ISSN 2230 – 7052 No. 19, December 2012 Bugs R All
Newsletter of the Invertebrate Conservation & Information Network of South Asia
IUCN Species Survival Commission: Joint vision, goal and objec ves of the SSC and IUCN Species Programme for 2013-16
The work of the SSC is guided by the Vision of: 2. Analysing the threats to biodiversity A just world that values and conserves nature through To analyse and communicate the threats to biodiversity posi ve ac on to reduce the loss of diversity of life on and disseminate informa on on appropriate global earth. conserva on ac ons; 3. Facilita ng and undertaking conserva on ac on The overriding goal of the Commission is: To facilitate and undertake ac on to deliver biodiversity- The species ex nc on crisis and massive loss of based solu ons for hal ng biodiversity decline and catalyse biodiversity are universally adopted as a shared measures to manage biodiversity sustainably and prevent responsibility and addressed by all sectors of society species‟ ex nc ons both in terms of policy change and taking posi ve conserva on ac on and avoiding nega ve ac on on the ground; impacts worldwide. 4. Convening exper se for biodiversity conserva on To provide a forum for gathering and integra ng the Main strategic objec ves: knowledge and experience of the world‟s leading experts For the intersessional period 2013–2016, the SSC, working on species science and management, and promo ng the in collabora on with members, na onal and regional ac ve involvement of subsequent genera ons of species commi ees, other Commissions and the Secretariat, will conserva onists. pursue the following key objec ves in helping to deliver IUCN‟s “One Programme” commitment: More informa on is available in the IUCN Species 1. Assessing and monitoring biodiversity Programme Strategic Plan 2013–2016 h ps:// To assess and monitor biodiversity and inform the world cmsdata.iucn.org/downloads/ about the status and trends of biodiversity, especially at 2013_2016_species_strategic_plan_final.pdf available on the species level, thus providing measures for the health of the IUCN Species website, which outlines 36 Key Species our one and only biosphere; Results and a set of measurable targets for achieving the above strategic objec ves.
Contents Pages On a collec on of chalcidoid wasps (Hymenoptera: Chalcidoidea) from Bor Wildlife Sanctuary, Maharashtra, India - P. Girish Kumar and T.C. Narendran ...... 2 A new larval host record for the Pea Blue bu erfly Lampides boe cus (Linnaeus) (Insecta: Lepidoptera: Lycaenidae) from Pune, Maharashtra, India - Kru Chhaya, Neha Mujumdar, Prachi Mhaske and Ankur Patwardhan ...... 6 On a collec on of aculeate Hymenoptera from Bhuj, Gujarat - P. Girish Kumar, A. K. R Mahato and Y. Patel ... 10 Caviria sericea Moore (Lepidoptera: Lymantriidae) A new record of Sal defoliator from Kanha Na onal Park, Madhya Pradesh - N. Roychoudhury, Subhash Chandra and Neetu Vaishy ...... 14 Large-scale night congrega on of Yellow-tailed Ashy Skimmers Potamarcha congener (Rambur) at Gaganbawada, Maharashtra State: with notes on their camouflage and roos ng behaviour - Anil Mahabal and P.D. Rane ...... 16 New record of occurrence of the moth, Macrobrochis gigas (Walker, 1854) from Mukkali, Kerala, South India S. Murali ...... 17 Par al checklist of ant species in and around Amrava city, Maharashtra, India - Aravind Chavan and Santosh Pawar 18 New record of flower spider Thomisus sikkimensis with a note on its courtship behaviour - Sidharth Kulkarni, V.Y. Deshpande and A.R. Aundhkar ...... 20 Note on Teredinid wood borers from Palur canal near Rushikulya estuary, East coast of India - S. K. Pa and D. Swain 21 Note on Sparassidae spider feeding on a juvenile Gekko - Raju Vyas ...... 24 Aggrega on behaviour of Catacanthus incarnatus (Drury) bug on Delonix regia tree in Kolhapur, Maharashtra - B. Mamlayya and S.R. Aland ...... 26 Sigh ng of a Widow Spider (Lactrodectus genus) at Dhela near Corbe Tiger Reserve - Aar Verma and Preston Ahimaz ...... 27 Mee ng of the IUCN SSC Invertebrate Conserva on Sub-Commi ee ICSC, Abu Dhabi ...... 28
Bugs R A! On a collec on of chalcidoid wasps (Hymenoptera: Chalcidoidea) from Bor Wildlife Sanctuary, Maharashtra, India
P. Girish Kumar1 and T.C. Narendran2 1Zoological Survey of India, M- Block, New Alipore, Kolkata, 700 053, West Bengal, India 2c/o Systema c Entomology Laboratory, Department of Zoology, University of Calicut, 673 635, Kerala, India 1 [email protected], 2 [email protected]
Bor Wildlife Sanctuary is located at Hingni in Wardha district of Vidarbha region of Maharashtra. The area is Systema c Account represented by dry deciduous forests which covers Family: Chalcididae 61.10km2 and situated at 20°58'47.33'' N and 1. Dirhinus auratus Ashmead 78°37'15.46'' E coordinates. The sanctuary is rich in its Dirhinus auratus Ashmead, 1905: 402, Lectotype ♀, natural vegeta on and is the home of many important Philippines: Manila (USNM). flora and fauna. Chalcidoidea is one of the economically Dirhinus circinus Husain & Agarwal, 1981: 182, Holotype important superfamilies of Hymenoptera, most species ♀, India: Aligarh (ZDAMU). Synonymy by Narendran of which are parasi c on insect pests of agricultural crops. In con nua on of our studies on the chalcidoid 1989: 295. fauna of protected areas (Narendran and Girish Kumar, Dirhinus pambaensis Mani & Dubey, in Mani et al., 1974: 2009a, b, c), we are repor ng here ten species of 33-36. Holotype ♂, India: Kerala, at river Pamba in chalcidoid wasps of which all the ten are new records Cardamom Hills (USNM). Synonymy by Boucek & from Bor Wildlife Sanctuary, six species are new records Narendran, 1981: 243. from Maharashtra State and one species is new record Dirhinus auratus Ashmead: Khan & Hayat, 2010: 79. from the Oriental region. Diagnosis: Male: Body black, antenna reddish brown, tarsi orange yellow. Antenna subfiliform, second flagellar Material and Methods segment 1.8x as long as broad, seventh segment The collec ons were taken from the locality Bordharan in subquadrate; median area of propodeum dis nctly the Bor Wildlife Sanctuary. The specimens were collected elongate and rather parallel-sided; striate area rela vely by using sweep net specially made for the purpose. The longer, its hind margin medially produced; hind bia card mounted specimens were studied under Leica MZ 6 without dis nct addi onal carina on outer surface; stereozoom microscope (Switzerland). All the iden fied punctua ons and pubescence of hind femur and hind specimens are deposited in the ‘Na onal Zoological bia very dense. Collec ons of the Zoological Survey of India, Kolkata. The Material examined: 1 ♂, INDIA: Maharashtra, Wardha distribu onal data of each species except the studied district, Bor Wildlife Sanctuary, Bordharan, 25.ix.2007, material were taken from Noyes (2003). Coll. P. Girish Kumar (NZSI, Regd. No. 12777/H3). Host: Dacus cucurbitae, D. ferrugineus (Diptera: Acronyms for museums and depositories: BMNH = The Natural History Museum, London, England; HDOU = Hope Department, Tephri dae) (Noyes, 2003). Oxford University, Oxford, England; NZSI = Na onal Zoological Distribu on: India: Delhi, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Collec ons, Zoological Survey of India, Kolkata, India; USNM = Pradesh, Maharashtra (new record), Odisha, Punjab, United States Na onal Museum, Washington DC, USA; ZDAMU Tamil Nadu, U ar Pradesh, West Bengal. [Laos, = Insect Collec ons, Department of Zoology, Aligarh Muslim Mauri us, Pakistan, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, University, Aligarh, India; ZSIK = Western Ghats Regional Centre, Zoological Survey of India, Kozhikode, Kerala, India. Thailand, Vietnam].
The following abbrevia ons are also used in the text: F1-F4 = Family: Eulophidae Funicular segments 1 to 4; LTS = Longer hind bial spur; MLM = Subfamily Eulophinae midlobe of mesoscutum; MV = Marginal vein; OOL = 2. Euplectrus ceylonensis Howard Ocellocular line; PMV = Postmarginal vein; POL = Postocellar Euplectrus ceylonensis Howard, in Howard & Ashmead, line; SMV = Submarginal vein; STV = S gmal vein; T1 = 1896: 641. Holotype ♀, Ceylon (= Sri Lanka) (USNM). Metasomal tergite 1. Euplectrus insulanus Crawford, 1911: 281. Indonesia The distribu onal data of each species except the studied (USNM). Synonymy by Ferriere, 1941. material were taken from Noyes (2003). Euplectrus ceylonensis Howard: Narendran, 2011: 217.
Bugs R A! No 19 December 2012" 2 Diagnosis: Female: Head black; antenna yellow, gradually 4. Euplectrus manjericus Narendran darkening towards clava; mesosoma black; legs yellow Euplectrus manjericus Narendran, 2011: 233. Holotype except coxa concolorous with mesosoma; pe ole black; ♀, India: Manjeri (ZSIK). rest of metasoma mostly yellowish brown with base, Diagnosis: Female: Head black except area below toruli sides and apical part blackish brown; vertex with four yellow which extends to gena but not united with ventral minute setae; pedicel shorter than F1; mesoscutum margin of eye; scape and pedicel yellow; flagellum without median carina; scutellum smooth; propodeum gradually becoming darker towards apex; legs including with dis nct plicae; spiracle touching metanotum; coxa yellow; pretarsi dark; mesosoma black; metasoma pe ole 1.5-2x as long as wide, striate. dark brown on dorsal side with T1 slightly paler; ventral ♀ Material examined: 1 , INDIA: Maharashtra, Wardha side of gaster pale yellow; pedicel as long as F1; POL 2x district, Bor Wildlife Sanctuary, Bordharan, 25.ix.2007, OOL; length of malar space 0.62x height of eye; MLM Coll. P. Girish Kumar (NZSI, Regd. No. 12778/H3). with a short median carina posteriorly; MV 1.8x PMV; Hosts: Dendrolimus sp. (Lepidoptera: Lasiocampidae), PMV 1.9x as long as STV; metasoma shorter than Dasychira sp. (Lepidoptera: Lymantriidae), Euproc s flava mesosoma; dorsal surface of pe ole micro sculptured (Lepidoptera: Lymantriidae), Euproc s fraterna and granulate; metasoma 0.7x as long as mesosoma. (Lepidoptera: Lymantriidae), Euproc s scin llans Material examined: 1 ♀, INDIA: Maharashtra, Wardha (Lepidoptera: Lymantriidae), Nygmia scin llans district, Bor Wildlife Sanctuary, Bordharan, 25.ix.2007, (Lepidoptera: Lymantriidae), Thysanoplusia orichalcea Coll. P. Girish Kumar (NZSI, Regd. No. 12780/H3). (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) (Noyes, 2003). Host: Unknown. Distribu on: India: Kerala, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu. Distribu on: India: Assam, Himachal Pradesh, Kerala, [China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Vietnam]. Maharashtra (new record), Meghalaya, Punjab, U ar Pradesh, West Bengal. 3. Euplectrus euplexiae Rohwer ♂ Euplectrus euplexiae Rohwer, 1921: 135. Holotype , 5. Euplectrus zandanus Narendran India: Tamil Nadu (USNM). Euplectrus zandanus Narendran, 2011: 259. Holotype ♀, Euplectrus euplexiae Rohwer: Narendran, 2011: 221. India: Thrissur (ZSIK). Diagnosis: Female: Head black with area below antennal Diagnosis: Female: Head black with area below toruli toruli and malar space yellow; scape pale white, pedicel yellow which extends to gena but separated from eye and F1 pale yellow, remaining segments of antenna pale margin by a black band; scape, pedicel and F1 pale yellowish brown; legs including coxae pale yellow; yellow, remaining segments of antenna pale brown; mesosoma black, tegula pale yellow; pe ole black, gaster mesosoma black, tegula pale yellow; pe ole black; gaster yellow with base, sides and a broad cross band just pale yellowish brown with a paler patch on basal part before posterior end dark brown or black. Pedicel as long and hypopygium pale yellowish; pedicel as long as F1; as F1; MV a li le shorter than 2x PMV; LTS equal to first MV 2.4x as long as PMV; pe ole as long as wide. two hind tarsal segments together. Material examined: 1 ♀, INDIA: Maharashtra, Wardha Material examined: 1 ♀, INDIA: Maharashtra, Wardha district, Bor Wildlife Sanctuary, Bordharan, 25.ix.2007, district, Bor Wildlife Sanctuary, Bordharan, 25.ix.2007, Coll. P. Girish Kumar (NZSI, Regd. No. 12781/H3). Coll. P. Girish Kumar (NZSI, Regd. No. 12779/H3). Host: Unknown. Hosts: Condica capensis and C. conducta (Lepidoptera: Distribu on: India: Kerala, Maharashtra (new record), Noctuidae), Euplexia capensis and E. conducta U ar Pradesh. (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae), Helicoverpa armigera (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae), Heliothis armigera Subfamily Tetras chinae (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae), Laphigma exigua (Lepidoptera: 6. Aprostocetus gala (Walker) Noctuidae), Perigea capensis (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae), Tetras chus gala Walker, 1847: 28. Lectotype ♀, USA: Plusia orichalcea (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae), Salepa cel s (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae), Salepa docilis (Lepidoptera: Florida (BMNH), designated by Burks (1975). Noctuidae), Spodoptera exigua (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae), Aprostocetus gala (Walker): Boucek, 1988: 681. Spodoptera mauri a (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae), Aprostocetus gala (Walker): Narendran, 2007: 59. Margaronia pyloalis (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae) (Noyes, Diagnosis: Female: Yellow with the following parts dark 2003). brown: antenna (with scape paler); upper part of srobe, Distribu on: India: Haryana, Kerala, Maharashtra (new area near ocelli on vertex, apical corners of scapula and record), Tamil Nadu, U ar Pradesh. [China, South Korea, axilla, notauli, anterior corners of propleuron and Uganda]. transverse bands on gaster; antenna with 2 anelli; F1 equal to F2; mesoscutum with single row of five
Bugs R A! No 19 December 2012" 3 adnotaular setae on either side; SMV with four dorsal Diagnosis: Female. Head, mesosoma and gaster black setae; metasoma slightly longer than head plus with metallic blue reflec ons; antenna pale brownish mesosoma. yellow with scape and pedicellus yellowish brown; tegula Material examined: 1 ♀, INDIA: Maharashtra, Wardha brown; all coxae concolorous with body except apices brown; all trochanters and femur brown, remaining parts district, Bor Wildlife Sanctuary, Bordharan, 25.ix.2007, yellowish brown; pretarsi brown; antenna with 1 anellus; Coll. P. Girish Kumar (NZSI, Regd. No. 12782/H3). F1 shorter than F2; mesoscutum with dis nct median Hosts: Diaprepes abbreviates (Coleoptera: line, 4 adnotaular setae on each side; costal cell a li le Curculionidae), Diaprepes famelicus (Coleoptera: shorter than MV; SMV with single dorsal seta; gaster Curculionidae), Exophthalmus sp. (Coleoptera: dis nctly longer than mesosoma. Curculionidae), Contarinia sp. (Diptera: Cecidomyiidae), Material examined: 1 ♀, INDIA: Maharashtra, Wardha Contarinia sorghicola (Diptera: Cecidomyiidae), Erosomyia indica (Diptera: Cecidomyiidae), Erosomyia district, Bor Wildlife Sanctuary, Bordharan, 25.ix.2007, mangiferae (Diptera: Cecidomyiidae), Stenodiplosis Coll. P. Girish Kumar (NZSI, Regd. No. 12784/H3). sorghicola (Diptera: Cecidomyiidae) (Noyes, 2003). Host: Eggs of Cockroaches? (Narendran, 2007). Distribu on: India: Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra (new Distribu on: India: Kerala, Maharashtra. record), Tamil Nadu, U ar Pradesh. [An lles, Australia, Dominica, Guadeloupe, Jamaica, Montserrat, Nearc c, Family: Eupelmidae Puerto Rico, Saint Lucia, USA]. 9. Eupelmus (Eupelmus) testaceiventris (Motschulsky) Callimome ceylonica Motschulsky, 1863: 47, Syntypes, Sri 7. Neotrichoporoides beonus Narendran Lanka. Neotrichoporoides beonus Narendran, In Narendran et Roprocerus testaceiventris Motschulsky, 1863: 49, al., 2006: 5. Holotype ♀, India: Kohinoor (near Calicut Syntypes, Sri Lanka. Eupelmus testaceiventris (Motschulsky): Boucek, 1965: University Campus) (NZSI). 543- 554. Neotrichoporoides beonus Narendran: Narendran, 2007: Eupelmus (Eupelmus) testaceiventris (Motschulsky): 148. Askew & Nieves-Aldrey, 2000: 55- 56. Diagnosis: Female. Upper half of head dark brown with Diagnosis: Female. Macropterous; antenna black; head metallic green reflec ons; a line adjacent to eye and thorax metallic green; gaster yellow; legs yellow brownish yellow; lower half of frons, gena and temples except forecoxa concolorous with thorax; ovipositor dark brownish yellow; antenna dark brown with scape and brown at base and apex, pale yellow in middle; under side of pedicel pale yellow; pronotum, metanotum with posterior margin produced into plical mesoscutum, scutellum and propodeum metallic green; depression of propodeum; forewing without linea clava; pronotal panel, meso and metapleuron pale brownish ovipositor length 0.70x length of gaster. yellow; axilla pale brownish yellow with middle part Material examined: 4 ♀, INDIA: Maharashtra, Wardha metallic green; sides of lateral lines of scutellum pale brownish yellow; legs pale yellow with hind coxa and district, Bor Wildlife Sanctuary, Bordharan, 25.ix.2007, basal half of mid coxa pale yellowish brown and hind Coll. P. Girish Kumar (NZSI, Regd. Nos. 12785/H3 to femur with pale brownish nch medially; pretarsi and 12788). fourth tarsal segment of all legs dark brown; gaster black Host: The Sorghum midge Contarinia sorghicola (Coquil- with base yellow; midlobe of mesoscutum with 2 rows of le ) (Diptera: Cecidomyiidae) and the mango leaf gall adnotaular setae, outer row of 6 and inner row of 3 midge Procontarinia ma eiana Kieffer & Cecconi setae; forewing (excluding fringe) about 3.7x as long as (Diptera: Cecidomyiidae) (Noyes, 2003). wide. Distribu on: India: Maharashtra, West Bengal (One Material examined: 1 ♀, INDIA: Maharashtra, Wardha report of this species from India without men oning the state in CIBC Annual Report 1985- 1985: 30, district, Bor Wildlife Sanctuary, Bordharan, 25.ix.2007, Commonwealth Agricultural Bureaux, Slough, U.K.). Coll. P. Girish Kumar (NZSI, Regd. No. 12783/H3). [Afrotropical, Australia, Canary Islands, Croa a, Cyprus, Host: Unknown. Oman, Spain, Sri Lanka]. Distribu on: India: Delhi, Kerala, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu. Family: Pteromalidae 10. Macroglenes herbaceus (Graham) 8. Tetras chus tunicus Narendran Pirene herbacea Graham, 1969: 346. Holotype ♂, Tetras chus tunicus Narendran, 2007: 293. Holotype ♀, England: Berkshire (HDOU). India: Calicut University Campus (ZSIK). Macroglenes herbaceus (Graham): Hedqvist, 2003: 110.
Bugs R A! No 19 December 2012" 4 Diagnosis: Female: Head and mesosoma with fairly bright Boucek, Z. (1988). Australasian Chalcidoidea (Hymenoptera). A metallic bronze-green reflec ons; gaster with less intense biosystema c revision of genera of fourteen families, with a reclassifica on of species: 832 pages. CAB Interna onal, nts; antenna darker, scape and pedicel not dis nctly Wallingford, Oxon, U.K. pale marked; tegula metallic; legs darker, coxa Boucek, Z. & T.C. Narendran (1981). Indian chalcid wasps concolorous with the thorax; antenna with F1 to F3 (Hymenoptera) of the genus Dirhinus parasi c on synanthropic and other Diptera. Systema c Entomology, 6: 229-251. dis nctly smaller than F4, the combined length of F1-F4 Burks, B.D. (1975). The species of Chalcidoidea described from less than that of pedicellus; clava as long as pedicellus North America north of Mexico by Francis Walker plus funicle; MV 5x STV; ovipositor sheath less exserted, (Hymenoptera). Bulle n of the Bri sh Museum (Natural History) (Entomology), 32 (4): 139-170. their projec ng por on at most slightly more than one Crawford, J.C. (1911). Descrip ons of new Hymenoptera. 3. third the length of the hind bia. Proceedings of the United States Na onal Museum, 41: 267-282. Male: Resembles female in general appearance except Ferriere, C. (1941). New species of Euplectrini (Hym. antenna with scape slightly more expanded, hardly 4x as Chalcidoidea) from Europe, Africa, Asia. Bulle n of Entomological Research, 32 (1): 17-48. long as broad; metasoma hardly longer, but much Graham, M.W.R. de V. (1969). The Pteromalidae of north- narrower, than the metasoma, strongly compressed. western Europe (Hymenoptera: Chacidoidea). Bulle n of the Material examined: 1 ♀ & 1 ♂, INDIA: Maharashtra, Bri sh Museum (Natural History), Entomology, Supplement 16: 1-908. Wardha district, Bor Wildlife Sanctuary, Bordharan, 25.ix. Hedqvist, K.J. (2003). Katalog over svenska Chalcidoidea. 2007, Coll. P. Girish Kumar (NZSI, Regd. Nos. 12789/H3 & Entomologisk Tidskri , 124 (1-2): 73-133. Howard, L.O. & W.H. Ashmead (1896). On some reared parasi c 12790). hymenopterous insects from Ceylon. Proceedings of the United Host: Unknown. States Na onal Museum, 18: 633-648. Distribu on: India (new record): Maharashtra. [Czech Husain, T. & M.M. Agarwal (1981). Systema c studies on Indian Dirhininae (Hymenoptera: Chalcididae). Oriental Insects, 15 (2): Republic, Netherlands, Sweden, United Kingdom]. 179-193. Remarks: This is the new record of the species from the Khan, F.R. & M. Hayat (2010). On some Chalcididae from India Oriental region. with Several New Records (Hymenoptera: Chalcidoidea). Bionotes, 12 (3): 77-80. Mani, M.S., O.P. Dubey, B.K. Kaul, & G.G. Saraswat (1974). Summary Descrip ons of some new and new records of some known Ten species of chalcidoid wasps were iden fied from Bor Chalcidoidea (Hymenoptera) from India. Memoirs of the School Wildlife Sanctuary of which one species namely of Entomology, St. John's College, Agra, No. 3: 1-108. Motschulsky, V. de (1863). Essai d'un catalogue des insectes de Macroglenes herbaceus (Graham) (Family: Pteromalidae) l'Ile Ceylon (Suite). Byulleten' Moskovskogo Obshchestva is newly recorded from Oriental region and one species of Ispytateley Prirody (Otdel Biologicheskiy), 36 (3): 1-153. Chacididae namely Dirhinus auratus Ashmead and four Narendran, T.C. (1989). Oriental Chalcididae (Hymenoptera: Chalcidoidea). Zoological Monograph, University of Calicut: 440 species of Eulophidae namely Euplectrus euplexiae pages. Rohwer, E. manjericus Narendran, E. zandanus Narendran Narendran, T.C. (2007). Indian Chalcidoid Parasitoids of the and Aprostocetus gala (Walker) are new record from Tetras chinae (Hymenoptera: Eulophidae), Records of Zoological Survey of India, Occasional Paper No. 272: 1-386+ 5 plates. Maharashtra state. Narendran, T.C. (2011). Fauna of India, Eulophinae (Hymenoptera: Eulophidae): 1-342 (Published by the Director, Acknowledgements Zoological Survey of India, Kolkata). The first author is grateful to Dr. Venkataraman, Director, Narendran, T.C., P. Girish Kumar, S. Santhosh & M.C. Jilcy (2006). A revision of Neotrichoporoides Girault (Hymenoptera: Zoological Survey of India, Kolkata for providing facili es and Eulophidae) from India. Oriental Insects, 40: 1- 21. encouragement. The second author is grateful to the Prof. N. Narendran, T.C. & P. Girish Kumar (2009a). On three new Ramani, Head of the Department of Zoology, University of species of Pteromalidae (Hymenoptera: Chacidoidea) from Calicut, Kerala, and to Dr. M. Nasser, Associate Professor of the Maharashtra, India. Journal of Experimental Zoology India, 12 same department for providing research facili es. The first (1): 29-34. author is also grateful to Dr. L. Bindu, Scien st-C, Marine Biology Narendran, T.C. & P. Girish Kumar (2009b). Taxonomic studies Regional Centre, Zoological Survey of India, Chennai for on a collec on of chalcidoid wasps (Hymenoptera: Chalcidoidea) including him in her Maharashtra faunis c survey team. from Sunderbans, West Bengal, India. Records of Zoological Survey of India, 109 (1): 89-96. Narendran, T.C. & P. Girish Kumar (2009c). Three new species References of Pteromalidae (Hymenoptera: Chalcidoidea) from Sunderbans, Ashmead, W.H. (1905). Addi ons to the recorded West Bengal, India. Journal of Environment & Sociobiology, 6 (2): Hymenopterous Fauna of the Philippine Islands, with 123-130. descrip ons of new species. Proceedings of the United States Noyes, J.S. (2003). Universal Chalcidoidea Database. Updated. Na onal Museum, 28 (No. 1413) 3: 957-971. h p://www. nhm.ac.uk/ entomology/chacidoids (Accessed on Askew, R.R. & J.L. Nieves-Aldrey (2000). The genus Eupelmus September, 2011). Dalman, 1820 (Hymenoptera, Chalcidoidea, Eupelmidae) in Rohwer, S.A. (1921). Descrip on of new chalcidoid flies from peninsular Spain and the Canary Islands, with taxonomic notes Coimbatore, south India. Annals and Magazine of Natural and descrip ons of new species. Graellsia, 56: 49-61. History, (9) 7: 123-135. Boucek, Z. (1965). Synonymic and taxonomic notes on some Walker, F. (1847). Characters of undescribed Chalcidites Chalcidoidea (Hymenoptera), with correc ons of my own collected in North America by E. Doubleday Esq., and now in the mistakes. Sborník Entomologického Oddeleni Národního Musea v Bri sh Museum. Annals and Magazine of Natural History, 20: Praze, 36: 543-554. 19-29. Bugs R A! No 19 December 2012" 5 A new larval host record for the Pea Blue bu erfly Lampides boe cus (Linnaeus) (Insecta: Lepidoptera: Lycaenidae) from Pune, Maharashtra, India
Kru Chhaya1,2, Neha Mujumdar1,3, Prachi Mhaske1,4 and Ankur Patwardhan1,5
1 Department of Biodiversity, M. E. S. Abasaheb Garware College, Deccan Gymkhana, Karve Road, Pune 2 5, Premdham, 1074 Shivaji Nagar, Gokhale road, Pune 3 ‘Nishigandh’, Sadbhavna Nagar, Ausa Road, Latur 4 304, Swaminarayan-B, Near Suncity, Anandnagar, Vadgaon Bk., Pune 5 ‘ABHAYANKUR’, 14 Nityanand Soc., Dhankawadi, Pune 1 [email protected], 2 Kru [email protected] (corresponding author), 3 [email protected], 4 [email protected], 5 [email protected]
The Pea Blue bu erfly Lampides boe cus (Linnaeus), also Pupal period varied from 9 to 11 days. Average length of known as the Long Tailed Blue, is a widely distributed the pupa was 8 mm. Two out of the ten pupae reared bu erfly species found from Great Britain to Japan and were parasi zed. Life history of this species has already throughout suitable habitats in Africa, Madagascar, been described in detail from India and our observa ons South East Asia, and Australia, extending eastwards to are similar to those of other workers (De Niceville 1890; parts of Oceania, including Hawaii Islands (Lohman et al. Wynter-Blyth 1957; Kunte 2000) (Fig. 2 to 10). 2008). The larval host plants of this bu erfly predominantly The Pea Blue bu erfly is known to be one of the most belong to the family Leguminosae. It has been reported abundant in India during early winter and summer, which to feed on the flowers and pods of plants like Cajanus may be related to the availability of its larval food cajan, Crotolaria spp., Vigna sinensis, Pisum sa vum, resources (Kunte 2000). Adult Pea Blue individuals were Butea monosperma etc. in India (Kunte 2000). Recently, recorded from January to March and in November 2010, in Pune, Maharashtra, this bu erfly was observed to on the ARAI Hill. Popula on peaks were observed in the breed on Gliricidia sepium (Jacq.) locally known as month of February in 2010 and also in February 2011 Undirmar, an exo c tree species na ve to Mesoamerica which coincided with the flowering period of G. sepium, a (Stewart and Simons 1994) (Fig. 1). The only record of G. known nectar source for this bu erfly (Kunte 2000) (Fig. sepium as a larval host for this bu erfly is from the 1). Hawaii Islands (Robinson 2010). Pune is a highly urbanized landscape at an eleva on of 560 m above mean sea level while Raigad district in Eggs and larval stages were observed in the wild ll Konkan region is at an eleva on of about 120 m above March. Larvae collected were then reared on G. sepium mean sea level. This bu erfly has a wide distribu on and flowers. It was observed that pods of Pisum sa vum G. sepium is widely planted for its economic use such as were also accepted as food by the larvae under fuel wood, green manure, forage tree and for shade laboratory condi ons. The average length of full grown throughout its both na ve and exo c ranges (Stewart larvae was 10 mm. Colour of the larvae varied from white and Simons 1994) as well as for afforesta on to shades of green and pink. Cannibalis c behavior, programmes by Forest department on the hills in Pune which has been reported earlier (Harding 1971), was not (Joshi and Kumbhojkar 1997). It is a clear possibility that observed, but when two starved larvae were in the same the Pea Blue is using this plant species at several other container, one was seen to bite the other smaller larva.
Observations of Lampides boeticus on Gliricidia sepium from various places in and around Pune
Date Place Coordinates Observations
24th Jan 2011 An adult was seen laying eggs on the buds
ARAI Hill 18o31'24.76''N 73o48'52.90''E Different larval instars of the butterfly were 7th Feb 2011 seen feeding inside the buds on the same plant
17th Feb 2011 Fergusson College Campus 18o31’20.82’’N 73o50’18. 60’’E Eggs and larvae were collected from flowers 1st March 2011 Sinhgad Valley 18o22’46.35’’N 73o46’4.90’’E Eggs were seen on G. sepium individuals 7th March 2011 Pashan Road 18o32’18.35’’N 73o48’24.06’’E Eggs seen on G. sepium individuals 15th March 2011 Vile, Raigad District 18o24’50.20’’N 73o20’38.90’’E Eggs and larvae were collected from flowers
Bugs R A! No 19 December 2012" 6 2
1
4
3 5
Figure 1. Gliricidia sepium. Photo Avinash Harpude Figure 2. Mating of Pea Blue. Photo Neha Mujumdar Figure 3. Pea Blue egg laying on G. sepium buds. Photo Rohan Joshi Figure 4. Pea Blue eggs on young buds. Photo Kruti Chhaya Figure 5. Egg on mature bud of G. sepium. Photo Kruti Chhaya
Bugs R A! No 19 December 2012" 7 7 6
9
8 10
Figure 6. Pea blue egg. Photo A.D. Padhye Figure 7. Pea Blue larva inside flower bud. Photo Kruti Chhaya Figure 8. Pea Blue larva feeding on flower. Photo Mandar Kulkarni Figure 9. Pea Blue pupa dorsal side. Photo Mandar Kulkarni Figure 10. Pea Blue pupa ventral side. Photo H.V.Ghate
Bugs R A! No 19 December 2012" 8 places. It is interes ng to note at this point that na ve Harding, J.W. (1971). Observa ons on Lampides boe cus (L.) bu erflies are now adapted to exo c plants. (Lepidoptera: Lycaenidae). New Zealand Entomologist 5(1): Acknowledgement 70-73. Joshi V. N. and Kumbhojkar M. S. (1997). Floris c study on We are grateful to Dr. Hemant Ghate, HOD, Department Vetal Hill and its adjacent hills in greater Pune area. Jr. Econ. of Zoology, Modern College, Pune, for his valuable Tax. Bot. 21(3): 501-524. guidance during the study. We also thank him sincerely Krushnamegh Kunte (2000). Bu erflies of Peninsular India. for the photographs. Our sincere thanks are due to Dr. Universi es Press, Hyderabad, 170-172pp+ 25pl. Krushnamegh Kunte for his valuable sugges ons. We Lohman, D. J., Djunijan , P., Pierce, N.E. and Meier, R. (2008). Phylogeography and gene c diversity of a widespread Old would like to acknowledge Dr. Anand Padhye, World bu erfly, Lampides boe cus (Lepidoptera: Lycaenidae). Department of Zoology, M. E. S. Abasaheb Garware BMC Evolu onary Biology 8: 301. College, for allowing us to use his microscope for Mavi, G.S. (1992). A cri cal review on the distribu on and host- photographing. We also thank our friends Mandar range of pea blue bu erfly, Lampides boe cus (Linn.). Journal Kulkarni, Rohan Joshi and Girish Pathak for their useful of Insect Science 5: 115-119. observa ons and photographs. Robinson, G. S., P. R. Ackery, I. J. Kitching, G. W. Beccaloni & L. M. Hernández (2010). HOSTS - A Database of the World's Lepidopteran Hostplants. Natural History Museum, London. References
Figure 11. Pea blue Nectaring on G. sepium. Photo by Kruti Chhaya
Bugs R A! No 19 November 2012" 9 On a collec on of aculeate Hymenoptera from Bhuj, Gujarat
P. Girish Kumar1, A. K. Roy Mahato2 and Ya n Patel3 1 Zoological Survey of India, M- Block, New Alipore, Kolkata, West Bengal 700 053 2 Gujarat Ins tute of Desert Ecology, P.O. Box No. # 83, Mundra Road, Bhuj, Kachchh- 370 001, Gujarat 3 Indian Na onal Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH), 71, Lodi Estate- 110 003, New Delhi 1 [email protected], 2 [email protected]
Aculeata is a subgroup of the order Hymenoptera whose 1. Polistes (Gyrostoma) wa i Cameron (Image 1) significant peculiarity is the transforma on of the female Polistes wa i Cameron, 1900: 416. Syntype ♀, West ovipositor into a venom-injec ng device or s nger and Bengal (BMNH). the members of which are commonly called as ants, bees Polistes (Gyrostoma) wa i Cameron: Girish Kumar, 2010: and wasps. They play an important role in the terrestrial 43- 44. ecosystems as pollinators, predators and producers. Diagnosis : Female: Length: 14 mm. Almost uniform India has a rich fauna of Aculeata and Bingham (1897, yellow colour of head and thorax, in some specimens 1903) was the first to publish a consolidated account of brown mixed with yellow especially on gaster; in some aculeate Hymenoptera (Wasps & Bees and Ants & specimens a black spot on scape at apex above, a black Cuckoo wasps) of the region, including Burma and mark around each ocellus narrowly, interrupted or Ceylon. Batra (1977) and Das & Gupta (1989) were also uninterrupted narrow black marks on vertex of some made comprehensive studies on Indian species of Apidae males; hind bia above usually black; a narrow and Vespidae respec vely. The present account is based transverse reddish brown line on first gastral tergite a er on a collec on of Hymenoptera (Aculeata) obtained from middle, second to fi h gastral tergite and sternite with Bhuj, district headquarters of Kachchh district , Gujarat bisinuate reddish brown line; in some specimens two (23°16' N 69°40' E, eleva on 110 meters msl) , which brown curved lines on propodeum. Clypeus finely includes the report of 7 species under 5 genera belonging punctate and interposed with sca ered larger deep to the families Vespidae (5 species) and Apidae (2 punctures; supraclypeal area, interantennal space, inner species). orbit including ocular sinus, frons, vertex, temple, pronotum, mesoscutum, scutellum, postscutellum mat; Material and Methods malar space with sca ered punctures; occipital carina The specimens were collected from various locali es of complete; mesepisternum behind epicnemial carina mat Bhuj during May and August months of the year 2011. with sca ered fine punctures; dorsal and ventral The specimens were collected by using sweep net metapleuron impunctate; stria ons on propodeum weak, specially made for the purpose. The card mounted not dis nct near the lower margin of side; gaster smooth specimens were studied under Olympus SZX9 covered with short pubescence; first gastral sternite stereozoom microscope (Japan). smooth. Material examined: 1 ♀, India: Gujarat, Kachchh district, All the iden fied specimens were properly labeled and registered and kept at the ‘Na onal Zoological Bhuj, GUIDE Campus, 10.viii.2011, Coll. Ya n Patel, NZSI Collec ons’ of the Hymenoptera Sec on, Zoological Regd. No. 12822/H3. Survey of India, Kolkata (NZSI). Distribu on: India: Bihar, Delhi, Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Jharkhand, Acronyms for museums and depositories: BMNH = The Madhya Pradesh, Meghalaya, Odisha, Punjab, Rajasthan, Natural History Museum, London, England; MNHN = U arakhand, U ar Pradesh, West Bengal. [Afghanistan, Museum Na onal de Histoire Naturelle, Paris, France; China, Iran, Iraq, Mauri us, Oman, Pakistan, Saudi NZSI = Na onal Zoological Collec ons, Zoological Survey Arabia, U.A.E.]. of India, Kolkata, India; ZMUK = Zoological Museum, University of Kiel, Germany. Tribe Ropalidiini Genus Ropalidia Guerin-Meneville Systema c Account 2. Ropalidia brevita Das and Gupta (Image 2) Superfamily Vespoidea Ropalidia (Anthreneida) brevita Das and Gupta, 1989: Family Vespidae 121. Holotype ♂, Delhi (NZSI). Subfamily Polis nae Ropalidia brevita Das and Gupta: Kojima et al., 2007: 380. Tribe Polis ni Diagnosis: Female: Length: 11-12 mm. Body red with the Genus Polistes Latreille following yellow por ons: a band on clypeus at apex, Subgenus Gyrostoma Kirby mandible (except at p), faint mark on inner orbit below
Bugs R A! No 19 December 2012" 10 ocular sinus, pronotum anteriorly, two faint marks on Eumenes dimidia pennis de Saussure,1852: 51. ♀, ♂, post scutellum, two enlarged marks on apical half of Syntypes, Arabia: Djidda, The East Indies (India), Egypt propodeum, a faint mark on sides of mesosternum, fore (MNHN). and middle coxae in front, a line on lateral side of hind 1897. Eumenes dimidia pennis de Saussure: Bingham, coxa, fore metatarsus, basal four tarsal segments of mid Fauna Brit. India, Hym., 1: 342. leg, apical two thirds of mid metatarsus, second to fourth 1918. Delta dimidia penne (de Saussure): Bequaert, Bull. tarsal segments of hind leg, a narrow and a broad apical Amer. Mus. Nat. Hist., 39: 59-62. Addi onal cita on: band on first and second gastral tergites. In some Srinivasan and Girish Kumar, 2010, J. Threatened Taxa, 2 por ons black patches are mixed with reddish body. (12): 1316. Temple not much narrower dorsally; gastral pe ole as Diagnosis: Male: Length: 23 mm. Body obscure dull red long as hind femur; second gastral tergite 2.33x as wide with following black markings: vertex, extending to as gastral pe ole. occiput, at the apex of antennae, propleuron, ♀ Material examined: 4 , India: Gujarat, Kachchh district, mesopleuron except two red patches, metapleuron Bhuj, GUIDE Campus, 11.v.2011, Coll. A.K. Roy Mahato, except a red patch on upper metapleuron, mesoscutum, NZSI Regd. Nos. 12823/H3 to 12826/H3. base of pe ole, apical half of second tergite and whole of Distribu on : India : Assam, Delhi, Goa, Gujarat (new the remaining tergites. Clypeus and the lower half of record), Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, frons yellow. Wings ferruginous with apical half of Odisha, Rajasthan, Sikkim, Tamil Nadu, U arakhand, forewing fuscous having a purple reflec on. Clypeus U ar Pradesh, West Bengal. smooth, oval, convex, anterior margin transverse; abdomen smooth and shiny. Subfamily Eumeninae Material examined: 1 ♂, India: Gujarat, Kachchh district, Genus Delta de Saussure Bhuj, Changleshwar Temple, 18.v.2011, Coll. A.K. Roy 3. Delta conoideum (Gmelin) (Image. 3) Mahato, NZSI Regd. No. 12828/H3. ♀ Vespa conica Fabricius, 1787: 1-293. Syntype , China Distribu on: India: Arunachal Pradesh, Delhi, Gujarat, (BMNH). Kerala, Maharashtra, Punjab, U arakhand, U ar Eumenes conica (Fabricius): Bingham, 1897: 343- 344. Pradesh. [Afghanistan, Africa, Algeria, Arabia, Central Delta emarginatum conoideum (Gmelin): Krombein, Africa, Central Sahara, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, Madagascar, 1991: 8. Nepal, Pakistan, Pales ne, Somalia, South Africa, Syria, Delta conoideum (Gmelin): Gusenleitner, 2006: 694. Yemen]. Addi onal cita on: Srinivasan and Girish Kumar, 2010: 1316- 1317. Genus Xenorhynchium van der Vecht Diagnosis: Female: Length: 25 mm. Head yellow except 5. Xenorhynchium ni dulum (Fabricius) (Image 5) mandibles and antenna reddish, a broad transverse band Vespa ni dula Fabricius, 1798: 262. Syntype, India across the apex between the top of the eyes black; Orientalis (ZMUK). thorax dark red with pale black patches on mesoscutum; Xenorhynchium ni dulum (Fabricius): van der Vecht, legs pale reddish; gaster dark red with base of the second 1963: 111. tergite and a short transverse medially interrupted band Diagnosis: Female: Length 15 mm. Body black except on its middle above black; forewing basally flavohyaline lower part of ocular sinus brown; wings deep fuscous and apically fuscohyaline, with a slight purplish refringes. with a purple reflec on broadly along costal margin of Head above the antenna and thorax closely and lightly forewing, the rest fusco-hyaline. Clypeus pyriform, punctured; clypeus pyriforme, its apex truncate; gaster bisinuate at apical half, apex broadly emarginate and smooth and shining with the surface minutely aciculate. angularly incised, sides on either side of apex oblique; Material examined: 1 ♀, India: Gujarat, Kachchh district, labrum triangularly pointed at apex; tegula enlarged laterally, exceeding parategula posteriorly; post Bhuj, Changleshwar Temple, 10. Viii.2011, Coll. A.K. Roy scutellum strongly raised above the level of adjoining Mahato, NZSI Regd. No. 12827/H3. areas of propodeum, the fla ened dorsal surface Distribu on: India: Arunachal Pradesh, Gujarat (new approximately rectangular and about as long as the record), Odisha, Sikkim, Tamil Nadu, Tripura, U ar ver cally slopping posterior surface; propodeum with Pradesh. [Arabia, China, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, prominent lateral angles, the concave declivity rather Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Thailand]. sharply separated from dorsal and lateral areas; propodeal valvula sharply chi nized, black, thickened 4. Delta dimidia penne (de Saussure) (Image 4) and not dis nctly separated from lateral area of propodeum.
Bugs R A! No 19 December 2012" 11 Male: Length 15 mm. Black except base of clypeus and Material examined: 4 Worker, India: Gujarat, Kachchh ventral side of scape whi sh yellow, all flagellar district, Bhuj, Kachchh University Campus, 25.v.2011, segments brown ventrally, lower part of ocular sinus Coll. Ya n Patel, NZSI Regd. Nos. 12832/H3 to 12835/H3. brown. clypeus more convex in profile view than in Distribu on : India : Andaman & Nicobar Islands, female; antennal hook long and curved, somewhat Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Karnataka, Kerala, Sikkim, dialated and fla ened in apical half, with rounded apex, Tamil Nadu, U arakhand, West Bengal and almost in curved posi on it almost reaches the apex of ninth throughout the country. [Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, antennal segment; seventh gastral sternite rather Sri Lanka and also in Europe]. strongly excavated, the concave area finely, granulately punctate and bordered by an arcuate and blunt ridge. Summary Material examined: 1 ♀ & 1 ♂, India: Gujarat, Kachchh The present study includes the record of 7 species of Hymenoptera (Aculeata) belonging to 5 genera under 2 district, Bhuj, Changleshwar Temple, 25.v.2011, Coll. A.K. superfamilies and 2 families from Bhuj district of Gujarat Roy Mahato, NZSI Regd. Nos. 12829/H3 & 12830/H3. and the species Ropalidia brevita Das and Gupta, Delta Distribu on: India: Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Gujarat (new conoideum (Gmelin) and Xenorhynchium ni dulum record), Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, (Fabricius) are being reported for the first me from Jharkhand, Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra, Odisha, Gujarat. Pondicherry, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, U arakhand, U ar Pradesh, West Bengal. [Pakistan (Bingham (1897) References reported this species from Burma (=Myanmar) but van Ashmead, W.H. (1904). Remarks on honey bees der Vecht (1963) opined that the occurrence of this (Hymenoptera). Proceedings of the Entomological Society of species in Myanmar deserves confirma on)]. Washington, 6 : 120-123. Batra, S.W.T. (1977). Bees of India, Apoidea, their behaviours, Superfamily APOIDEA management and a key to the genera. Oriental Insects, 11(3): Series APIFORMES 289-323. Family APIDAE Bequaert, J. C. (1918). A revision of the Vespidae of the Belgian Congo based on the collec on of the American Museum Congo Subfamily APINAE Expedi on, with a list of Ethiopian diplopterous wasps. Bulle n Tribe Apini of American Museum Natural History, 39: 1- 384. Genus Apis Linnaeus Bingham, C.T. (1897). Fauna of Bri sh India, including Ceylon 6. Apis (Megapis) dorsata dorsata Fabricius (Image 6) and Burma, Hymenoptera, I. Wasps and Bees. : 579 + i- xxix. Apis dorsata Fabricius, 1793: 328. Taylor and Francis, London. Bingham, C.T. (1903). Fauna of Bri sh India, including Ceylon Apis (Megapis) dorsata Fabricius: Ashmead, 1904: 120. and Burma, (Hymenoptera: Ants and Cuckoo-wasps), 2: 1-414. Diagnosis: Worker: Length: 14 mm. Basal abdominal Cameron, (1900). Descrip on of new genera and species of segments predominantly yellowish brown; first gastral Hymenoptera. Annales and Magazines of Natural History, (7) 6: tergum without dense white pubescence; distal abscissa 410-419. of vein M in hind wing present; fore wing infumated; Das, B.P. & V.K. Gupta (1989). The social wasps of India and the scutellum black; drones with dense frond-like setae on Adjacent countries (Hymenoptera : Vespidae). Oriental Insects Monograph, 11: 1-292. meso- and metatarsi; fore wing length 12 mm. Fabricius, J.C.F. (1787). Man ssa Insectorum, Sistens Species Material examined: 1 Worker, India: Gujarat, Kachchh nuper detectas, 1, Hafniae I-XX+ 1-384. district, Bhuj, Kachchh University Campus, 17.viii.2011, Fabricius, J.C.F. (1793). Systema Entomologiae: 225 pages. Coll. A.K. Roy Mahato, NZSI Regd. No. 12831/H3. Fabricius, J.C.F. (1798). Supplementum entomologiae Distribu on: India: Almost throughout the country. Systema cae. Pro , Copenhagen. Pp. [2]+572. Girish Kumar, P. (2010). New distribu onal records of some [China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Sri Lanka]. species of the subgenus Polistes (Gyrostoma) Kirby (Hymenoptera: Vespidae) from various states of India and 7. Apis (Micrapis) florea Fabricius (Image 7) adjacent countries. Records of Zoological Survey of India, 110 Apis florea Fabricius, 1787: 305. (4): 41-45. Gusenleitner, J. (2006). Uber Aufsammlungen von Apis (Micrapis) florea Fabricius: Ashmead, 1904: 122. Faltenwespen in Indien (Hymenoptera: Vespidae). Linzer Biologischen Beitrage, 38 (1): 677-695. Diagnosis: Worker: Length 7-8 mm. Dorsal abscissa of Kojima, J., K. Lambert, L.P.T. Nguyen & F. Saito. (2007). vein M in hind wing absent; fore wing length 6-7 mm; Taxonomic notes on the paper wasps of the genus Ropalidia in meta bia and dorsolateral margin of metabasitarsus Indian subcon nent (Hymenoptera : Vespidae). Entmological with white setae; first two metasomal tergum reddish Science, 10: 373-393. brown. Krombein, K.V. (1991). Biosystema c Studies of Ceylonese Wasps, xix: Natural History Notes in Several families (Hymenoptera: Eumenidae, Vespidae, Pompilidae, and Crabronidae). Smithsonian Contribu ons to Zoology, 515: 1-41.
Bugs R A! No 19 December 2012" 12 Saussure, H. De. (1852-53). Etudes sur la famille des Vespides. Van Der Vecht (1963). Studies on Indo-Australian and East- I- Paris, 6-50-286 pp., 22 pls. Asia c Eumenidae (Hymenoptera, Vespoidea). Zoologische Srinivasan, G & P. Girish Kumar (2010). New records of po er Verhandelingen Leiden, 60: 3-113. wasps (Hymenoptera: Vespidae: Eumeninae) from Arunachal Pradesh, India: five genera and ten species. Journal of Threatened Taxa, 2 (12): 1313-1322. Acknowledgements P.G.K. is grateful to Dr. K. Venkataraman, Director, Zoological
Plate I. Image 1. Polistes (Gyrostoma) wattii Cameron Female 2. Ropalidia brevita Das and Gupta Female 3. Delta conoideum (Gmelin) Female 4. Delta dimidiatipenne (de Saussure) Male
Plate II. Image 5. Xenorhynchium nitidulum (Fabricius) Female 6. Apis (Megapis) dorsata dorsata Fabricius Worker 7. Apis (Micrapis) florea Fabricius Worker
Bugs R A! No 19 December 2012" 13 Caviria sericea Moore (Lepidoptera: Lymantriidae) A new record of Sal defoliator from Kanha Na onal Park, Madhya Pradesh
N. Roychoudhury*, Subhash Chandra and Neetu Vaishy Forest Entomology Division, Tropical Forest Research Ins tute, Jabalpur – 482021, Madhya Pradesh * [email protected] / [email protected]
The world famous Kanha Na onal Park lies between feeding un l pupa on. A er larval-pupal transforma on, 22007’-22027’N and 80026’-81003’E and is located in the pupae were allowed for emergence to adult moths. The Maikal ranges of the Satpuras, falling in Mandla and iden fica on was done by comparing the morphology of Balaghat districts of the state of Madhya Pradesh (Buch the adult insect species with that of published 1991). There is a wide spectrum of vegeta on due to descrip on given for determined specimen as insect broad topographic features involving ‘dadars’ on hilltops reference manual (Hampson 1892). falling via upper steep slopes to the narrow and wide valleys at different levels (Maheshwari 1964). The sal Results and Discussion (Shorea robusta) forests usually occupy the low hills, the The present study revealed that sal suffers from the lower slopes of higher hills and it forms 80% to nearly a ack of defoliators, one which was iden fied a er 100% of the crop (Lal et al. 1986). detail morphological study of adult moths as Caviria sericea Moore (Lepidoptera : Lymantriidae). The Sal entomology has received special a en on, since iden fied specimen was preserved at Forest Entomology incep on of forestry research in India (Stebbing 1914; Division of this Ins tute, for reference collec on under Beeson 1941). This poten al tree species has a highest the Accession No. 703. Perusal of literature on insects number of insect fauna among the forest trees. Of about associated with sal (Mathur & Singh, 1960; Tewari 1995) 339 insects recorded on Sal, 147 species are associated and insect faunal composi on of Kanha Na onal Park with living tree, encompassing mainly defoliators (106), (Joshi et al. 2004, 2008), it has been found that C. sericea borer (20), seed-feeder (17) and sap-sucker (4) (Mathur is a new record of sal defoliator and also from Kanha & Singh 1960). Among the defoliators, Asco s selenaria Na onal Park. Further, there is a complete dearth of imparata Walker (Lepidoptera : Geometridae), Dasychira literature about this insect defoliator and its host plant. grotei Moore and Lymantria mathura Moore (Lepidoptera : Lymantriidae) and Paectes subapicalis Rearing of field collected larval popula on of C. sericea in Walker (Lepidoptera : Noctuidae) are known to be insectary showed that the larvae are generally hairy, responsible for epidemic sal defolia on in India (Stebbing clothed with thick tu s of whi sh hairs and body blackish 1914; Beeson 1941; Roonwal et. al. 1962; Mathur 1964; in colour with three white bands (Fig. 2). The full grown Singh & Thapa 1988; Tewari 1995; Joshi et. al. 2004, caterpillars were about 26-30 mm (mean 27.30 ± 1.68 2008; Roychoudhury et. al. 2007). The present paper is a mm) in length. The diagnos c features of male moth of new addi on of sal defoliator collected from Kanha this species have been described by Hampson (1892). It is Na onal Park, Madhya Pradesh. characterised by pure silvery white, palpi and inner sides of fore legs black and fore wing without raised bands of scales (Fig. 3). Wing expense is 38 mm. The habitat of this Materials and Methods moth has been men oned only as Sikkim. In the present During the recent survey conducted during the month of study, it has been recorded that the wing expense of dry November 2011 in sal forests of Kanha Na onal Park, specimens varied from 26-30 mm (mean 28.20 ± 1.33 Madhya Pradesh, it was observed that serious damage mm) and 33-37 mm (mean 34.80 ± 1.30 mm) for male impact of sal defoliators of varied intensity (Fig.1). and female moths respec vely. Complete defolia on of sal trees were recorded in few compartments and some compartments were observed Thus, C. sericea is the first record of occurrence of sal to be severely affected. The defolia on period was defoliator and one of the causa ve agents of epidemic observed to be rainy season of the year (July-October). defolia on in sal forests. The causa ve agents of this epidemic defolia on were recorded to be the serious a ack of some lepidopteran Acknowledgements larvae. These caterpillars were then collected and reared Authors are thankful to Director, Tropical Forest on its host plant leaves, S. robusta in insectary under Research Ins tute, Jabalpur-482021 (M.P.), for providing controlled environmental condi ons (temperature 25 ± necessary facili es to visit Kanha Na onal Park. Special 0 1 C and RH 55-60%) during the month of November- thanks are due to Shri Ran Bhajan Singh, RA-I(SG) for December, 2011. Larvae were provided with ad libitum field assistance and Dr. Ruby Sharma, WOS and Mrs.
Bugs R A! No 19 December 2012" 14 Shashi Kiran Barve, RA-II, Forest Entomology Division of Maheshwari, J.K. (1964). A contribu on to the flora of Kanha this Ins tute, for technical assistance. Na onal Park, Madhya Pradesh. Bulle n of Botanical Survey of India 5: 117-140. Mathur, R.N. & B. Singh (1960). A list of insect pests of forest References plants in India and adjacent countries. Indian Forest Bulle n Beeson, C.F.C. (1941). The Ecology and Control of the (Entomology) 171(8): 1-88. Forest Insects of India and the Neighbouring Countries. Roonwal, M.L., P.N. Cha erjee & R.S. Thapa (1962). Vasant Press, Dehradun, 1107 pp. Experiments on the control of Lymantria Mathura Moore Buch, M.N. (1991). The Forests of Madhya Pradesh. (Lepidoptera : Lymantriidae) in the egg and larval stages in Madhya Pradesh Madhyam, Bhopal. 199 pp. India, with general sugges ons for control. Zeitschri für Joshi, K.C., N. Roychoudhury & S.K. Barve (2008). New Angewandte Entomologie 50: 463-475. addi on to the moth and beetle fauna of Achanakmar- Roychoudhury, N., S. Sambath, N. Kulkarni & K.C. Joshi (2007). Amarkantak biosphere reserve. Indian Journal of A note on Paectes subapicalis Walker (Lepidoptera : Tropical Biodiversity 16(2): 179- 184. Noctuidae): a poten al sal defoliator in Madhya Pradesh. Indian Joshi, K.C., N. Kulkarni, N. Roychoudhury, S. Chandra & Journal of Forestry 30(4): 463-466. S.K. Barve (2004). A study of insects from Kanha Na onal Singh, P. and R.S. Thapa (1988). Defolia on epidemic of Park. Journal of Tropical Forestry 20(3&4): 58-74. Asco s selenaria imparata Walk. (Lepidoptera : Joshi, K.C., N. Roychoudhury, N. Kulkarni, S. Chandra, & S.K. Geometridae) in sal forest of Asarori Ranfe, West Barve (2004). Entomological survey of Kanha Na onal Park. Dehradun Division. Indian Forester 114(5): 459-474. Project report submi ed to Forest Department of Madhya Stebbing, E.P. (1914). Indian Forest Insects of Economic Pradesh, Bhopal, 110 pp. Importance – Coleoptera. Reprint edi on 1977. J.K. Jain Hampson, G.F. (1892). The Fauna of Bri sh India Including Brothers, Bhopal, 648 pp. Ceylon and Burma. Moths-IV. 1976 reprint edi on. Today & Tewari, D.N. (1995). A Monograph on Sal (Shorea robusta Tomorrow’s Printers and Publishers, New Delhi. 527 pp. Gaertn. f.). Interna onal Book Distributors, Dehradun, Lal, J., A. Kumar, & P.C. Kotwal (1986). The Botany of Kanha 276 pp. Tiger Reserve, Madhya Pradesh, India. Biological Memoirs 12(1) : 1-85.
! Figure 1. View of sal defoliation at Kanha National Park, Madhya Pradesh
! ! Figure 2. Larva of C. sericea Figure 3. Adult moth of C. sericea
Bugs R A! No 19 December 2012" 15 Large-scale night congrega on of Yellow-tailed Ashy Skimmers Potamarcha congener (Rambur) at Gaganbawada, Maharashtra State: with notes on their camouflage and roos ng behaviour
Anil Mahabal* and P.D. Rane Zoological Survey of India, W.R.C, Akurdi, Pune 411044 (*Re red Scien st, ZSI)
During the faunis c survey of Maharashtra State, we had for confirming their iden ty. The roost was disturbed camped at Gaganbawada (16o32’48”N la tude and 73o and some of them dispersed and got a racted to the 50’06”E longitude) PWD Rest House, Kolhapur district, light at verandah of the rest house. In general here we from 7-9 January, 2007. Gaganbawda is a small town no ced that the females were much more than the situated in the Northern Western Ghats at a height of males in such congrega ons (in the ra o of 7:3 approx.). 614 meters asl, with an average rainfall of 2500 to 3000 On 9/1/2007 we moved to the next camp. We then mm. Surrounding this town a mixture of agricultural contacted the caretaker of the Gaganbawada rest house cropland, hilly areas with dry deciduous – mixed forest, and enquired about these skimmers and he informed us medium and large - sized ponds and streams were that the insects were s ll roos ng on the trees on 9th no ced. Along these ponds and streams there was January. dense vegeta on that included shrubs, trees and aqua c plants with some marshy areas. Yellow-tailed Ashy Skimmers are medium sized dragonflies with bluish black thorax and yellow tail with On the first evening (7/1/2007) we came across a large black markings. Their large colonies are o en found congrega on of Yellow-tailed Ashy Skimmer, within patches of forest or scrub associated with weedy Potamarcha congener (Rambur) (Odonata: Anisoptera: ponds and marshes. These insects breed in marshes but Libellulidae), on cul vated, medium sized ‘Australian their flight season is not known (Fraser, 1936; Pine’ Casuarina equise folia Linnaeus (Casuarinacea). On Subramanian, 2009). close observa on it was no ced that these skimmers had chosen only the dry branches of the tree. Further, it It is uncertain whether such large-scale congrega on and was also observed that the res ng posi on of the overnight roos ng of these skimmers is temporary or skimmers was the same as the branching pa ern of permanent or a local winter migratory behaviour. needle-shaped green leaves (Fig. 1). From a distance the However, it can be inferred that because of agricultural colony of skimmers was totally camouflaged and this crops and marshy places, plenty of food and breeding behaviour could be related to avoid preda on of the aresas might be available to them along with proper colony at night me. The congrega on of skimmers was trees for safe roos ng in this area of Gaganbawda. also no ced on two other near-by Casuarina trees. We counted the number of dry branches occupied by these Acknowledgments Yellow- tailed Ashy Skimmers on all the trees as well as The authors are thankful to the Dr. R.M. Sharma, Officer- number of individuals res ng on such branches. Roughly in–Charge, Zoological Survey of India, WRC, Pune for we then es mated the congrega on to be of about 4000 providing necessary facili es and to Dr. Hemant Ghate, skimmers. Modern College, Pune for valuable sugges ons.
On this first day, the skimmers roosted in these trees References overnight and next morning around 9 am they vacated Fraser, F.C. (1936). The Fauna of Bri sh India including Ceylon the roost in swarms of 50 to 200 individuals. On and Burma. Odonates, Vol. III: 289- 291. Taylor and Francis second day (8/1/2007) in the evening they came back Ltd., London. Subramanian, K.A. (2009). Dragonflies of India - A Field Guide. and roosted again on the same trees in similar fashion. Published by Vigyan Prasar, Noida (U.P.), India. Pp. 168. During this night, with the help of torch light we collected few samples of these skimmers using insect net
Bugs R A! No 19 December 2012" 16 Figure 1. Congregation of Yellow-tailed ashy skimmers Potamarcha congener (Rambur).
New record of occurrence of the moth, Macrobrochis gigas (Walker, 1854) from Mukkali, Kerala, South India
S. Murali Professor of Zoology (Re red) Department of Zoology, (present Address: 123, 42nd cross, 8th block, Jayanagar, Bangalore-560 070 Ayya Nadar Janaki Ammal College, (Autonomous), Sivakasi 626124 Tamil Nadu ([email protected])
The moth, Macrobraochis gigas, (Figure) belongs to the findings. order Lepidoptera, family Arc dae and subfamily Lithisiinae. It is commonly referred to as Footman Moth References in Taiwan. The moth has been reported to be distributed Fang, C.L, 2000. Fauna Sinica Insecta volume 19: Lepidoptera; in India, Sikkim, Bhutan, Nepal, Indonesia, and China Arc idae. Science Press, Beijing. 589 pp. (Taiwan, Yunnan) (Hampson 1894, Wang 1994, Fang Hampson, G.F. 1894. Fauna of Bri sh India including Ceylon and Burma. Moths Vol. 2, 65 and 66 pp. 2000). Smetacek, P. 2008. Moths recorded from different eleva on in Nainital district, Kumaon Himalaya, India. Bionotes 10(1): 5 -15 In India, the moth has been reported to occur in the high Wang, H.Y., 1994. Guide book to Insects in Taiwan: 8; al tude of North- Eastern part of India and in the Nainital Noctuidae. Chu Hai Publishing (Taiwan) Co. district, Kumaon Himalaya. (Smetacek, 2008). However, during a stay in the Forest Guest house at Mukkali, (11o42’NL,75oEL) near Silent valley, Kerala, the author could see and photograph this moth, when it was a racted to the light. This moth has not been men oned even in the list of moths recorded in the Silent valley Na onal park area. The occurrence of this moth in the Southern part of India may be a new record and need further survey and inves ga on to ascertain its range.
Acknowledgement The author is thankful to Dr. Peter Smetacek for helping in the iden fica on of the moth and also for sugges ng to report the Macrobrochis gigas. Photo S. Murali Bugs R A! No 19 December 2012" 17 Par al checklist of ant species in and around Amrava city, Maharashtra, India
Aravind Chavan1 and Santosh Pawar2 1Department of Zoology, Shri Shivaji Science College, Amrava , 444603, India 2Department of Zoology, Government Ins tute of Science and Humani es, Amrava -444604, India 2 [email protected]
Ants deserve a special place in the animal biomes on Subfamily Myrmicinae is the most abundant having 10 earth, given their species richness, social habits, behaviour genera including the genus Rhoptromyrmex. It has been and high densities (Gadagkar et al. 1993). recorded for the first time from this region, followed by Formicinae having four genera with first time record of Worldwide there are 23 subfamilies of ants compring of genus Oecophylla. Subfamily Ponerinae and 287 genera and approximately 12,639 described species Dolichoderinae were represented by two genera each. with a likely much larger number of species, yet to be described (Agosti et al. 2005, Bolton et al. 2006). Amravati Few ant genera such as Crematogaster and Myrmicaria of is the seventh most populated metropolitan city in subfamily Myrmicinae, Camponotus and Polyrhachis of Maharashtra. It is located at 20°56ʹN 77°45ʹE; 20.93°N subfamily Formicinae and Leptogenys of subfamily 77.75°E, having an average elevation of 343 meters Ponerinae are commonly found in all the habitats and (1125 feet). It lies 156 km (97 miles) west of Nagpur. The most localities. Few genera are confined to few localities city has a tropical wet and dry climate with hot and dry or habitat types, such as Rhoptromyrmex and Oecophylla summers from March to June. The highest and lowest that were recorded only from Pohara forests. temperature recorded was 46.7oC on 25 May, 1954 and 5oC on 9 February, 1887 respectively. Comparison of ant species distribution in the different study sites revealed that, ant species richness was highest In this region ants can be observed everywhere from high at Pohara forest with 28 species and lowest at 9 species hills to below ground and from forest interiors up to the around urban area. Relatively moderate species richness kitchen. The prime objective of the study was to prepare a was recorded at all the study sites such as Agriculture checklist of ants from Amravati. fields, Tree plantation areas and Wadali and Chhatri Garden. On the other hand ant species richness was lower Materials and Methods around urban houses compared to rural houses because We adapted “all out search method” for collection of Ants of little or no vegetation and high levels of disturbances. in month of June and July 2010. Eight sites with different The tree plantation site, roads and pavements showed levels and types of vegetation were selected for sampling. higher number of ant species with respect to urban houses Handling capture with constant time: Each site (15 × 50 probably because the road sides were lined with trees. m) was divided into three strip quadrates (5 × 50 m), and one person collected the ants for 30 minutes at each Acknowledgement quadrat. The ants in each habitat were collected in three I would like to thank Dr. Mumtaz Baig, Head, Dept. of alternating time periods: in the morning, late morning and Zoology, Govt. Vidarbha Institute of Science and afternoon. The ants were extensively searched for on the Humanities, Amravati, for providing laboratory and Stemi ground, in leaf litter, under stones, in decaying logs and DV4 Stereomicroscope facilities and encouragement. under shrubs and tree bases up to 1.5 m height above ground. Collected samples were preserved in 70% alcohol References at Dept. of Zoology, Govt. Vidarbha Institute of Science & Agos , D. and N. F. Johnson (2005). Antbase. World Wide Web Humanities, Amravati. electronic publica on. antbase.org, version (05/2005).
Bugs R A! No 19 December 2012" 18 Table 1: Checklist of the Ant Fauna of Amravati
Subfamily Genus No. of Species Found Camponotus 3 Oecophylla 1 Formicinae Paratrechina 1 Polyrhachis 2 Rhoptromyrmex 1 Aphaenogaster 2 Monomorium 1 Myrmicaria 1 Cardiocondyla 1 Myrmicinae Pheidole 3 Crematogaster 7 Pheidologeton 1 Solenopsis 2 Tetramorium 2 Leptogenys 2 Ponerinae Pachycondyla 1 Iridomyrmex 1 Dolichoderinae Tapinoma 1 Pseudomyrmicinae Tetraponera 1 Total 19 34
Table 2: Ant Fauna of the study site Study site No. of subfamily No. of Genera No. of species Pohara forest 4 13 28 G.V.I.S.H Campus 3 8 17 Wadali & Chhatri lake 3 12 19 Agriculture field 4 12 23 Tree plantation 4 13 25 Urban houses 3 5 9 Rural houses 3 7 16 Roads and pavements 4 10 18
Bugs R A! No 19 December 2012" 19 New record of flower spider Thomisus sikkimensis with a note on its courtship behaviour
Sidharth Kulkarni*, V.Y. Deshpande and A.R. Aundhkar Zoology Department, Yashwantrao Chavan Ins tute Of Science, Satara, Maharashtra, India E-mail: [email protected]
The spider Thomisus sikkimensis Tikader 1962 final moult. The female is incapable of resis ng the male (Thomisidae) was sighted on Michelia champaca (Golden moves just a er the ecdysis and the male copulates the Champa) in Islampur (Maharashtra, India). It has been defenseless mate. Although this phenomenon is part of previously described by Tikader on the basis of female. every spider of this genus and they being present in most This species was then reported from Sikkim and no parts of the world, very few reports are available similar report of this spider from other parts of country worldwide. persists; hence we report here the range extension of this spider. Also, it has been observed that in the spiders Acknowledgements: of this genus, the courtship behaviour is dis nct than Thanks to Dr. Arvind Burungale, Principal, YCIS Satara for that of members of other genera of this family. the financial help, Dr. D.B. Bastawade, Ex-Scien st, ZSI, Pune for the helpful discussions, Norman Larsen, Thomisus Walckenaer 1805 belong to the family Associate Arachnologist, Iziko, South African Natural Thomisidae and are among the most beau ful and expert History Museum for his addi onal references. camouflaging spiders. About 45 species of the genus have been reported from India so far (Sebas an et.al References: 2009). They are called as crab spiders due to their crab- Tikader, B.K. and R.S. Malhotra (1980). Fauna of India: like appearance and side-wise walking movements. Araneae (Spiders) Vol.I, Part. I, Pp: 32- 33. Norman Larsen h p://www.biodiversityexplorer.org/ arachnids/spiders/thomisidae/thomisus.htm The specimen was collected from Islampur Sebas an, P.A. and K.V. Peter (2009). Spiders of India; Pp: st (Maharashtra., India) Lat N 17°3' and Lon E 74°15' on 1 591-595. Aug 2011. It was collected live along with the male using a vial. The spider was kept for observa on for 8 days from the day of sigh ng (1-8 Aug ’11). The specimen was later preserved in 70 % ethanol and stored at the Zoology Dept. of YCIS. For preserva on, ethanol was added drop by drop, so as to observe the binding rela onship between the male-female partners. The male and female genitalia were dissected and stored in clove oil for 48 hrs and then drawn.
At the prima facie the female was recognized but careful observa on showed presence of male on female’s back (Figure 1). For con nued 160 hrs the male was found comfortably si ng on the female’s back. The male sat in a posi on parallel to the female on her abdomen. The male did not leave the place but used to move side-wise in a curve and return to the original posi on. Presence of Figure 1. Thomisus sikkimensis female with male male showed no effect on the female and she moved on its back throughout the plant comfortably. For preserva on as soon as drop of ethanol came in the contact of the pair; the male instantly leaped and walked out away from the female. Tikader and Malhotra (1980) taxonomic literature was referred.
Perusal of literature reveals interes ng courtship behavior in the Thomisus spiders. The male Thomisus reserves a sub-adult female for copula on by si ng on her abdomen. He waits un l the female casts out her
Bugs R A! No 19 December 2012" 20 Note on Teredinid wood borers from Palur canal near Rushikulya estuary, East coast of India
S. K. Pa * and D. Swain *Zoological Survey of India, Western Regional Centre, Akurdi, Pune 411 044 Fishery Survey of India, Port Blair - 744 101 sameer_pa @yahoo.co.in Unprotected mber undergoes rapid deteriora on in 1935 could be collected during the present study. marine environment due to the ac vi es of several Detailed systema c account of these above species is biological agents par cularly wood borers. Wood boring given as follows. organisms are of great economic importance to all mari me countries involved in the exploita on of various Systema c Account sea resources. Lot of wood has been u lized in the Phylum: Mollusca construc on of boats, berthing facili es, coastal Class: Bivalvia aquaculture aids, etc. In order to enhance the longevity Order: Myoida of mber structures under marine condi ons suitable Family: Teredinidae control measures need to be evolved and in this Subfamily: Teredininae endeavour, understanding various causa ve agencies Lyrodus pedicellatus (Quatrefages, 1849) responsible for the phenomenon occupies the first place. (Plate 1, Fig. 1a&b) Among the various studies on this group Synonyms: (Santhakumaran, 1994), recent works are that of 1849. Teredo pedicellatus Quatrefages, Ann. Sci. Nat. Balakrishnan Nair and Salim (1994) from Andaman- Zool., 11: 26, pl. 1, fig. 2. Nicobar and Lakshadweep; Radhakrishnan et al. (1996) 1966. Lyrodus pedicellatus Turner, A survey and from Tu corin harbour; Kumar et al. (2000) from Gujarat; 1967. illustrated catalogue of the teredinidae: 116, pls. Tarakanadha (2003) from Krishnapatnam harbour; Dev 1968. 1A, D, E. Roy (2006) from Andaman and Nicobar Islands; Pachu et Material examined: al. (2008) from Krishna estuary; Rao et al. (2008) from 4 examples near Bridge of the Palur canal (25.02.2009) Bhimunipatnam-Visakhapatnam coast; Rao et al. (2012) Diagnosis: from Kothakoduru and Bangarammapalem and Balaji et Calcareous base of pallet conical. Distal margin of al. (2009) from Vishakhapatnam harbour. However, calcareous por on slightly concave. Periostracal cap report on marine wood borers from Odisha state is very more or less straight sided. meager just represented by Mahanadi estuarine region Distribu on: (Subba Rao, 1968), Gopalpur Port (Nayak, 1996) and World: Worldwide, temperate to tropical seas. Malik (2009). Hence, it was felt worthwhile to ini ate India: Andaman and Nicobar, Mahanadi estuary work on marine wood borers in the Odisha seaboard (Odisha), Bhimunipatnam, Kakinada, Kapula Uppada, region and efforts in the line were put up in the Kothakoduru and Bangarammapalem, Krishna estuary, beginning at the Rushikulya estuarine region on the Krishnapatnam, Rishikonda, Sagar Nagar and south of the state (Odisha). Visakhapatnam (Andhra Pradesh), Adirampatnam, Chennai, Muthupet, Mylapore, Pamban, Pitchavaram, Material and Methods Porto Novo, Pulicat Lake, Ramnad, Tondi and Tu corin Twelve wooden test panels of 150×80×20 mm size of (Tamil Nadu), Anjengo, Kayamkulam and Kochi (Kerala), Pinus roxburghii Sargent, 1897 were ver cally suspended Karwar and Mangalore (Karnataka), Panaji (Goa), well below the lowest low water mark from bridge of the Mumbai and Ratnagiri (Maharashtra), Cambay, Kandla, ‘Palur canal’ near Rushikulya estuary (19°22ʹN and Kolak, Okha and Veraval (Gujarat), Daman and 85°02ʹE) (Map. 1) during January 2009. However, due to Lakshadweep. vandalism, only one panel (one month old) could be retrieved. Borer specimens were collected carefully from Teredo (Teredo) bartschi Clapp, 1923 the panel and well preserved in alcohol and glycerin (Plate 1, Fig. 2a&b) mixture (19:1). Animals were then iden fied up to Synonyms: species level using iden fica on keys of Turner (1971). 1923. Teredo (Teredo) bartschi Clapp, Proc. Boston Soc. Nat. Hist., 37: 33, pls. 3-4. Results 1966. Teredo (Teredo) bartschi Turner, A survey and Only 4 species, namely, Lyrodus pedicellatus 1967. illustrated catalogue of the teredinidae: 90, pl. 8A. (Quatrefages, 1849), Teredo bartschi Clapp, 1923, Bankia Material examined: campanellata Moll and Roch, 1931 and B. gracilis Moll, 11 examples near Bridge of the Palur canal (25.02.2009).
Bugs R A! No 19 December 2012" 21 Diagnosis: World: Tropical to subtropical Indo-Pacific. Distal margin of inner face of pallet U-shaped and that of India: Andamans and Kothakoduru and outer face U- to V-shaped. Periostracum brown in colour Bangarammapalem (Andhra Pradesh). and extend laterally as small horns. Distribu on: Discussions World: Worldwide, tropical to subtropical waters. All the four species are recorded for the first me from India: Kapula Uppada, Kothakoduru and Rushikulya estuary at Palur canal. Among these, two Bangarammapalem, Krishna estuary, Krishnapatnam, species namely, L. pedicellatus and B. campanellata were Rishikonda and Visakhapatnam (Andhra Pradesh), already reported from the Mahanadi estuary of Odisha Chennai, Hare Island, Krusadai, Mandapam and Pamban state (Subba Rao, 1968) whereas other two species viz. T. (Tamil Nadu) and Lakshadweep. bartschi and B. gracilis are new records. Bankia gracilis is reported for the second me from peninsular India (Rao Subfamily: Bankiinae et al., 2012). Thus, the number of wood borer species Bankia campanellata Moll and Roch, 1931 reported so far from Odisha coast is raised from 13 to 15. (Plate 1, Fig. 3a&b) Synonyms: Salinity is the chief influencing factor for the se lement 1931. Bankia campanellata Moll and Roch, Proc. Malac. and distribu on of many wood borers. Nair (1965) Soc. London, 19: 215, pl. 25. pointed out that in estuarine habitats, the influence of 1966. Bankia campanellata Turner, A survey and salinity may prevent the uninterrupted breeding and 1967. illustrated catalogue of the teredinidae: 92, pl. 48A. se lement of some species. Further, quality and Material examined: quan ty of se lement are greatly influenced by the 1 example near Bridge of the Palur canal (25.02.2009). fluctua ons in salinity (Balasubramanyan and Menon, Diagnosis: 1963). Rushikulya estuary is characterized by high salinity Segments of pallets separated as dis nct cones. Margin varia ons (2.6 to 33.2PSU) (Das, 2003). Occurrence of of cones not serrated. Cones lily-like and widely spaced. Lyrodus pedicellatus and B. campanellata in this estuary Distribu on: indicates abili es of these borers to tolerate high salinity World: Worldwide, tropical areas. fluctua ons as observed by Santhakumaran (1976). India: Andamans, Kolkata and Sundarbans (West Bengal), Cheriyan (1964) no ced restricted seasonal se lement of Mahanadi estuary (Odisha), Bhimunipatnam, Kakinada, borers at Cochin harbour due to greater salinity Kapula Uppada, Krishna estuary, Krishnapatnam, fluctua ons. Similar situa on may arise at this estuary Rishikonda, Sagar Nagar and Visakhapatnam (Andhra also due to high salinity fluctua on. Pradesh), Chennai, Muthupet, Mylapore, Pamban, Pitchavaram, Porto Novo and Pulicat Lake (Tamil Nadu), Since, two new distribu onal records are reported from Anjengo, Kasaragode, Kochi, Pappinisseri, Valapa anam this small effort, it is strongly recommended to conduct and Vizhinjam (Kerala), Karwar and Mangalore systema c surveys on wood borers of all the estuaries (Karnataka), Marmugao and Panaji (Goa), Gholvad, and other coastal habitats of the state. Mumbai and Ratnagiri (Maharashtra), Bhavnagar, Cambay, Jafrabad, Kandla, Kolak, Okha and Veraval References (Gujarat), Daman and Diu and Lakshadweep. Balaji, M., M.V. Rao & S.K. Pa (2009). Monitoring of biofouling at Visakhapatnam port. Project Comple on Report: Bankia gracilis Moll, 1935 2007-2009. Wood Biodegrada on Centre (Marine), Ins tute of Wood Science and Technology, Visakhapatnam, 77 pp. (Plate 1, Fig. 4a&b) Balakrishnan Nair, N. & M. Salim (1994). Marine mber Synonyms: destroying organisms of the Andaman-Nicobar Islands and the 1935. Bankia gracilis Moll, Sitzungsber Akad. Wiss. Wien, Lakshadweep Archipelago. Zoological Survey of 144: 274, text fig. 10. India,Occasional Paper No.159, 87 pp. 1966. Bankia gracilis Turner, A survey and illustrated Balasubramanyan, R. & T.R. Menon (1963). Destruc on of boat-building mber by marine organisms in the port of Cochin, 1967. catalogue of the teredinidae: 103, pl. 52A. Part 1. Ra tests. Journal of Marine Biological Associa ons of Material examined: India 5(2): 294-310. 1 example near Bridge of the Palur canal (25.02.2009). Cheriyan, P.V. (1964). On the seasonal occurrence of wood- Diagnosis: boring organisms in the Cochin harbour. Journal of Timber Segments of pallets separated as dis nct cones. Cones Dryers and Preservers Associa on of India 10(4): 3-9. with with long awns. Serra ons long, wide and blunt on Das, S.K. (2003). Ecology and fisheries of Rushikulya estuary of southern Orissa, pp. 467-474. In: A. Kumar, E. Bohra & L.K. outer face whereas it is long and very narrow on inner Singh (Eds.). Environment, Pollu on and Management. P.H. face. Publishing Corpora on, New Delhi. Distribu on:
Bugs R A! No 19 December 2012" 22 Dev Roy, M.K. (2006). Marine wood-borers of Andaman and Journal of Timber Development Associa on of India 54(1-4): Nicobar Islands with key to species. Journal of Environmental 59-77. and Sociobiology 3(2): 131-142. Rao, M.V., M. Balaji & A.V. Pachu (2012). Occurrence and Kumar, P., R. Raghu Prakash, M.P. Remesan & P. Pravin species diversity of marine wood borers at Kothakoduru and (2000). Menace in the Making: Marine wood borers in Gujarat. Bangarammapalem mangroves. Conserva on and Fishing Chimes 20(3): 20. management of mangroves in India, zool. Surv. India (In Press) Malik, P.K. (2009). Molluscan borers injurious to wood in Santhakumaran, L.N. (1976). Inves ga ons on the salinity Chilika lagoon. M Phil Thesis. Berhampur University, tolerance of Bankia campanellata Moll and Roch and Lyrodus Berhampur. pedicellatus (Quatrefages) (Mollusca: Teredinidae). Journal of Nair, N.B. (1965). Seasonal se lement of marine wood-boring Indian Fishries Associa on 6: 81-97. animals at Cochin harobur, south-west coast of India. Santhakumaran, L.N. (1994). Marine wood-borers of India- An Interna onale Revue gesamten Hydrobiologie 50(3): 411-420. annotated bibliography. Ins tute of Wood Science and Nayak, L. (1996). Marine wood-borers of Gopalpur Port, east Technology, Banglore, India, 262pp. coast of India with a note on their control measure. Journal of Subba Rao, N.V. (1968). Report on a collec on of wood boring Environmental Research 6(4): 146-152. molluscs from Mahanadi estuary, Orissa, India, pp. 85-93. In: Pachu, A.V., M.V. Rao & M. Balaji (2008). Marine woodborer Proceedings of the Symposium on Mollusca- 1, Marine fauna in mangroves of the Krishna estuary, east coast of India. Biological Associa on of India. In: Solomon Raju, A.J. (ed.) Bioresources Conserva on and Tarakanadha, B. (2003). Some inves ga ons on marine wood Management. Today & Tomorrow’s Printers and Publishers, biodeteriora on at Krishnapatnam harbour, Andhra Pradesh, New Delhi, p. 41-51. south east coast of India. PhD Thesis. Forest Research Ins tute Radhakrishnan, R., A.J.R. Singh, A. Ramesh & H.M. Kasim University, Dehradun. (1996). Ver cal distribu on of wood borers at Tu corin Turner, R.D. (1971). Iden fica on of marine wood-boring harbour south east coast of India. Journal of Timber molluscs. Pp. 17-64. In: E.B.G. Jones & S.K. Eltringham (Eds.). Development Associa on of India 42(1): 12-20. Marine Borers, Fungi and Fouling organisms of Wood. Rao, M.V., M. Balaji & A.V. Pachu (2008). Marine wood borers Organisa on for Economic Co-opera on and Development, of Bhimunipatnam- Visakhapatnam coast, Bay of Bengal, India. Paris.
Map.1: Map of Rushikulya Estuary showing study site (Palur Canal); Plate 1. Wood borers recorded at Palur Canal near Rushikulya estuary (Fig. 1-4). 1. Lyrodus pedicellatus: 1a. outer face of the pallet and 4b. inner face of the pallet; 2. Teredo bartschi: 2a. outer face of the pallet and 2b. inner face of the pallet; 3. Bankia campanellata: 3a. outer face of the pallet and 3b. inner face of the pallet; 4. Bankia gracilis: 4a. outer face of the pallet and 4b. inner face of the pallet (Scale: 1mm).
Bugs R A! No 19 December 2012" 23 Note on Sparassidae spider feeding on a juvenile Gekko
Raju Vyas 505, Krishnadeep Tower, Mission Road, Fatehgunj, Vadodara 2, Gujarat, India [email protected]
There are a number of records of arthropod a acks on corresponds to that of these predators. Moreover, they small vertebrates (McCormick & Polis, 1982; Naik, 2011), usually live in the same microhabitats as arthropod especially scorpions and arachnids. Spiders are known to predators. capture smaller vertebrates, including rodents, birds, frogs, snakes and lizards (Groves & Groves, 1978; Neil, The present observa on supports the observa on by 1948; Anonymous, 1985; Konig, 1987; Cokendolpher, Somaweera (2005) and Banerjee (2010) and 1978; Diniz, 2011). demonstrates that the large-sized spiders of the family Sparassidae are also capable of preda ng upon smaller- Recently, I happened to bump upon a remarkable case of sized vertebrates. a large spider feeding on a live juvenile gecko in nature. On 25 July 2010, at 17:30, I spo ed a large adult spider Acknowledgements with its prey on the walls of Champaner Fort (a UNESCO I am grateful to B.H. Patel (Anand) for his help with the world heritage site), Panchmahals District, Gujarat. The iden fica on of the spider and providing relevant spider had captured a 55 mm juvenile gecko (approx literature. Special thanks to Kar k Upadhyay (Vadodara) total body length) and was busy consuming it. A few for accompanying me in the field. minutes since my observa on began; the spider slowly retreated with its prey into a nearby crevice within the References wall, as it apparently felt disturbed by my presence. Anderson, J.D. (1956). A blind snake preyed upon by a Judging by its appearance, I assumed the spider to be a scorpion. Herpetologica 12: 327. Heteropoda sp. (Family Sparassidae, previously Anonymous (1985). Dangerous Australians. Sydney (Bay Books), 105pp. Heteropodidae) and the vic m gecko was iden fied as Baneerjee, A. (2010). An ecological study on Chiroman s simus Hemidactylus flaviviridis (Figure 1). (Anura: Rhacophoridae), with special reference to breeding behaviour at Rajpur, eastern India. Hamadryad 35 (1): 73–83. The Sparassidae spiders do not construct webs, but Bauer, A. M. (1990). Gekkonid Lizards as Prey of Invertebrates instead forage ac vely for prey; in which they stalk and and Predators of Vertebrates. Herp. Rev. 21 (4): 83–87. Bhatnagar, R. K. (1971). The spider Lycosa carmichaeli Gravely suddenly a ack it. Their prey spectrum obviously as a predator of small frogs. J. Bombay nat. Hist. Soc. 67 (3): includes juvenile geckos as these are of a manageable 589. size and the spiders have a venom at their disposal that is Cokendolpher, J. (1978). Comments on a lizard ea ng Argiope either adequate in volume or toxicity to immobilise (Araneidae: Araneae). J. Arachnology 5 [1977]: 184. them. Vertebrate preda on has been reported Diniz, S. (2011). Preda on and feeding on the tropical house previously from various arachnid families, including gecko Hemidactylus mabouia (Squamata: Gekkonidae) by the giant orb-weaver spider Nephilengys cruentata (Araneae: Araneidae, Ctenidae, Gnaphosidae, Lycosidae, Nephilidae). Herpetology Notes 4: 357-358. Pisauridae, Theraphosidae, Lycosidae and Sparassidae Gopi Sundar, K. S. (1998). Observa on on Ganaphosid spider (Bhatnagar, 1971; Gopi Sunder, 1998; Meninet. at. al., preying on Philautus species. Hamadryad 23 (1): 76. 2005). Groves, J. D. & F. Groves, (1978). Spider preda on on amphibians and rep les. Bull. Maryland Herp. Soc. 14: 44–46. Hadley N.F. and S. C. Williams, (1968): Surface ac vi es of Gekkonid lizards are chiefly regarded as insec vores. In some North American scorpions in rela on to feeding. Ecology turn, their primary predators are larger vertebrates such 49: 727–734. as some species of birds, mammals, snakes and other Konig, R. (1978). Die Schwarze Witwe (Latrodectus mactans lizards, generally depending on the size difference hassel Thorell) als Fressfeind von Rep len in Australien. between prey and predator. In his review of geckos as Herpetofauna 9(48): 6–8. prey of invertebrates and predators of vertebrates, Bauer Kock, D. (1969). Ein Skorpion frisst an einer Zwergmaus. Natur und Museum 99: 107–112. (1990) listed 23 species as being predated upon by Menin M., Rodrigues, D. J. and C.S. De Azevedo, (2005). various groups of invertebrates. Smaller geckos fall well Preda on on amphibians by spider (Arachnida, Araneae) in within the size range of prey for larger arthropod neotropical region. Phyllomedusa 4 (1): 39–47. predators, such as arachnids (spiders and scorpions) and McCormick, S. and G. A. Polis, (1982). Arthropods that prey on cen pedes. Smaller geckos are par cularly vulnerable to vertebrates. Biol. Rev. 57:29-58. Mirza, Z. A. and J. J. Ahmed, (2009). Note on preda on of a acks by arachnids and cen pedes not only because of Callophis melanurus Shaw, 1802 (Serpents: Elapidae) by their size, but also due to their nocturnal ac vity, which Scolopendra sp. Hamadryad 34 (1): 165.
Bugs R A! No 19 December 2012" 24 Molinari, J., Gu errez, E.E., De Ascencao, A.A., Nassar, J. M., Herpetologica 4: 158. Arends, A. and R. J. Marquez, (2005). Preda on by Giant Polis, G.A. (1979). Prey and feeding phenology of the desert Cen pedes, Scolopendra gigantean, on three species of Bat in sand scorpion Paruroctonus mesaensis (Scorpionidae: Venezuelan Cave. Caribbean J. Sci. 41 (2):340–346. Vaeovidae). J. Zoology 188: 393–346. Naik, D. (2011). When a beetle preyed on a vulnerable Somaweera, R. (2005). First record of Sparassidae spider common wolf snake! Hornbill June-April: 33. preying an agamid lizard (Calotes calotes) in Sri Lanka. Rep le Neill, W.T. (1948). Spiders preying on rep les and amphibians. Rap 7:12.
Figure 1: A picture of an adult Sparassidae spider (Heteropoda sp.) is growing to approximately 5-6 cm and capable of capturing a juvenile skink, agamid and gecko.
Figure 2: The adult Northern house gecko (Hemidactylus flaviviridis) grows over 18 cm long and fresh hatchlings about 5-6 cm long (insat) were found, which can be easily victimized by carnivorous invertebrates (Photo: Raju Vyas).
Bugs R A! No 19 December 2012" 25 Aggrega on behaviour of Catacanthus incarnatus (Drury) bug on Delonix regia tree in Kolhapur, Maharashtra
A. B. Mamlayya and S.R. Aland* Department of Zoology, Shivaji University, Kolhapur – 416 004 *Department of Zoology, Walchand College of Arts and Science, Ashok Chowk, Solapur – 413 006 Maharashtra [email protected]
Delonix regia is a species of flowering plant in the family al., (2001) who reported aggrega on of 5-35 in Fabaceae. In many tropical parts of the world it is grown Euschistus conspersus in Western North America. Joshi as an ornamental tree and it is commonly called as Royal et al., (2011) also given photographic evidence of Poinciana or Flamboyant also known as Flame tree. In infesta on of nearly 4000 nymphs and 150 adults a bug India it is well known as Gulmohar. It is having nitrogen- Cyclopelta siccifolia on a tree, Mille a pinnata in Pune, fixa ng and soil improving proper es. Flowers are Maharashtra. Very recently Naved et al., (2000) also presumed to produce bee forage. The large pods as well recorded massive infec on of Cyclopelta siccifolia on as the wood are used as fuel. The seeds contain gum that Pongamia glabra in Karnataka. may find use in tex le and food industries. Beetles and larvae of Poecilips sierralemensis bore into the pods to References: release the seeds. Trees are suscep ble to borers and are Alcock, J. (1971). The behavior of a s nkbug, Euschistus occasionally defoliated by a caterpillar or an insect; D. conspersus Uhler (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae). Psyche, 78: regia is a acked by Ganoderma lucidum root rot, 215-228. Anon (1986). The useful plants of India. Publica ons and especially in the high rainfall areas (Anon, 1986). Informa on Directorate, CSIR, New Delhi, India. Distant, W. L. (1902). The fauna of Bri sh Indian including In the present note, is to report the aggrega on Ceylon and Burma. Rhynchota. Vol. I Heteroptera (Ed. Blanford, behaviour shown by pentatomid bug, Catacanthus W. T.). Taylor and Francis, Red Lion Court, London 438 pp. incarnatus on its host plant, Delonix regia. This Joshi, R., G. Pathak and H.V. Ghate (2011). Photgraphic evidence of heavy infesta on on Mille a pinnata (Fabaceae) observa on was made at Shivaji University campus, by Cyclopelta siccifolia (Westwood) (Pentatomidae: Kolhapur, Maharashtra in the month of July 2012. The Dinidoridae). Bugs R All, 18: 2-3. iden fica on was done with the help of available Krupke C. H., J.F. Brunner, M.D. Doerr and A.D. Kahn (2001). literature (Distant, 1902). Approximately 400-500 bugs Field a rac on of the s nk bug Euschistus conspersus were aggregated on a single branch of D. regia. In all, 52 (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae) to synthe c pheromone-baited ma ng pairs were seen. The observa on of the present host plants. Journal of Economic Entomology, 94: 1500-1505. study is in agreement with Alcock (1971) and Krupke et
Catacanthus incarnatus aggregation
Bugs R A! No 19 December 2012" 26 Sigh ng of a Widow Spider (Lactrodectus) at Dhela near Corbe Tiger Reserve
Aar Verma and Preston Ahimaz * E4/174, Arera Colony, Bhopal 462 016. Email: ar [email protected] * Plot no: 20-21, Dhenukambal Nagar, Madambakkam, Chennai 600 126. Email: [email protected]
The Widow spider Lactrodectus elegans in Manipur as wide river, which was now dry and the spider was reported in the Journal of Threatened Taxa JoTT journal spo ed in a small web on the river bed. Not knowing the (July 2012 | Vol. 4 | No. 7 | Pages 2673–2732) brings to unusual nature of this species in India, the first author mind the discovery of a Lactrodectus spider which was snapped one casual picture of the spider and departed encountered in a dry river bed at a place near the from the site. On examining the photograph later, the Corbe Tiger Reserve on 10 March, 2007. second author recognized the genus but could not iden fy the species given the angle of the photo. A er The comb-footed spider family Theridiidae, is popular for the ini al excitement of the suspected dreaded genus the Widow spider genus Latrodectus Walckenaer, 1805, died down, the incident was placed on the back shelf and which has clinical significance. So far, 31 species of gathered dust. Now, years later, on seeing the note in Latrodectus have been reported from the world (Platnick the JoTT journal, the issue was unearthed and brought to 2012). Of these, three species L. erythromelas Schmidt & the no ce of the JoTT publishers, who responded, Klaas 1991, L. geometricus CL. Koch, 1841 and L. hassel confirming the genus but, as in the ini al instance, could Thorell, 1870 have been reported from India (Siliwal & not quite ascertain the species due to the angle of the Kumar 2001; Kumar & Siliwal 2005; Shukla & Broome photograph. It could be hassel . 2007; Javed et al. 2010). L. hassel is reported from Gujarat, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu (Simon 1897; If the animal was indeed L. hassel , it will be a new Pocock 1900; Daniel & Soman 1961; Kumar & Siliwal distribu onal record of this species in India. 2005; Shukla & Broome 2007), whereas L. geometricus was recently reported from Pune (Shukla & Broome 2007) and L. erythromelas from Andhra Pradesh (Javed et al. 2010). The fourth species, Latrodectus elegans (Araneae: Theridiidae) discovered in Manipur by Kananbala et al (2012) was what brought back to mind a forgo en discovery near Corbe Tiger Reserve in 2007.
As part of the WWF-I Na onal Nature Camping Programme (NNCP), ini ated to enable people experience and appreciate the great wild outdoors of India, a nature camp was organized to Corbe in March 2007. The camp was organized and conducted by the second author, Preston Ahimaz, then Director, NNCP, Lactrodectus sp. Photo. Aarti Verma) WWF-India, and the second author, Aar Verma, then Programme Officer, NNCP, WWF-India. References Corbe lies in the foothills of the Kumaon Himalayas, Kananbala, A., K. Manoj, M. Bhubaneshwari, A. Binarani and Manju Siliwal (2012). The first report of the widow spider close to Ramnagar. The first park to be designated as Latrodectus elegans (Araneae: Theridiidae) from India. Journal a Project Tiger Reserve in 1973, it is located in the state of Threatned Taxa 4(7): 2673–2732. of U aranchal, India. Famous for its gers, the park s also Rod and Ken Preston-Ma am (1984). Spiders of the World, home to a great variety of wild creatures, both large and Blandford Press, Pp. 177-178. small, and, as was to be discovered, also harboured Sebas an, P. A. and K.V. Peter (2009). Spiders of India, Universi es Press. P. 577 unusual finds in its surrounds. Struan K. Sutherland (1985). Venomous Creatures of Australia - A Field Guide with notes on First Aid, Melbourne Oxford The campsite was Jim’s Jungle Retreat near the Dhela University Press Pp. 66-67. village, from where sor es were made into Corbe for Vijayalakshmi, K. and Preston Ahimaz (1993). Spiders – An wildlife safaris. The resort is located on the banks of a Introduc on, Cre-A Publica ons. Pp. 100.
Bugs R A! No 19 December 2012" 27 Meeting of the IUCN SSC Invertebrate Conservation Sub- Committee ICSC, Abu Dhabi
The Invertebrate Conserva on Sub-Commi ee ICSC mee ng Chaired by Prof. Michael Samways was organized from 20-21 February before the Specialist Group Chairs’ mee ng at Abu Dhabi. The Sub-Commi ee is composed of the Focal Point of the Terrestrial and Freshwater Invertebrate Red List Authority, 10 invertebrate SG Chairs/Deputy Chairs, and 1 Regional FP. The SG chairs gave a general report on the progress of the ICSC and its SGs for the period 2011. The summary of the updates of the ac vi es of the ICSC and its SGs are given below:
Report of the South Asian Invertebrate SG, B.A. • Development of a globally applicable strategy for Daniel, Co Chair invertebrate conserva on using a set of • Contributed for the assessment of Eastern opera onal scales from species to landscape. Himalayas freshwater invertebrates: molluscs and • The Bu erfly SG, Dragonfly SG, Freshwater Crab Odonates. and Crayfish, Grasshopper SG, Mollusc SG and • Contributed for the assessment of Western Ghats South Asian Invertebrate SG have made great freshwater invertebrates: molluscs and Odontes. progress in influencing policy. • Represented Invertebrate Conserva on Sub- Success stories Commi ee and SAsISG at the Global Entomology • African Freshwater Assessment and conserva on Congress, Thailand in February 2011. management recommenda ons for Dragonflies, • Membership for SAsISG from Bangladesh, Bhutan, Molluscs and Freshwater Crabs and Crayfish. Nepal, Pakistan, India and Sri Lanka. • Comple on of assessments of European • Liaised with other SGs in promo ng the work of Saproxylic beetles, and of Dragonflies. SAsISG. • Great restora on success stories in southern • Designed educa on plans for invertebrate Africa and Seychelles. pollinator conserva on. Future goals Success stories • Con nued global assessment of various • 803 invertebrates (Odonates: 541; Molluscs 262) invertebrate taxa, including dragonflies. assessed. • Priori za on and encouragement of new SGs, • Generated funds for educa on and awareness of with Hoverflies now a priority. the threatened freshwater biodiversity of • Development of methods for priori za on of taxa Western Ghats. to be used in area assessments for their • Iden fied partners for future hands-on training biodiversity worth. programmes. • Further assessment of the func onal value of • Freshwater biodiversity network for south Asia. invertebrates in various contexts, so as the align Future ac vi es with the 2020 targets on maintenance of • Assess all bu erflies of South Asia. ecosystem services while maintaining ecological • Follow up conserva on educa on ac vi es of integrity. freshwater biodiversity of India for Odonates and Molluscs. Report of the Terrestrial and Freshwater • Organise hands on training on pollinators and Invertebrate Red List Authority: Jus n Gerlach: pollinator educa on. Chair • Strengthen sub network: Freshwater • Development of priori es for terrestrial and Invertebrates. freshwater invertebrate Red Lis ng. • Conference on freshwater invertebrates of S Asia. • Establishment of a network of specialists willing to review assessments. Success stories Report of the ICSC: Michael Samways, Chair of the • Development of priority list. ICSC • Support for the establishment of new • Forma on of the new Bumblebee SG, under invertebrates Specialist Groups (SGs). chairing of the Paul Williams and Sarina Jepson to Future goals address the global bumblebee decline. • The primary aim of this RLA is to increase the • Full priori za on of invertebrate groups for number of assessed invertebrates. conserva on focus, spearheaded by Jus n • A major step in achieving the primary aim will be Gerlach, under the aegis of TIRLA. to reduce the number of species covered by the
Bugs R A! No 19 December 2012" 28 RLA though the crea on of new SGs. that will allow us to direct resources to areas with the greatest need and highest poten al for our Report of the Bumblebee Specialist Group, Paul efforts to make a meaningful impact. and Sarina: (Reported by Sco Hoffman Black) • Develop communica on strategies to ensure that • The IUCN Bumblebee Specialist Group (BBSG) was all partners are included and engaged. formed during in early • We need to raise funds for managing this effort • 2011. The group is in the process of invi ng and for projects iden fied through our planning. members and coordina ng a worldwide status assessment of bumblebees. Report of the Dragonfly SG, Viola Clausnitzer, Chair • 11 individuals from 9 Geographic Regions have • Start of assessments in New Zealand, Australia, agreed to serve as Regional Arabia • Coordinators for the BBSG • Publica on of results from the pan-Africa • Membership lists from 5 regions have been freshwater assessment iden fied and members are currently being • Par cipa on of members at various mee ngs invited (global and regional scale), e.g. LIFE mee ng in • Focal points for red lis ng, wildlife health, and England, IPBES mee ngs in Bonn and Nairobi, trade have been appointed IUCN/SSC workshops in England and the USA • A Scien fic Advisor was appointed • Genera ng knowledge on global and regional • A Conserva on Gene cs subcommi ee was dragonfly diversity and the threat status formed according to the IUCN Red List • A website for this group has been developed. Success stories Future goals • Assessment and mapping of all African • The primary ini al goal of this group is to dragonflies, point locality database (far over accomplish a status assessment of the c.250 90,000 entries by now) species of bumblebees worldwide using the Red • Representa ve global assessment of dragonflies List Categories and Criteria within the RLI project • Once accomplished, species that are considered • Awarded “Highly cited Author 2008-2011” for the imperiled (EW, CR, EN, VU, NT) can be added to paper: “Odonata enter the biodiversity crisis na ons’ and states’ respec ve threatened and debate: The first global assessment of an insect endangered species lists and priori zed for group” by Biological Conserva on. conserva on ac on. Future goals • Complete global dragonfly assessment Report of the Bu erfly SG: Sco Hoffman Black, • Elimina on of DD status of species Chair • Establishing dragonflies as indicator organism for • The IUCN Bu erfly Specialist Group (BSG) was ecosystem health (“guardians of the watershed”) formed in late 2010. The group has formed an in tropical areas ini al steering commi ee. • Focused conserva on ac ons for Cri cally • We have iden fied over 150 people who are Endangered species. interested in being involved in the BSG. • As an ini al task of this group, the Xerces Society Report of the Freshwater Crab and Crayfish, Neil and several members of the now-iden fied Cumberlidge, Chair steering commi ee developed a survey of • Arranged for the design of the logo for the FCCSG bu erfly conserva on needs. which is now in use. Success stories • Appointed Red List Authority Focal Points for the • The BSG is just gearing up. We have had ini al FCCSG success with response to the survey of bu erfly • Completed and distribu on maps for many of the needs and iden fying people who want to be assessed species of freshwater crabs, now engaged. available on the IUCN Red List website. • Over 161 people from 39 coun es have filled out • Compiled a list of all of the new species of the survey. (For the full survey go to: h p:// freshwater crabs described since the last global www.xerces.org/iucnssc-bu erfly- Red Lis ng in 2009 with the aim of making specialistgroup/) conserva on assessments for these taxa. Future goals • Prepared an IUCN report on the conserva on • The next step will be for the steering commi ee status of the freshwater crabs of the Indo- to develop a needs- and opportunity-based plan • Burma region that is currently in the process of
Bugs R A! No 19 December 2012" 29 comple on Ta n; the complete popula on will be mapped in • Met with the Chair of the Invertebrate 2012; habitat destruc on by the French army Conserva on Sub- Commi ee to discuss future must be feared IUCN World Conserva on plans for the FCCSG. Congress: Klaus Riede organizes a session called • Began ini al discussions within the FCCSG to “Bioacous cs for species monitoring - a new tool iden fy suitable threatened species or groups of for Red List assessment?” species of crayfish and freshwater crabs that Success stories could be the focus of a Species Conserva on • Roberto Ba ston rediscovered Apteroman s Strategy aptera in Morocco. He was funded by the • The work of the FCCSG makes allows the inclusion Mohammed Bin Zayed Species Conserva on Fund of invertebrates in the Red List and accompanied by a film team. • (which has long been dominated by vertebrates) Future goals and contributes large numbers of species to the • The Red List assessment of European Orthoptera CBD targets. is planned to be finished un l 2015. Success stories • Orthoptera are useful indicators to iden fy • Co-organizer of an interna onal conference on hotspots of biological diversity. Their geographic the Freshwater Decapods in Frankfurt, ranges are usually even smaller than in plants. In • 2010; keynote address at the conference on the Cape Floral Region (South Africa), we want to Freshwater Decapod Conserva on: Recent test how Orthoptera diversity is covered by the • Progress And Future Challenges to be published in exis ng reserves. the conference proceedings (2011). • Cover tropical regions in our Red List • Ini a on of a new ini a ve to use the newly assessments. A first candidate area might be published world species list of the freshwater • East Africa, where a lot of data exist. shrimps for a global Red List assessment of this species. Report of the Mollusc SG, Mary Seddon, Chair • A Project has been iden fied and funding has • Comple on of Pan-African Project on Freshwater been secured for this assessment. Molluscs. 23% of Freshwater species threatened. Future goals • Comple on of European Project on Status of Non- • To arrange for first- me Red Marine Molluscs. 43% of Freshwater species • List assessments of all of the new species of threatened, 20% land-snails threatened. freshwater crabs and crayfish which have been • Comple on of Eastern Himalayas project, 1% described since the last global assessments of Threatened, 36% DD. these two groups. • Indoburma project midpoint 32% Threatened, • To complete distribu on maps for the remainder 21% DD. of the assessed species of freshwater crabs and • Cephalopoda project midpoint >30% species done make them available on the IUCN Red List • Conference sessions on Threatened Species in website. Europe, Vitoria, Spain. • To work with the IUCN SSC Invertebrate • First marine mollusc assessment workshops on Conserva on Sub- Commi ee on Strategic Conus species and Ree uilding • Conserva on Planning to develop a Species • Molluscs. Conserva on Strategy for one or more threatened • Report for EU on upda ng the protected species species of crayfish and freshwater crabs. lists and emphasising the need to implement the Water Framework Direc ve. Report of the Grasshopper SG, Axel Hochkirch, • Issues of our Newsle er Tentacle (2011/2012) can Chair be downloaded from our website. • European Red Lis ng of Orthoptera (ERO), Success stories coordinated by Baudewijn Odé, Roy Kleukers and • Big vote of thanks for Howard Peters who brought Luc Willemse; 17 pre-assessments completed; together shell dealers with scien sts for the currently assessments of all Canarian Orthoptera; Conus workshop – really effec ve combina on! Red Lis ng workshop planned for spring 2012. • Adding nearly 2000 species assessments in last 4 • South African Red-Lis ng Ini a ve (SARLI), years, thanks to: MSG members and contributors; coordinated by Corinna Bazelet; currently IUCN FBU & RL units for EU, African and Asian collec on records are geo-referenced. project: Nadia, Monika and Ben and the ZSL SRLI • Prionotropis hystrix rhodanica project, team of interns on the Freshwater SRLI and coordinated by Antoine Foucart and Laurent Cephalopoda Assessments.
Bugs R A! No 19 December 2012" 30 Future goals commi ed to take up projects of their priority. The • Finalising assessments for Oceania, Indoburma, South Asian Invertebrate SG commi ed to assess all Cephalopoda, New Zealand, and Arabian bu erflies of South Asia, selected spiders and Peninsula. millipedes of South Asia. • New assessment projects in South America and Japan. The Chair of ICSC invited sugges ons from other • Moving onto conserva on ac ons in EU, Africa members to suggest ac vi es so as to include South and Asia. America and East Asia. Iden fying interested • Find funding to survey for Data Deficient species. people from these regions will may help to build up • Working out how to use the legisla on in Europe the network in these areas. Rachel Roberts invited to benefit Freshwater Molluscs. all the members to contribute for the Amazing • A programme of small conserva on projects to species programme. Also requested interested aid CR range restricted species. people to use the IUCN web page template to build up their SG web sites. Jürgen, The European Focal Point reported about the ongoing ci zen science project on Odonate A skype conference was arranged with Annabelle conserva on. As part of the mee ng the group Cu elod, Programme Officer, Conserva on went through the Strategic plan for the planning, who explained about Key Biodiversity quadrennium 2013-2016 and each group Area Projects.
Grasshopper)SG)
Mollusc)SG)
Bugs R A! No 19 December 2012" 31 Bu erflies of Bangladesh: A pictorial Handbook
by Dr. Shafique Haider Chowdhury and Dr. Monwar Hossain
Bangladesh with its humid tropical climate and unique geographic loca on is generally known to be rich in bu erfly fauna. Experts feel that the total number of bu erfly species of Bangladesh will exceed 400, of which only about 275 have so far been put on record. Recent studies also indicate that Bangladesh in general and its eastern part in par cular, have, in the past, acted as the gateway of south Asian insect fauna to the greater part of eastern, northern and southern India.
This book was published first in Dec, 2011 (ISBN 978-984-33-4308-6). The present book is the result of more than a decade of collec on, cura ng and iden fica on by the two authors, Dr. Shafique Haider Chowdhury and Dr. Monwar Hossain as well as their graduate students. This book is intended to act as a ready iden fica on and field guide for amateur naturalists and raise general consciousness in bu erfly conserva on. Book contained 10 families viz. Nymphalidae, Lycaenidae, Pieridae, Papilionidae, Satyridae, Hesperiidae, Danaidae, Amathusiidae, Riodinidae and Acraeidae and the species are arranged under the family wise on 175 plates (a total of 175 species has described under 10 families) and are thus easy to find. Each species includes concise informa on concerning size, flight, habitat, larval food plants and distribu on within Bangladesh and also in Asia. The photographs of bu erfly included in the book have been taken in their natural surroundings, and most likely at res ng and basking posi on, which will facilitate people’s understanding in the field. It will be equally beneficial to the researchers and amateurs interested in bu erfly and its conserva on.
Proper guidance is essen al for the beginner as well as professional. This pictorial handbook “Bu erflies of Bangladesh” is a unique one in that it depicts almost all the bu erfly species found in Bangladesh. For more informa on contact Monwar Hossain. Email: [email protected].
Newsletter of the Invertebrate Conservation and Information Network of South Asia (ICINSA) and Invertebrate Special Interest Group (ISIG) of Conservation Breeding Specialist Group, South Asia. ISIG coordinated by Dr. B.A. Daniel, Scientist, Zoo Outreach Organization
Editor: B.A. Daniel Editorial Advisor: Sally Walker & Sanjay Molur
BUGS `R' ALL is published by ZOO and CBSG South Asia as a service to invertebrate conservation community. This issue is published with the financial support of Zoological Society of London.
For communication contact: The Editor, ZOO/CBSG, S. Asia office 96 Kumutham Nagar, Villankurichi Road, Coimbatore, 641 035, TN, India. Ph: +91 422 2665 450; Fax:2665 472; Email: [email protected]
Bugs R A! No 19 December 2012" 32