PRAKRITI, 14th Dec 2020, Vol. II, Issue 09 Weekly magazine P R A K R I T I Quest For Nature Flora of the week Fauna of the week Bird of the week Meyna spinosa Actias selene Gyps bengalensis or or Or Muyna Indian Moon Moth White-rumped vulture Officers’ Club Central Academy for State Forest Service, Dehradun P R A K R I T I, 14 DECEMBER 2 0 2 0, V O L. II, I S S U E 09 FLORA OF THE WEEK Meyna spinosa Muyna Muyna is a large common shrub. Ovate- Abortifacient effect of the plant is well known oblong leaves are arranged oppositely or among different tribes of India. Seed paste with water also used as abortifacient by the rural people whorls of three. Strong spines are bent at in Tinsukia district, Assam. Fruits and seed of the an acute angle. Flower cymes occur in plant are used by Polia tribes of West Bengal to leaf axils, fascicled on a short peduncle. induce abortion. Seeds and pulp of ripe fruits made Flowers are small, greenish-white. The into paste with 2-3 bulb of garlic and 2.5 g of Hing stigma is 4-5-lobed. Fruit is of the size of (Ferula asafoetida), which used to prepare the a cherry, turbinate, smooth, yellow when abortifacient pills. These pills kept inside overnight ripe, succulent . to induce abortion up to 2 months of pregnancy. Tribes of Andhra Pradesh also use this plant for its Muyna (Hindi): Mawntawrawkawk (Mizo) abortifacient activity. It contains seed oil around 7.187% palmitic, 5382% stearic, 30.251% oleic and 52.553% linoleic acid. Calorific value, kinematic viscosity and density of fruit seed oil were found 38.169 MJ/kg, 28.92 mm2/s and 922.5 kg/m3 respectively. Flowers are small, 4-5 merous, pale green or greenish white with faintly fragrant on short pedunculate axillary cymes, calyx 5 teethed corella 5 Kingdom Plantae lobes. Fruits are yellowish, subglobose drupe, smooth with persistent calyx Phylum Magniophylota lobes. M. spinosa flowers are crowded into fascicles and have shorter pedicels and petioles and Flowers are seen in generally in the month of Class Magnoliopsida April and May; while fruits can be seen in August to December. Order Rubiales Family Rubiaceae Uses: Genus Meyna 1. Heada che and hair washing. Species speciosa 2. Treatment of skin infection and pimples. 3. Treatment of Jaundice and Hepatic disorders. Distribution: 4. Treatment of Peptic ulcers. 5. Treatment of dysentery, Indigestion, Intestinal Worms and painful North Eastern and Southern part of India, urination . Bangladesh, China, Myanmar, and Malaya. 6. Treatment of Tetanus. Central Academy For State Forest Service Guided by: Photography & Compiled by: P.O. New Forest, Dehradun- 248006, Uttarakhand Shri Kunal Satyarthi, IFS, President Officers’ Club Ph : 0135-2754575/ Fax: 0135-2756168; E-mail : [email protected] Shri Pradeep Wahule, IFS, Vice President Officers’ Club Bryan Zorintluanga | SFS 2019 – 21|P1 V V V PRAKRITI, 14th DECEMBER 2020, VOL. II, ISSUE-09 FAUNA OF THE WEEK Actias selene ( Indian Moon Moth or Indian Luna Moth ) General features of Moths The wings bodies and legs are covered with dusk like scales that come off if the insect is handled compared with butterflies; Moths have stouter bodies and duller colouring. Moth also has distinctive feathery or thick antennae. They are nocturnal flying insects that primari- ly feed on flower nectar. They are completely inoffensive creatures that cannot bite or sting. Far from Pests, they are important to local ecosystems, they are the food for the insect eating predators and effective pollinators for a number of plant species. A newly study shows that its vision trades speed and resolution for contrast sensitivity at night. These remarkable neu- rons adaptations take place in the higher order neurons of the hawk moth motion vision path- way and allow the insect to see during night flights. Indian moon moth Distribution Morphology Scientific classification Actias selene, the Indian moon moth or Indin The male moth head, thorax and abdomen luna moth, is a species of sturniid moth from white, palpi pink, prothorax with a dark Asia. It was first described by Jacob Hubner pink band, legs pink. Forewing very pale in 1807. This moth is quite widespread, green, white at base, a dark pink costal fas- Kingdom: Animalia found from India or Japan and then south cia, darkest along subcostal vein, an out- into Nepal, Sri Lanka, Borneo, and other is- wardly-oblique pale yellow marginal band, Phylum: Arthropoda a dark red-brown lunule at end of cell, with lands in eastern Asia. Class: Insecta a grey line on it, bounding inwardly a round ochreous spot with pinkish centre. Order: Lepidoptera Hindwing similar to the forewing, the cen- tral portion of the tail pinkish. In the female Family: Saturniidae moth the outer margin less excised and Genus: Actias waved, the yellow markings less developed, the antemedial line of forewing nearer the Species: selene base, and that on hindwing absent, the tail less pink. Life cycle Eggs are 2 mm, colored white with extensive black and brown mottling. Incubation lasts approximately 12 days and newly hatched larvae are red with a black abdominal saddle. Second-instar larvae are all red with black heads. It is not until the third instar that larvae take on a green color. The developing larvae prefer humid conditions. Host plants Liquidambar (sweetgum), Rhododendron, Prunus (including cherry), Malus (including apple), Coriaria, Pieris (andromeda), Hi- biscus, Salix (willow), Crataegus (hawthorn), Photinia (red robin), Juglans regia (walnut), Musa (banana). Central Academy for State Forest Service P.O. New Forest, Dehradun - 248 006, Uttarakhand Guided by : Photography & Compiled By : Ph : 0135-2754575 / Fax : 0135-2756168; E-mail : [email protected] Shri Kunal Satyarthi, IFS , President Officers’ Club Ashok Kumar, SFS 2019-21, P2 Shri Pradeep Wahule, IFS, Vice President Officers’ Club P R A K R I T I, 14 DECEMBER 2 0 2 0, V O L. II, I S S U E 09 FAUNA OF THE WEEK Gyps bengalensis White-rumped vulture White-rumped vulture (Gyps bengalensis) has been listed as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List since 2000.As of 2016; the global population was estimated at less than 10,000 mature individual. Spotted at least 50 in number in VALMIKI NAGAR TIGER RESERVE. VTR is habitat of many of such threatened species. Legal Status: WPA (1972) Schedule: I Behaviour and ecology: In spite of being the smallest of Gyps species, White-rumped Vultures have a large wing-span so they can easily soar or sail which is the most remarkable and highly specialized mode of flight. They usually become active when the morning sun is warming up the air so that thermals are sufficient to support their soaring. It is their skill and efficiency in flight which is one of the reasons that has made vultures successful as scavengers. Food is thus located by soaring high using the thermals with other vulture species. They are capable of detecting the air currents indicating the skill of perception of their surroundings. East Pakistan, Nepal, India, South East Afghanistan, South East Iran and Bangladesh. It is sedentary, usually found in the lowlands (up to 1,000m) but exceptionally as high as 3100m. Kingdom: Animalia Identifying feature: Phylum: Chordata Overall blackish with naked head and neck diagnostic white back and rump clearly visibleDistribution: during flight. Silvery upper mandible is visible in Class: Aves close up. Order: Accipitriformes North Eastern and Southern part of India, These birds areBangladesh, usually inactive China, until Myanmar, the morning and Malayasun has. warmed up Family: Accipitridae the air with sufficient thermals to support their soaring. They circle and Genus: Gyps rise in altitude and join move off in a glide to change thermals. Large Species: bengalensis numbers were once visible in the late morning skies above Indian cities. Central Academy For State Forest Service Guided by: Photography & Compiled by: P.O. New Forest, Dehradun- 248006, Uttarakhand Shri Kunal Satyarthi, IFS, President Officers’ Club Ph : 0135-2754575/ Fax: 0135-2756168; E-mail : [email protected] Shri Pradeep Wahule, IFS, Vice President Officers’ Club Atish Kumar | SFS 2019 – 21|P3 V V V.