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Moths Diversity of Kodagu District in Central Western Ghats of Karnataka,

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Article  in  Indian Journal of Ecology · September 2016

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Indian Journal of Ecology (2016) 43 (Special Issue-2): 713-718 NAAS Rating: 4.47

Moths Diversity of Kodagu District in Central Western Ghats

of Karnataka, India

Shashi Bhushan Mishra , R.N. Kencharaddi, G.M. Devagiri and Anil Kumar Khaple
College of Forestry, Ponnampet-571 216, India
E-mail: shashimishra92@gmail.com

Abstract: Moth diversity was assessed in Kodagu district, which lies in the central Western Ghats region of peninsular India. A
total of 117 species belonging to 102 genera, 28 sub-families, 17 families and 9 super families were recorded in the present
study. The family Erebidae dominated with 32.48% of the total species recorded, followed by Crambidae (20.51%) and
Geometridae (19.66%). Together these 3 families accounted for about 70% of the total moth diversity of the district. The next
predominance of species was observed in Saturniidae and Sphingidae with 6 species in each family and Uraniidae with 4
species. These three families accounted for about 14.5% of the total moth species diversity. These results showed that 6 out of
17 families have accounted for the majority (80%) of moths diversity. Furthemore, results indicated the presence of higher
species richness and diversity of moths in this region. This study is first of its kind in the peninsular region of India which has
recorded and checklisted more than hundred species of moths which would form as the basis for developing strategies for
conservation and management of insect diversity particularly, of moths diversity in Central Western Ghats.

Key Words: Central Western Ghats, Erebidae, Kodagu district, Lepidoptera, Moths diversity

Western Ghats region of India is the repository of
diverse flora and fauna. The majority of the 34 global
biodiversity hotspots identified worldwide occur within
tropical regions and Western Ghats in South India is one
among them (Meyers et al., 2000). Historically, most tropical
forests have experienced varying levels of human activity
and today these forests are being increasingly affected by
expanding human populations, exploitation, fragmentation,
and climate change. How these rapidly changing factors
impact species composition, structure, and function of
tropical tree communities is not well known and remain a
critical gap in developing conservation plans for tropical
biodiversity. As a result of disturbances at the landscape
level, many species particularly, the insects become extinct.
The disappearance of many species remains undocumented
even before establishing their economic importance.
Therefore, there is an urgent need to study the insect fauna of
this region. Our knowledge on the insect fauna of India is
largely based on earlier studies of Hampson (1892-1896).
Although a series of revisionary studies have been
subsequently carried out from different geographical regions,
no exhaustive survey has so far been carried out from this
region which is known for rich faunal diversity.
Among insects, the moths belonging to Lepidoptera
are economically very important as the primary herbivores in
the forest ecosystem. They are diverse in their habits and are
adapted to variety of conditions. Being highly sensitive to
change in the environment, they are more vulnerable to
relatively minor disturbances and hence moths and
butterflies have been considered as indicators of
environmental quality. Kodagu district covering an area of
4102 km2 is a part of the Western Ghats biodiversity hotspot
and is known as highly wooded district of India with 80% of
the geographical area under tree cover. In addition to forest
areas the district also harbours about 1241 sacred groves
with a total area of 2550 ha. The western side of the district is
surrounded by three large protected areas such as
Brahmagiri, Talacavery and Pushpagiri Wildlife Sanctuaries
and Nagarhole National Park on the South-Eastern side.
Many studies have documented the floral diversity in the
district however, there is scanty information available on the
insect diversity and in particular, the diversity of moths.
Moths, order Lepidoptera, are one of the mega diverse
groups of insects and recent reports have recorded 127000
species of moths from around the world (Alfred et al., 1998),
of which over 12000 species have been reported from India
(Chandra and Nema, 2007). The present investigation was
undertaken to record the diversity of moths in the district,
hitherto a less attempted task with a scanty information.
MATERIAL AND METHODS
This study was conducted in forest-coffee landscape
mosaics of Kodagu district which lies in the Central Western
Ghats region (70o 25' – 76o 14' E and 12o 15' – 12o 45' N). The
district shares common border with Kerala in the south and is
surrounded by three other districts of Karnataka viz., Dakshina
714 Shashi Bhushan Mishra , R.N. Kencharaddi, G.M. Devagiri and Anil Kumar Khaple
Kannda, Hassan, and Mysore. The eastern border of Kodagu
district extends over the Mysore plateau. It has a steep West to
East climatic gradients especially, for temperature and rainfall
from the edge of the Ghats (Elouard, 2000). The study area,
with an altitudinal range of 300-1300 m above MSL, receives
average annual rainfall ranging from 1500 to 3500 mm with
maximum rainfall during monsoon season (June to
September). The mean maximum temperature (32oC) is
observed during April and May, while December and January
have the mean minimum temperature (15oC).
The study was conducted in three taluks of Kodagu
district namely Virajpet, Madikeri and Somwarpet in 2014-
2015. The light traps and light sheets were set in 9 locations
for collection of moth specimens. The traps were set at 7 p.m.
in the evening and observation /collection were made until
2AM, continuously for three days. In each place the traps
were set at an interval of one month. Besides light trap and
light sheet, the moths hovering around other light sources
(street light, houses etc.) were also collected. Diurnal moths
were also collected from the flowering plants by using insect
nets. Some larval stages were also collected from their host
plants and they were reared in the laboratory until their adult
stage. The collected moths were brought to the laboratory at
Forestry College Ponnampet, for preservation and further
identification. All the specimens were identified using keys of
Fauna of British India (Hampson, 1892-1896; Bell and Scott,
1937) and their current nomenclature is based on Moth of
Borneo (Holloway, 1983-2011). The hierarchy of different
families is based on the modern classification of insect above
family level by Varshney (2003) and Van Nieukerken et al.
(2011). Species contribution to diversity of each family was
determined by calculating the dominance index
Fig.1. Map of the study area showing the location of Kodagu district of Western Ghats in Karnataka
= ni X 100/ N. Where (ni) is individuals of particular species
and (N) is total number of species.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
The present study recorded 117 species belonging
to 102 genera, 28 sub-families, 17 families and 9 super
families (Table 1). The family Erebidae dominated with
32.48% of the total species recorded, followed by the family
Crambidae (20.51%) and Geometridae (19.66%). Together
these 3 families accounted for about 70% of the total moth
diversity of the district. The next predominance of species
was observed in Saturniidae and Sphingidae with 6 species
in each family and Uraniidae with four species. These three
families accounted for about 14.5% of the total diversity (Fig.
1). These results showed that about 5-6 out of 17 families
accounted for the majority (80%) of moths diversity in the
district. Overall higher species richness and diversity was
recorded from this region.
The diversity of moth fauna as recorded by the earlier
studies from different part of India showed a wide variation.
Ghosh (2003) recorded an increase in the number of species
from the family Larentiinae with an increase in the latitude.
Similar trends were also observed with an increase in altitude
in the tropics by Holloway (1993, 1997). The present
investigation showed highest percentage of the species from
the families of Erebidae, Crambidae and Geometridae (70 %).
Similary, Kailash and Sambath (2013) have also reported the
dominance of the families such as Geometridae (48%),
Erebidae (26%), Drepanidae (8%) and Crambidae (7%) from
Tawang district in Arunachal Pradesh .The family Geometridae
being a largest family in the order Lepidoptera has recorded its
dominance in Tawang district (Kailash and Sambath, 2013)
similar dominance of Geometridae (260 of 460 species) was
 Moths Diversity of Kodagu District 715

Table 1. The diversity of moths in Kodagu district in Central Western Ghats of Karnataka, India
Super family Family Sub-family No. of genera No. of species Species richness Species contribution
to diversity (%)
Noctuoidea Erebidae Arctiinae 13 16 32.48
Calpinae 1 1
Erebinae 8 9 38
Lymantriinae 8 8
Aganainae 2 3
Hadeninae 1 1
Noctuidae Noctuinae 1 1 1 0.85
Nolidae Eligminae 1 1 1 0.85
Bombycoidea Bombaicadae Bombicenea 1 1 1 0.85
Eupterotidae Panacelinae 1 1 1 0.85
Saturniidae Saturniinae 4 6 6 5.13
Sphingidae Macroglossinae 3 4 5.13
Smerinthinae 1 1 6
Sphinginae 1 1
Calliduloidea Callidulidae Callidulinae 1 1 1 0.85
Pyraloidea Crambidae Acentropinae 2 2 20.51
Spilomelinae 20 22 24
Pyralidae Galleriinae 2 2 2 1.71
Geometroidea Geometridae Desmobathrinae 2 2 19.66
Ennominea 4 4
Geometrinae 6 11
Larentiinae 2 2 23
Sterrhinae 4 4
Uraniidae Microniinae 4 4 4 3.42
Hyblaeoidea Hyblaeidae - 1 1 1 0.85
Lasiocampoidea Lasiocampidae Lasiocampinae 3 3 3 2.56
Cossoidea Metarbelidae - 1 1 1 0.85
Cossidae Zeuzerinae 1 1 1 0.85
Zygaenoidea Zygaenidae Chalcosiinae 2 2 2.56
Eupterotinae 1 1 3
Total 9 17 28 102 117 117 100

also recorded by Ghosh (2003) in Sikkim. In respect of the
moth species from other families, there was a variation in their
percentage occurrence at Kodagu district when compared
with the findings of Ghosh (2003) and Kailash and Sambath
(2013). Mathew et al. (2004) from Shendurny Wildlife
Sanctuary in Kerala reported 129 species of moth from nine
families, with the dominance of Noctuidae (including
Erebidae) and Pyralidae the different families. These
differences could be attributed to the habitat condition, floristic
diversity, altitude latitude and associated factors prevailing in
the respective regions.
In the present studies, one hundred and seventeen
moths were recorded and would form as the basis for
developing strategies for conservation and management of
insect diversity particularly, of moths diversity which are the
important indicators of the ecosystem function and health.
However, the present investigation was only a preliminary
study and species collected were only indicative but not
exhaustive. Considering the area under tree cover in the
Kodagu district, the sampling period and sampling sites
seemed to be insufficient. Detailed exhaustive survey with
different higher sampling intensity and different methods of
collections may provide an ample data for preparation of
check list of moths in Kodagu district.
716 Shashi Bhushan Mishra , R.N. Kencharaddi, G.M. Devagiri and Anil Kumar Khaple

Table 2. List of moths collected from Kodagu district

Super family Family Sub-family Species
Noctuoidea Erebidae Lymantriinae Arctornis sp
Noctuoidea Erebidae Lymantriinae Euproctis sp.
Noctuoidea Erebidae Lymantriinae Lymantria concolor
Noctuoidea Erebidae Lymantriinae Olene mendosa
Noctuoidea Erebidae Lymantriinae Orvasca postica
Noctuoidea Erebidae Lymantriinae Orgyia postica
Noctuoidea Erebidae Lymantriinae Orvasca subnotota
Noctuoidea Erebidae Lymantriinae Perina nuda
Noctuoidea Erebidae Aganainae Asota plaginota
Noctuoidea Erebidae Aganainae Asota caricae
Noctuoidea Erebidae Aganainae Digama marchalii figurate
Noctuoidea Erebidae Hadeninae Spodoptera litura
Noctuoidea Erebidae Calpinae Eudocima mate rna
Noctuoidea Erebidae Arctiinae Creatonotos gangis
Noctuoidea Erebidae Arctiinae Creatonotos transiens
Noctuoidea Erebidae Arctiinae Eressa confinis
Noctuoidea Erebidae Arctiinae Estigmene sp
Noctuoidea Erebidae Arctiinae Estigmene vittata
Noctuoidea Erebidae Arctiinae Euchromia polymena
Noctuoidea Erebidae Arctiinae Amata Sp.
Noctuoidea Erebidae Arctiinae Hemonia orbiferana
Noctuoidea Erebidae Arctiinae Macrobrochis gigas
Noctuoidea Erebidae Arctiinae Mangina argus
Noctuoidea Erebidae Arctiinae Nepita conferta
Noctuoidea Erebidae Arctiinae Nyctemera coleta
Noctuoidea Erebidae Arctiinae Olepa ricini
Noctuoidea Erebidae Arctiinae Utetheisa pulchelloides
Noctuoidea Erebidae Arctiinae Cyana peregrine
Noctuoidea Erebidae Arctiinae Cyana sigma
Noctuoidea Erebidae Erebinae Bastilla fulvotaenia
Noctuoidea Erebidae Erebinae Bastilia joviana
Noctuoidea Erebidae Erebinae Bastilla crameri
Noctuoidea Erebidae Erebinae Chalciope mygdoni
Noctuoidea Erebidae Erebinae Erebus ephesperis
Noctuoidea Erebidae Erebinae Sympis rufibasis
Noctuoidea Erebidae Erebinae Thyas coronate
Noctuoidea Erebidae Erebinae Trigonodes hyppasia
Noctuoidea Erebidae Erebinae Spirama sp.
Noctuoidea Noctuidae Noctuinae Agrotis sp
Noctuoidea Nolidae Eligminae Eligma narcissus
Bombycoidea Bombaicadae Bombicenea Ocinara sp.
Bombycoidea Eupterotidae Panacelinae Ganisa spp
Bombycoidea Saturniidae Saturniinae Actias maenas
Bombycoidea Saturniidae Saturniinae Actias selene
Bombycoidea Saturniidae Saturniinae Actias atlus
Bombycoidea Saturniidae Saturniinae Antheraea mylitta
Bombycoidea Saturniidae Saturniinae Attacus taprobanis
Bombycoidea Saturniidae Saturniinae Loepa katinka
Bombycoidea Sphingidae Macroglossinae Daphnis nerii
Bombycoidea Sphingidae Macroglossinae Macroglossum belis
Bombycoidea Sphingidae Macroglossinae Theretra aldenlandis
Bombycoidea Sphingidae Macroglossinae Theretra nessus
Bombycoidea Sphingidae Smerinthinae Marumba dyras
Bombycoidea Sphingidae Sphinginae Acherontia lachesis
Hyblaeoidea Hyblaeidae - Hyblaea puera

Cont.......
 Moths Diversity of Kodagu District 717

Lasiocampoidea Lasiocampidae Lasiocampinae Gastropacha pardale

Lasiocampoidea Lasiocampidae Lasiocampinae Trabala vishnou
Lasiocampoidea Lasiocampidae Lasiocampinae Lebeda nobilis
Cossoidea Metarbelidae - Indarbela quadrinotata
Cossoidea Cossoidae Zeuzerinae Polyphagozerra coffeae
Zygaenoidea Zygaenidae Chalcosiinae Eterusia aedea
Zygaenoidea Zygaenidae Chalcosiinae Yclosia papilionaris
Zygaenoidea Zygaenidae Eupterotinae Eupterote spp
Colliduloidea Collidulidae Collidulinae Tetragonus calamitus
Geometroidea Geometridae Desmobathrinae Eumelea ludovicata
Geometroidea Geometridae Desmobathrinae Naxa sp.
Geometroidea Geometridae Ennominea Fascellina plagiata
Geometroidea Geometridae Ennominea Hypomecis sp.
Geometroidea Geometridae Ennominea Ourapteryx sp
Geometroidea Geometridae Ennominea Scardamia spp
Geometroidea Geometridae Geometrinae Agathia hilarata
Geometroidea Geometridae Geometrinae Agathia laetata
Geometroidea Geometridae Geometrinae Agathia magnifica
Geometroidea Geometridae Geometrinae Agathia sp. 1
Geometroidea Geometridae Geometrinae Agathia sp. 2
Geometroidea Geometridae Geometrinae Berta sp
Geometroidea Geometridae Geometrinae Betra chrysolineata
Geometroidea Geometridae Geometrinae Comostola laesaria
Geometroidea Geometridae Geometrinae Dysphania percota
Geometroidea Geometridae Geometrinae Maxates sp.
Geometroidea Geometridae Geometrinae Pelagodes sp
Geometroidea Geometridae Larentiinae Chloroclysta truncate
Geometroidea Geometridae Larentiinae Eustroma melancholicum
Geometroidea Geometridae Sterrhinae Chrysocraspeda sp
Geometroidea Geometridae Sterrhinae Problepsis sp
Geometroidea Geometridae Sterrhinae Scopula opicata
Geometroidea Geometridae Sterrhinae Traminda mundissima
Geometroidea Uraniidae Microniinae Acropteris sp.
Geometroidea Uraniidae Microniinae Micronia aculeata
Geometroidea Uraniidae Microniinae Pseudomicronia sp
Geometroidea Uraniidae Microniinae Acropteris sp.
Pyraloidea Crambidae Acentropinae Eoophyla sp
Pyraloidea Crambidae Acentropinae Parapoynx stagnalis
Pyraloidea Crambidae Spilomelinae Leucinodes orbonalis
Pyraloidea Crambidae Spilomelinae Maruca vitrata
Pyraloidea Crambidae Spilomelinae Agrotera basinotata
Pyraloidea Crambidae Spilomelinae Scirpophaga sp.
Pyraloidea Crambidae Spilomelinae Eurrhyparodes bracteolalis
Pyraloidea Crambidae Spilomelinae Agathodes ostentalis
Pyraloidea Crambidae Spilomelinae Batyodes flavibasalis
Pyraloidea Crambidae Spilomelinae Cirrhochrista brizoalis
Pyraloidea Crambidae Spilomelinae Cnaphalocrocis medinalis
Pyraloidea Crambidae Spilomelinae Conogethes punctiferalis
Pyraloidea Crambidae Spilomelinae Cydalima spp
Pyraloidea Crambidae Spilomelinae Diaphania indica
Pyraloidea Crambidae Spilomelinae Filodes fulvidorsalis
Pyraloidea Crambidae Spilomelinae Glyphodes sp1
Pyraloidea Crambidae Spilomelinae Glyphodes sp2
Pyraloidea Crambidae Spilomelinae Glyphodes sp3
Pyraloidea Crambidae Spilomelinae Nausinoe geometralis
Pyraloidea Crambidae Spilomelinae Omiodes indicata
Cont.......
 718 Shashi Bhushan Mishra , R.N. Kencharaddi, G.M. Devagiri and Anil Kumar Khaple
Pyraloidea Crambidae
Pyraloidea Crambidae
Pyraloidea Crambidae
Pyraloidea Crambidae
Pyraloidea Pyralidae
Pyraloidea Pyralidae
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