZooBank:urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:F668ACE2-5132-4343-89BE-B64B143E3D00

Editor: Arthur Y.C. Chung, Sabah Forestry Department, Sabah, Malaysia. Date of publication: 26 January 2014 (online & print)

Manuscript details: Ms # o3399 | Received 29 October 2012 | Final received 14 September 2013 | Finally accepted 31 December 2013

Citation: Singh, I.J. & I.J. Kitching (2014).A first record of Clanis hyperion Cadiou & Kitching, 1990 (Lepidoptera: Sphingidae) in Bhutan, and a preliminary checklist of the hawkmoths of Mendrelgang, Bhutan. Journal of Threatened Taxa6(1): 5386–5388; http://dx.doi.org/10.11609/JoTT.o3399.5386-8

Copyright: © Irungbam Jatishwor Singh & Ian J. Kitching2014.Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 UnportedLicense. JoTT allows unrestricted use of this article in any medium, reproduction and distribution by providing adequate credit to the authors and the source of publication.

Funding: None.

Competing Interest: The authors declare no competing interests.

Acknowledgements: The first author is thankful to Mr. Dorji Wangchuk, Principal, MendrelgangMiddle Secondary School for providing facilities and permission to carry out this work. Authors are also thankful to Mr. Peter Smetacek, Butterfly Research Centre, Bhimtal,Uttarakhand for his guidance and suggestions during the identification of specimens and preparation of manuscript.

For images, table -- click here

The type series of the hawkmoth Clanis hyperion Cadiou & Kitching, 1990 comprised a holotype male and a paratypeseries of 17 males and six females captured at various locations in northwestern Thailand between 1988 and 1989 (Cadiou & Kitching 1990). Additional non-type materials comprised a further three males and one female from northwesternThailand and a single male from the Khasi Hills, Assam [Meghalaya], India (Cadiou & Kitching 1990). Clanis hyperion closely resembles Clanistitan Rothschild & Jordan 1903, but the two species can be distinguished by the different extents of the pale apical area of the forewing upperside. In C. titan, this reaches only as far as vein M1, whereas in C. hyperion, the pale area extends beyond vein M2 (Image 1). Some specimens of Clanis undulosa Moore, 1879 can also be similar but this species is easily distinguished from both C. hyperion and C. titan by the presence of a conspicuous black streak on the underside of the forewing near the base; this streak is lacking in both C. hyperion and C. titan. In addition, the uppersidesof the tibiae of the mid-and hind legs are pink in C. hyperion but white in C. titan and C. undulosa.

More recently, specimens of C. hyperion have been captured in Laos and southern Myanmar (Burma) (Eitschberger2004). There is also a single male in the collection of the Natural History Museum, London, UK, from “Xuebanshan, Nanping side” (correctly “Xuebangshan, Lanpingside”), Yunnan, China. Nothing is known of the early stages and the habitat of the species, beyond what is indicated on the data labels.

Methods: Mendrelgang is a division of Tsirang Dzongkhag (District) in the south-central region of Bhutan. It is located at approximately 27⁰02’N & 90⁰10’E, and covers an area of some 15km² at an altitude between 700–1750 m (Royal Government of Bhutan 2012). The region has a temperate climate with the temperature ranging between 20⁰C and 35⁰C. Winter extends from October to March, followed by summer from April to June and monsoon from June to September. The vegetation types found in this region are classified as temperate broadleaf forest at lower elevations and chir pine forest at higher altitudes (National Statistics Bureau 2010).

The collection of moths was undertaken opportunistically, employing no particular methodology. Moths were observed at 20W fluorescent lamps that had been left on overnight in the MendrelgangMiddle Secondary School between December 2011 and September 2012. Specimens were taken in an ethyl acetate collecting jar, pinned and labeled as soon as they were caught, then later sorted and identified to species level in the laboratory. These voucher specimens are deposited in the Department of Science Specimen Insect Museum, Mendrelgang Middle Secondary School, Tsirang. Initial identifications were carried out with the help of available literature and identification keys, and internetreferences. Species that were not identified or were potentially problematic taxonomically were sent to the second author at the Natural History Museum, London, UK, for confirmation.

Results and Discussion: Among the 27 species recorded (Appendix 1), the most notable was a specimen of Clanis hyperion which was attracted to a whitewashed wall at the residence of the first author on 13 May 2012 (Images 2 & 3). Prior to 2012, only a single paratype of this species was known from India, from an unspecified locality in the Khasi Hills of Meghalaya State. The present record extends the known distribution of C. hyperionto the eastern Himalaya and more significantly it is the first record from northwest of the Brahmaputra River. It thus represents a significant range extension for the species. Recent studies of Saturniidae (Emperor Silkmoths) in northeastern India and adjacent territories have shown that the Brahmaputra may be a significant barrier, with what was once considered to be a single species actually consisting of two closely related species, one inhabiting either side of the river; e.g., Archaeoattacus edwardsii (White, 1859) and A. malayanus Kurosawa & Kishida, 1994 (Nässig et al. 2010) or Saturnia(Rinaca) zuleikaHope, 1834 and S.(R.) lesoudieri Le Moult, 1933 (Nässig& Naumann, 2010). A similar situation may be true in the case of Clanis hyperion and further studies should be undertaken to determine whether or not the Bhutanese populations are conspecific with those from further east and south.

References

Cadiou, J.M. & I.J. Kitching (1990). New Sphingidae from Thailand (Lepidoptera). Lambillionea 90(4): 3–34.

Eitschberger, U. (2004). Revision der Schwärmergattung Clanis Hübner, [1819] (Lepidoptera, Sphingidae). Neue Entomologische Nachrichten 58: 51–348, 354–399.

Nässig, W.A. & S. Naumann(2010). Two species in Saturnia(Rinaca) zuleika Hope, 1843 (Lepidoptera: Saturniidae).Nachrichten des Entomologischen Vereins Apollo (N.F.) 31: 127–143.

Nässig, W.A., S. Naumann& R. Rougerie (2010). Evidence for the existence of three species in the genus Archaeoattacus (Lepidoptera: Saturniidae). Journal of Research on the Lepidoptera 43: 37–47.

National Statistics Bureau (2010). AnnualDzongkhag Statistics, DzongkhagAdministration, Tsirang. National Statistics Bureau, Thimphu. Issue 1, Catalogue No. 104, 1–33pp.

Royal Government of Bhutan (2012). Dzongkhag Administration, Tsirang<http://www.tsirang.gov.bt/?page_id=64>. Downloaded on 17 October 2012.