Provided for non-commercial research and education use. Not for reproduction, distribution or commercial use.

Vol. 11 No. 3 (2018)

Egyptian Academic Journal of Biological Sciences is the official English language journal of the Egyptian Society for Biological Sciences, Department of Entomology, Faculty of Sciences Ain Shams University. Entomology Journal publishes original research papers and reviews from any entomological discipline or from directly allied fields in ecology, behavioral biology, physiology, biochemistry, development, genetics, systematics, morphology, evolution, control of , arachnids, and general entomology. www.eajbs.eg.net

Citation :Egypt. Acad. J. Biolog. Sci. (A.Entomology) Vol. 11(3)pp: 11-17(2018) Egypt. Acad. J. Biolog. Sci., 11(3): 11-17 (2018) Egyptian Academic Journal of Biological Sciences A. Entomology

ISSN 1687- 8809 www.eajbs.eg.net

Diversity of (Insecta: ) in the GupteswarProposed Reserve Forest of the Eastern GhatHill,Koraput, Odisha, : A preliminary Study

Sudheer Kumar Jena1, Amar Paul Singh2 and Kritish De2 1-Centre for Biodiversity and Conservation of Natural Resources, Central University of Orissa, Koraput, Odisha 764020, India 2-Department of Landscape level planning & Management, Wildlife Institute of India, Post Box 18, Chandrabani, Dehradun, Utarakhand 248001, India E.Mail :: [email protected]

ARTICLE INFO ABSTRACT Article History Diversity of moths (Insecta: Lepidoptera) in the Gupteswar Received:1/5/2018 proposed reserve forest area of Eastern Ghat hill, Koraput district, Accepted:2/6/2018 Odisha, India was studied for the first time. Total 30 species of ______moths under 27 genera and 7 families were observed. Highest Keywords: numbers of species and genera were observed under family Eastern Ghat hill, , followed by family Geometridae and family . Odisha, Koraput, Gupteswar, diversity INTRODUCTION

Moths and butterflies contribute to essential ecosystem processes such as pollination, herbivory and decomposition in many terrestrial biomes (Lomov et al, 2006). Moths and butterflies are strongly associated with vegetation structure and composition, which makes them a suitable indicator taxon for various ecological studies (Lomov et al., 2006). Because of high sensitivity to the environmental change (Luff and Woiwod, 1995) and proved to be powerful indicator of forest disturbance (Kitching et al., 2000; Summerville et al., 2004) moth communities are receiving increasing conservation interest (Scalercio et al., 2009). In spite of immense ecological importance, diversity of moths is not properly studied in the state of Odisha, India in general and in Gupteswar proposed reserve forest area, Koraput district, in specific. Very few studies were done to assess the faunal diversity in the Gupteswarproposed reserve forest area. Presence of Cantor’s Leaf-Nosed Bat Hipposideros galeritus Cantor, 1846 from Gupteswar caves was reported by Debata et al. (2015) and Debata and Palita (2017). Presence of Mugger Crocodile Crocodylus palustris Lesson, 1831 in the river Saberi at Gupteswar was reported by Debataet al. (2018). Purohit et al. (2017) had promulgated presence of Black Baza Aviceda leuphotes Dumont, 1820 in this area. Palita et al. (2016) gave an account of 37 species of Odonata from Gupteswar. Mahata et al. (2016) reported the presence of 69 species of butterfly from Gupteswar. Till date, no study was conducted to explore the diversity of moths at Gupteswar proposed reserve forest.

Citation :Egypt. Acad. J. Biolog. Sci. (A.Entomology) Vol. 11(3)pp: 11-17(2018) 12 Sudheer Kumar Jena1et al.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Gupteswar (82.16517222°E, 18.83183889°N) proposed reserve forest area (Jeypore Forest Division) located within the Eastern Ghat hill range extensions in southwestern part of Koraput district, Odisha (Fig. 1). It is adjoining the Kanger Valley National Park of the state of Chhatsgarh. Vegetation of the area is of mixed moist deciduous forest type (Debataet al., 2015). During faunal diversity survey at Gupteswar proposed reserve forest area, Koraput, Odisha in post-winter, 2018 (March – April) we had the preliminary documented diversity of moths. This documentation was based on the only opportunistic sighting. All the moth species were photographed and identified by comparing photographs with available published pictorial references.

Fig. 1: Location of Gupteswar in Koraput district, Odisha

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Total 30 species of moths under 27 genera and 7 families were observed (Fig. 2). Highest numbers of species (12 species) and genera (10 genera) were observed under family Crambidae, followed by family Geometridae (8 species under 7 genera) and family Erebidae (5 species under 5 genera). From family 2 species under 2 genera were found. From each of the family Arctiidae, Limacodidae and Sphingidae 1 species were observed. All the moth species are first time reported from Gupteswar proposed reserve forest area, Koraput, Odisha. The complete list of moths observed in the area is given in Table 1 and photographs of the moths are given in the Plate 1, Plate 2 and Plate 3. Documenting diversity of moth fauna can help to lead new evolutionary insights and a first step in developing conservation goals for the lepidopteron insects (Gadhikar et al., 2015). Being herbivorous predominantly, moths lead to the expectation that they will measure the quality of the vegetation in any location (Kitching et al., 2000). Species-level inventories provide baseline data on the geographic distribution of species which is a prerequisite for management and preservation of natural habitats (Arandhara et al., 2017). Local level inventories provide information for economic and educational activities (Arandhara et al., 2017).

Diversity of Moths in the Gupteswar Proposed Reserve Forest of the Eastern Ghat Hill, Koraput, Odisha, India 13

From the present study it was concluded that diversity of moths in the Gupteswar proposed reserve forest area is very high. Therefore, steps need to be taken for more observation to make the complete inventory of the moths in the Gupteswar proposed reserve forest area.

Table 1: List of family and species of moths found in Gupteswar proposed reserve forest area. Family Species Arctiidae Eilema cf. costalis Moore, 1878 Crambidae Agrotera scissalis Walker, 1866 Botyodes asialis Guenee, 1854 Cnaphalocrocis medinalis Guenee, 1854 Cnaphalocrocis sp. Glyphodes bicolour (Swainson, 1821) Glyphodes caesalis Walker, 1859 Maruca vitrata (Fabricius, 1787) Nausinoe perspectata (Fabricius, 1775) Palpita sp. Paraponyx stagnalis (Zeller, 1852) Parotis cf. marginata (Hampson, 1893) Talanga sexpunctalis (Moore, 1887) Erebidae transiens Walker, 1855 Erebus sp. Lymantria cf. atemeles Collenette, 1932 Olepa cf. ricini (Fabricius, 1775) Oruza divisa Walker, 1862 Geometridae Agathia pisina Butler, 1887 Biston suppressaria Guenee, 1858 Chiasmia cf. nora Walker, 1861 Comostola sp. Comostola sp. (2) Ectropis cf. crepuscularia (Denis & Schiffermuller, 1775) Ornithospila avicularia Guenee, 1857 Semiothisa eleonora (Villers, 1789) Limacodidae Miresa sp. Noctuidae Euplexia sp. Zurobata sp. Sphingidae Ambulyx sp.

Fig. 2: Comparative account of numbers of and species of moth families in Gupteswar, Odisha

14 Sudheer Kumar Jena1et al.

Plate 1: [1] Eilema cf. costalis[2] Agrotera scissalis [3] Botyodes asialis [4] Cnaphalocrocis medinalis [5] Cnaphalocrocis sp. [6] Glyphodes bicolour [7] Glyphodes caesalis[8] Maruca vitrata [9] Nausinoe perspectata [10] Palpita sp. [11] Paraponyx stagnalis [12] Parotis cf. marginata

Diversity of Moths in the Gupteswar Proposed Reserve Forest of the Eastern Ghat Hill, Koraput, Odisha, India 15

Plate 2: [13] Talanga sexpunctalis [14] Creatonotos transiens [15] Erebus sp. [16] Lymantria cf. atemeles [17] Olepa cf. ricini [18] Oruza divisa [19] Agathia pisina [20] Biston suppressaria [21] Chiasmia cf. nora [22] Comostola sp.1 [23] Comostola sp.2 [24] Ectropis cf. crepuscularia

16 Sudheer Kumar Jena1et al.

Plate 3: [25] Ornithospila avicularia [26] Semiothisa eleonora [27] Miresa sp. [28] Euplexia sp. [29] Zurobata sp. [30] Ambulyx sp.

REFERENCES

Arandhara, S.,Barman, S.,Tanti, R. and Boruah, A. (2017). Macro moths of Tinsukia district, Assam: A provisional inventory. Journal of Entomology and Zoology Studies, 5(6): 1612-1621 Debata, S. and Palita, S.K.(2017). Distribution, population status, and threats of nationally threatened Cantor's leaf-nosed bat Hipposiderosgaleritus Cantor, 1846 in eastern India. Journal of Asia Pacific Biodiversity, 10(3): 426-430. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.japb.2017.05.003 Debata, S., Palei, H.S., Mohapatra, P. and Palita, S.K.(2015). Additional records of Cantor’s Leaf-Nosed Bat Hipposiderosgaleritus Cantor, 1846 (Mammalia: Chiroptera: Hipposideridae) in eastern India: Odisha. Journal of Threatened Taxa, 7(8):7477-7479. DOI: htp://dx.doi.org/10.11609/JoTT.o4247.7477-9 Debata, S., Purohit, S., Mahata, A., Jena, S.K. and Palita, S.K. (2018). Mugger Crocodile Crocodyluspalustris Lesson, 1831 (Reptilia: Crocodilia: Crocodylidae) in river Saberi of Godavari system in southern Odisha, India: conservation implications. Journal of Threatened Taxa, 10(6): 11770-11774. DOI: http://doi.org/10.11609/jott.3974.10.6.11770-11774 Gadhikar, Y.A., Sambath, S. &Yattoo, Y.I. (2015). A Preliminary Report on the Moths (Insecta: Lepidoptera: Heterocera) Fauna from Amravati, Maharashtra. International Journal of Science and Research, 4(7): 883-887 Kitching, R.L., Orr, A.G., Thalib, L., Mitchell, H., Hopkins, M.S. and Graham, A.W. (2000). Moth assemblages as indicators of environmental quality in remnants of upland Australian rain forest. Journal of Applied Ecology, 37(2): 284-297. DOI: 10.1046/j.1365-2664.2000.00490.x

Diversity of Moths in the Gupteswar Proposed Reserve Forest of the Eastern Ghat Hill, Koraput, Odisha, India 17

Kitching, R.L., Orr, A.G., Thalib, L., Mitchell, H., Hopkins, M.S. and Graham, A.W. (2000). Moth assemblages as indicators of environmental quality in remnants of upland Australian rain forest. Journal of applied Ecology, 37(2): 284-297. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1365-2664.2000.00490.x Lomov, B., Keith, D.A., Britton, D.R. and Hochuli, D.F. (2006). Are butterflies and moths useful indicators for restoration monitoring? A pilot study in Sydney's Cumberland Plain Woodland. Ecological Management & Restoration, 7(3): 204- 210. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1442-8903.2006.00310.x Luff, M.L. and Woiwod, I.P. (1995). as indicators of land-use change: a European perspective, focusing on moths and ground beetles. In: Harrington R, Stork NE (eds) Insects in a changing environment. Academic Press, London, pp 399–422 Mahata, A.; Palita, S.K.; Jena, S.K. and Panda, B.P. (2016). Diversity and distribution of Butterfly (Lepidoptera: Rhopalocera) along different habitats of Koraput district, Odisha in Eastern Ghats of India. Poster presented in National Conference On Conservation of Eastern Ghats at Utkal University, Vani Vihar, Bhubaneswar, Odisha Palita, S.K., Jena, S.K. and Debata, S.(2016). Odonate diversity along different habitats of Koraput district, Odisha, India. Journal of Entomology and Zoology Studies, 4(3): 40-47. Purohit, S., Nair, M.V. and Palita, S.K. (2017). On the occurrence of Black BazaAvicedaleuphotes Dumont, 1820 (Aves: Falconiformes: Accipitridae) in the Gupteswar forests of the Eastern Ghats, Odisha, India. Journal of Threatened Taxa, 9(11): 10964-10967. DOI: http://doi.org/10.11609/jott.2761.9.11.10964- 10967 Scalercio, S., Infusino, M. and Woiwod, I.P. (2009). Optimising the sampling window for moth indicator communities. Journal of Insect Conservation, 13(6): 583. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10841-008-9206-x Summerville, K.S., Ritter, L.M. and Crist, T.O. (2004). Forest moth taxa as indicators of lepidopteran richness and habitat disturbance: a preliminary assessment. Biological Conservation, 116(1): 9-18. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/S0006- 3207(03)00168-X