Journal of Threatened Taxa | www.threatenedtaxa.org | 26 October 2018 | 10(11): 12598–12601

 

Two moth species of Lasiocampidae (Lepidoptera: Lasiocampoidea) recorded for the first time in Bhutan

 

Jatishwor Singh Irungbam 1 & Meenakshi Jatishwor Irungbam 2

 

1,2 Faculty of Science, University of South Bohemia, Ceske Budejovice 37005, Czech Republic

1,2 Institute of Entomology, Biology Centre, Czech Academy of Science, Ceske Budejovice 37005, Czech Republic

1 jatishwor.irungbam@gmail.com (corresponding author), 2 meenakshi.irungbam@gmail.com

 

 

 

doi: https://doi.org/10.11609/jott.3297.10.11.12598-12601   |  ZooBank: urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:C686C214-87AC-4745-913E-1B7C5CE388B1

 

Editor: James Young, Hong Kong Lepidoptera Society, Tuen Mun, Hong Kong S.A.R., China.           Date of publication: 26 October 2018 (online & print)

 

Manuscript details: Ms # 3297 | Received 02 January 2017 | Final received 30 August 2018 | Finally accepted 20 September 2018

 

Citation: Irungbam, J.S. & M.J. Irungbam (2018). Two moth species of Lasiocampidae (Lepidoptera: Lasiocampoidea) recorded for the first time in Bhutan. Journal of Threatened Taxa 10(11): 12598–12601; https://doi.org/10.11609/jott.3297.10.11.12598-12601

 

Copyright: © Irungbam & Irungbam 2018. Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. 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: Bhutan Trust fund for Environment Conservation (BTFEC), Bhutan; Czech Science Foundation (GA CR: 14-36098G) and Grant Agency, University of South Bohemia (GA JU 152/2016/P)

 

Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests.

 

Acknowledgements: We thank the Bhutan Trust fund for Environment Conservation (BTFEC), Bhutan for providing funds for equipment and field works, and  National Biodiversity Centre, Bhutan for coordinating the implementation of the project. We also thanks, Czech Science Foundation (GA CR: 14-36098G) and Grant Agency, University of South Bohemia (GA JU 152/2016/P) for supporting during the preparation of the manuscript. Finally, We thanks the anonymous reviewers and the Subject Editor for their critical comments.

 

 

 

 

Bhutan is one of the most isolated countries in the world situated at the eastern end of the Himalayan mountains.  The country is surrounded by India to the south, east and west and to the north by Tibet (Autonomous region of China).  The country covers an area of 38,394km2.  The landscape ranges from subtropical plains in the south to the Himalayan heights in the north.  The northern region of Bhutan consists of eastern Himalayan alpine shrub and meadows reaching up to glaciated mountain peaks.  In central Bhutan, the forest type consists of eastern Himalayan subalpine conifer forests in higher elevations and eastern Himalayan broadleaf forests in lower elevations.  In the south, the Shiwalik Hills are covered with dense Himalayan subtropical broadleaf forests, alluvial lowland river valleys, and mountains up to around 1,500m.  The foothills descend into the subtropical Duars Plain of Bhutan neighbouring the Indian Duars.  Thus, the forest of Bhutan harbours a rich diversity of flora and fauna, especially in terms of invertebrate fauna.  The least studied group of invertebrates in Bhutan is the moths whose data is still lagging behind.

The Lasiocampidae Harris, 1841 which are commonly known as the Lappet moths are among the families of moths which are poorly studied in Bhutan.  The family Lasiocampidae consists of 1,952 species (224 genera) worldwide (van Nieukerken et al. 2011).  The members of the family are generally large species with deep forewings and rounded hind wings; abdomen protruding well beyond the wings (Holloway 1987).  The Lasiocampidae fauna of the country have been poorly studied.  Earlier works on the fauna were conducted by Hampson (1892), Dudgeon (1901), Dierl (1975), and recently by Hauenstein et al. (2011).  So far, a total of 42 species of Lasiocampidae have been recorded from Bhutan.

Material and Methods: The study was conducted at different locations of four districts (Tsirang, Dagana, Sarpang, Gelephu) in southern Bhutan.  The collection of moths was undertaken opportunistically, as well as by setting up light traps at night using fluorescent lamps and Mercury vapour lamp.  Moths were observed overnight in all the locations from July 2010 to August 2015.  The moths were photographed using a DSLR camera and specimens were collected and killed using ethyl acetate fumes.  Later the specimens were sorted, pinned, labelled and identified to species level in the laboratory.  These voucher specimens are deposited in the Invertebrate Referral Collection Centre (IRCC), National Biodiversity Centre, Thimphu (Bhutan).

Identifications are based on the keys and descriptions provided by Hampson (1892), Holloway (1987), Zolotuhin & Witt (2000), and Zolotuhin & Pinratana (2005).

Results and Discussion: In total, we identified 10 species of Lasiocampidae, which belong to seven genera from Tsirang, Sarpang, Dagana and Gelephu districts of southern Bhutan.  Two species namely Kunugia siamka Zolotuhin, 2002 and Alompra roepki Tams, 1953 are new records for Bhutan.  Some earlier work done by G.S. Dudgeon (1901) in the early 19th century reported 14 species from Bhutan.  Later, W. Dierl (1975) recorded an additional five species of Lasiocampidae based on the collections of Bhutan Expedition 1972 by the Natural History Museum in Basel, Switzerland.  Recently, A. Hauenstein and his colleagues have reported 42 species of Lasiocampidae from Bhutan based on the collections made by A. Hauenstein and V.V. Sinjaev from 2003 to 2009 from different places of Bhutan (Hauenstein et al. 2011).  Thus, an updated checklist consisting of 44 species of the Lasiocampidae of Bhutan is provided in Appendix I.

 

Notes on the new records

Kunugia siamka Zolotuhin, 2002

(Image 1F)

Kunugia siamka Zolotuhin, 2002, Ent. Z. 112: 138, figs 8, 12. Type locality: Thailand, Chiang Mai, Doi Phahompok, 25km NW of Fang, 2,100m.

Material examined. IRCC/472, IRCC/473, 20.xi.2014, 23.xi.2014, 3 males, Tashipang, Mendrelgang, Tsirang (Bhutan) (26.9500N & 90.1140E, 1,247m); IRCC/474, 19.vii.2014, 1 male, Dagapela, Dagana (26.9390N & 89.9200E, 1,599m). coll. J.S. Irungbam.

Note: This species is recorded for the first time from Bhutan.  The species is earlier recorded from northern Thailand, Laos, Malaysia (Zolotuhin 2002; Zolotuhin & Ihle 2008).  The present record from Bhutan is a new range location and extension from its earlier known distribution.

 

Alompra roepkei Tams, 1953

(Image 1J)

Alompra roepkei Tams, 1953, Tijdschr. Plant. 59: 166, figs 3, 6, 8, 13. Type locality: [northern India] Assam.

Material examined. IRCC/469, 09.vi.2015, 1 female, Tashipang, Mendrelgang, Tsirang (Bhutan) (26.9500N & 90.1140E, 1,247m), coll. J.S. Irungbam.

Note: This species is recorded for the first time from Bhutan.  The moth has a reddish-brown fasciae and is slightly larger than Alompra ferruginea Moore, 1872, which is smaller, darker, with narrower forewings.  In the male, the forewings have convex margins centrally.  The valve in A. roepkei is divided but it is bifid in A. ferruginea (Holloway 1987).  The species was expected to be present as A. ferruginea was already found in Bhutan (Hauenstein et al. 2011).  Holloway (1987) recorded the species in Borneo from 1700m at forested localities and it is rare.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Appendix 1. An updated checklist on the Family Lasiocampidae of Bhutan based on Hampson (1892), Dudgeon (1901), Dierl (1975), Hauenstein et al. (2011) and the present study.

N.B. (*) denotes the species recorded during the study and (#) denotes the new records in Bhutan.

 

 

Species

Local distribution

Global distribution

1

Amurilla subpurpurea dharma Hauenstein, Ihle, Sinjaev & Zolotuhin, 2011

Paro, Wangdue Phodrang, Trongsa.

Eastern Nepal.

2

Baodera khasiana (Moore, 1879)

Thimphu, Bumthang, Trongsa

Northern India, Nepal, southern China, Myanmar.

3

Trabala vishnou (Lefèbvre, 1827)*

[Image 1 A & B]

Punakha, Wangdue Phodrang, Mongar, Samdrup Jongkhar, Tsirang, Dagana.

Northeastern Pakistan, Nepal, India, Sri Lanka, China, Taiwan, Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, Malaysia.

4

Crinocraspeda torrida (Moore, 1879)

Mongar.

Northern & central India, southern China, northern Thailand, Laos, northern Vietnam.

5

Euthrix vulpes Zolotuhin, 2001

Thimphu, Punakha, Trongsa.

Northern India, Nepal.

6

Euthrix inobtrusa (Walker, 1862)

Samtse.

Northern India, Nepal, central & southern China, Thailand, Vietnam, peninsular Malaysia, Sumatra.

7

Euthrix laeta (Walker, 1855)*

[Image 1 C]

 

Tsirang, Dagana.

Nepal, India, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, China, Russia Far East, Korea, Japan, Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, Malaysia, Sumatra, Borneo, Philippines, Java.

8

Euthrix isocyma (Hampson, 1892)

[Image 1 D]

Thimphu, Wangdue Phodrang, Mongar, Tsirang,

Northern India, Nepal, southeastern China, Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, northern Vietnam, Cambodia.

9

Euthrix fossa (Swinhoe, 1879)

Trongsa, Samdrup Jongkhar

Northeastern India.

10

Eteinopla signata (Moore, 1879)

Thimphu, Punakha, Wangdue Phodrang.

Northern India, Nepal, southern China, Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, peninsular Malaysia.

11

Lenodora castanea (Hampson, 1892)

Thimphu, Punakha, Bumthang.

Northern India, Nepal, southwestern China.

12

Micropacha lidderdalii (Druce, 1899)

Gasa, Thimphu, Punakha, Wangdue Phodrang, Trongsa.

Nepal, northeastern India.

13

Radhica flavovittata Moore, 1879

Mongar.

Northern India, Nepal, southern China, Taiwan, Myanmar, northern Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, Sumatra, Borneo, Peninsular Malaysia

14

Radhica puana Zolotuhin, 1995

Mongar.

Northern Thailand, Laos, Vietnam.

15

Zolotuhinia bhutata (Zolotuhin, 2000)

Punakha, Mongar.

Endemic to Bhutan.

16

Estigena pardale (Walker, 1855)*

[Image 1 E]

Punakha, Tsirang.

Pakistan, India, southern China, Taiwan, Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, Java, Sumatra

17

Estigena philippinensis swanni (Tams, 1935)

Samdrup Jongkhar.

Pakistan, Nepal, India, Andaman Is., southern China, Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, Myanmar, Borneo, Sumatra, the Philippines.

18

Gastropacha (Stenophylloides) moorei Zolotuhin, 2005

Thimphu.

Nepal, India

19

Paradoxopla sinuata sinuata (Moore, 1879)

Thimphu, Trongsa, Mongar, Wangdue Phodrang.

Pakistan, northern India, Nepal, southern & northern China

20

Kunugia ampla (Walker, 1855)

Wangdue Phodrang.

India, Bangladesh, Southern China, Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, peninsular Malaysia.

21

Kunugia fulgens (Moore, 1879)

Trongsa.

Northern India, Nepal, southern China, Thailand, Vietnam.

22

Kunugia placida (Moore, 1879)

 

India, southern China, Thailand, Vietnam, peninsular Malaysia.

23

Kunugia lineata (Moore, 1879)

Paro, Thimphu, Trongsa, Punakha

Northern India, Nepal, Myanmar, southern & eastern China, northern Thailand, Laos, Vietnam.

24

Kunugia siamka Zolotuhin, 2002#

[Image 1 F]

Tsirang, Dagana.

Northern Thailand, Laos, Malaysia.

25

Kunugia burmensis (Gaede, 1932)*

[Image 1 G]

Tsirang, Thimphu

Myanmar, southern China, northern Vietnam, northern Thailand.

26

Kunugia vulpina omeiensis Tsai & Liu, 1964

Wangdue Phodrang

Northern India, southern China, Myanmar, Thailand, Laos

27

Kunugia dzong Hauenstein, Ihle, Sinjaev & Zolotuhin, 2011

Mongar.

Endemic to Bhutan.

28

Dendrolimus himalayanus Tsai & Liu, 1964

Paro, Thimphu, Punakha, Wangdue Phodrang, Trongsa, Bumthang.

Northern India, Nepal, southern China (Tibet).

29

Paralebeda plagifera (Walker, 1855)*

[Image 1 H]

Paro, Punakha, Wangdue-Phodrang, Tsirang, Dagana.

Northern & central India, Nepal, southern & southeastern China, northern Thailand, Laos, northern Vietnam.

30

Paralebeda femorata karmata Zolotuhin, 1996

Paro, Thimphu, Trongsa, Bumthang.

Northeastern Pakistan, Nepal, India.

31

Suana concolor Walker, 1855

Trongsa.

India, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, southern China, Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, Malaysia, Sumatra, Java, Borneo, the Philippines

32

Metanastria hyrtaca (Cramer, 1779)

Punakha, Wangdue Phodrang, Samdrup Jongkhar.

Nepal, India, China, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, Sumatra, Borneo

33

Lebeda nobilis Walker, 1855*

[Image 1 I]

Tsirang.

Nepal, India, central & southern China, Taiwan, Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, peninsular Malaysia, Sumatra, Java

34

Pyrosis hreblayi Zolotuhin & Witt, 2000

Trongsa, Mongar.

Eastern Nepal.

35

Arguda vinata nepalina Kishida, 1992

Thimphu, Wangdue Phodrang, Bumthang, Trongsa.

Nepal, northeastern India, Myanmar, Southern China, Thailand, northern Vietnam, Malaysia.

36

Arguda thaica Zolotuhin, 2005

Mongar.

Northeastern India, Vietnam, Laos, Thailand.

37

Syrastrena minor (Moore, 1879)

Mongar.

Nepal, northern India.

38

Syrastrena lajonquierei Holloway, 1982

Thimphu, Trongsa, Punakha.

Nepal, Myanmar, northern Vietnam, Thailand.

39

Bharetta cinnamomea Moore, 1865

Haa, Wangdue Phodrang.

Nepal, India, southern China, Myanmar, Vietnam.

40

Odonestis pruni oberthueri Tams, 1935

Thimphu.

Northern India, Nepal, northeastern Myanmar, Vietnam.

41

Argonestis flammans (Hampson, 1893)

Mongar.

Nepal, India, southern China, northern Thailand, Vietnam, Laos.

42

Kosala kadoi Hauenstein, Ihle, Sinjaev & Zolotuhin, 2011

Paro, Haa, Thimphu, Wangdue Phodrang, Trongsa.

Endemic to Bhutan.

43

Alompra ferruginea Moore, 1872

Samtse.

Northeastern Himalaya, Borneo, Sumatra, Mindanao.

44

Alompra roepkei Tams, 1953#

[Image 1 J]

Tsirang.

Northeastern Himalaya, Myanmar, northern Vietnam, Laos, Thailand, peninsular Malaysia, Borneo, Sundaland, the Philippines

 

 

 

References

 

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