New Record of Hawkmoth Sataspes Tagalica F. Hauxwellii (Lepidoptera: Sphingidae) from Sanjay Gandhi National Park, Mumbai, India

2008·1.1 MB·

by  V Shubhalaxmi

:
MISCELLANEOUS NOTES
Varshney,R.K.(1992):Achecklistofthescaleinsectsandmealybugs Varshney,R.K. (2002):Achecklistofthescaleinsectsandmealybugs
ofsouthAsia. RecordsofZoologicalSurvey ofIndia, Occ. Paper ofsouthAsia(Part-2).RecordsofZoologicalSurveyofIndia, Occ.
No. 139 152. PaperNo. 191: 1-147.
14. NEW RECORD OF HAWKMOTH SATASPES TAGALICA F. HAUXWELLII
(LEPIDOPTERA: SPHINGIDAE) FROM SANJAY GANDHI NATIONAL PARK, MUMBAI, INDIA
1
V. Shubhalaxmi2
'Accepted November 22, 2006
:BombayNatural HistorySociety.Hombill House,S.B. SinghRoad, Mumbai400001,Maharashtra,India. Email:[email protected]
Introduction (Subfamily Sphingini)hasthree species; Sataspesinfernalis
AccordingtoBellandScott(1937)andD’Abrera(1986), (Westw.), S. tagalica Boisd. and S. scotti Jord. S. tagalica
there are 1,354 species and subspeciesofHawkmoths inthe has four forms: tagalica Boisd., thoracica Roths. & Jord.,
world, ofwhich 204havebeen recordedfromIndia. Rose et collarisRoths. &Jord. andhauxwelliideNiceville,ofwhich
al.(2004)recorded29speciesfromnorth-westIndia,andSathe onlytheformertwoarerecordedfromIndia.Thespecieswas
and Pandharbale (1999) recorded 13 species from western first describedby de Niceville (1900) fromTaungoo, Upper
Maharashtra,includingtheWesternGhats. Shubhalaxmi and Tenasserim, Myanmar. Tenasserim is a part of the
Chaturvedi(2004)hasdocumented32speciesofHawkmoths southernmostdivisionoflowerMyanmar(9°58'-19°29'N;95°
during her doctoral studies in the Sanjay Gandhi National 48'-99°40'E)(Anon. 1908).
Park(SGNP),Mumbai,Maharashtra,which issituatedinthe Sataspes tagalica f. hauxwelliiBoisduval, 1875
northern Western Ghats . Sataspeshauxwelliide Nicev., 1900
As a part ofongoing ecological study on Hawkmoths Sataspes tagalica f. hauxwelliRoths. & Jord., 1903
ofSGNP,IrearedacaterpillarofSataspestagalicaf.hawcwellii Sataspes tagalica hauxwelli Seitz, 1929
on Dalbergia latifolia. This is the first record of Sataspes Adult:Theadultisadayflierandabeautifulmimicof
tagalica f. hauxwellii from India since the earlier record the Carpenter Bee Xylocopa auripennis. Interestingly, the
showsitsdistributionrangetobefromMyanmartoSundaland femalemoth mimicsthe male CarpenterBee and viceversa.
andPhilippines(D’Abrera 1986). The description ofthe adult is given by de Niceville (1900).
The adult S. tagalica f. hauxwellii differed from the other
Studyarea threeformsbytheabsenceofyellowscalesonthethoraxand
SanjayGandhi National Park(SGNP)issituatedinboth abdomen. The iridescence on wings ofadults is seen only in
Greater Bombay and Thane districts, with a total area of livespecimens(IanKitchingpers.comm.).
approximately103sq.km(19°88'-19°21'N;72°53'-72°58'E).The Earlystages: Theearlystagesofthisspecieshavenot
Park lies to the west of the Western Ghats and Hanks India’s been recorded, but the early stages of the closely allied
western seacoast. It has four types of habitats ranging from S. infernalis havebeen mentionedby Bell and Scott (1937).
mangrovestotheevergreen forests ofthe Western Ghats.The Thecaterpillarandpupaare similartoS. infernalis.
dominant vegetation type of this forest is mixed-deciduous, Thecaterpillarwasrearedincaptivitywithinthestudy
namelysouthernIndiamoist-mixeddeciduousforest.ThePark area. PupationoccurredinsidemudonJuly29,2005,andthe
is divided into two unequal parts; the southern block is more adultemergedonSeptember06,2005.Thepupalperiodwas
extensive while the northern Nagla block extends over just 40 days, the maximum recorded for Hawkmoths in the
16 sq. km. The southern block has a mixed forest, while the monsoon season, so far.
Naglablockischaracterizedbymoist-evergreenforest. Larvalfoodplant:Dalbergialatifolia(FamilyFabaceae)
Distribution: india: Mumbai,Maharashtra;Myanmar
Speciesdescription to Sundaland, Philippines.
The adult has been identified based on the
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
morphological characters mentioned and illustratedby Bell
and Scott(1937), deNiceville (1900)and D’Abrera(1986). The author is thankful to Dr. Ian Kitching, Natural
Thecaterpillarwas obtained from Nagalablockon July 11, HistoryMuseum,U.K.forconfirmingthestatusofthespecies
2005 and the adult was released, after photographing it, fromtheircollection;Dr.H.S.Rose,PunjabiUniversity,Patiala
inthesouthernblocknearGoregaononSeptember07,2005. for suggesting future studies and Mr. Naresh Chaturvedi,
According to Bell and Scott (1937) genus Sataspes Curator,BNHSforhisvaluablecomments.
226 J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc., 105 (2), May-Aug 2008
MISCELLANEOUS NOTES
REFERENCES
Anon (1908): The Imperial Gazetteer of India, Oxford Clarendon Rose, H.R., PC. Pathania & Rachita Sood (2004): Apreliminarylist
Press, 23: 278. of hawkmoths (Sphingidae: Lepidoptera) from three states of
Bell.T.R.D.&F.B.Scott(1937):TheFaunaofBritishIndiaincluding North-west India. Nature Environment and Pollution
Ceylon and Burma, Moths. 5. Sphingidae, Taylor and Francis Technology, Technoscience Publications 3(2): 197-200.
Ltd., London. Pp. 251-257. Sathe,T.V.&A.R.Pandharbale(1999):Hawkmothdiversityinwestern
D'Abrera,Bernard(1986):SphingidiMundi-Hawkmothsoftheworld, Maharashtra including Ghats, geobios New reports, Stuttgart,
HillHousePublishers,Australia. Pp. 118. Fritz Lehmann Verlag. 18(2): 77-82.
de Niceville, Lionel (1900): On new and little-known Lepidoptera Shubhalaxmt,V. & N. Chaturvedi (2004): New Larvalfoodplantsfor
from the Oriental region. J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. IS: hawkmothsandwildsilkmothsofSanjayGandhiNationalPark.
173-174. J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc. 101(1): 114-126.
15. CALAMAGROSTIS PSEUDOPHRAGMITES (HALL.F.) KOELER VAR. TARTARICA (HOOK.F.) BOR
(POACEAE) - A NEW RECORD FOR RAJASTHAN
1
SumanC. Sharma2 Jeetendra Kantiya3andChandan Singh Purohit3
,
'Accepted February 18, 2008
26-K-l, South Extension, Pawanpuri, Bikaner 334 003, Rajasthan, India. Email: [email protected]
’Herbarium. P.G. Department of Botany, Govt. Dungar College. Bikaner 334 001, Rajasthan, India.
During a plant collection visit near the Lunkaransar
canal,districtBikaner,RajasthanwecollectedCalamagrostis
pseudophragmites(Hall.f.)Koelervar.tartarica(Hook.f. Bor.
)
A perusal ofliterature shows that this species has not been
reportedfromRajasthan(ShettyandSingh 1987-93).
This paperrecords forthe first time the occurrence of
Calamagrostis pseudophragmites (Hall.f.) Koeler var.
tartarica (Hook.f.) Bor from Rajasthan. It is known, so far,
fromJammu-Kashmir,Uttar-Pradesh,SikkimandWestBengal
inIndia(Moulik 1997). The specimens have beendeposited
intheHerbarium,DepartmentofBotany,Govt.DungarCollege,
Bikaner(Rajasthan).Theidentificationofthespeciesisbased
onBor(1960).
Calamagrostis pseudophragmites (Hall.f.) Koeler,
Descr.Gram. 106.1802.var. tartarica(Hook.f.)Bor,Grasses
Burma Ceyl. Ind. Pak. 396. 1960; Moulik, Grasses and Fig. 1: Calamagrostispseudophragmites(Hall.f.)
Bambusa ofInd. Vol II, 395. 1997. Calamagrostis littorea Koelervar. tartarica(Hook.f.) Bor:
P. Beauv. var. tartarica Hook.f., FI. Brit. Ind. 7: 261. 1897 A. Inflorescence,B.Spikelet,C. Upperglume, D. Lowerglume
(typeK). (Fig. 1).
Perennial,upto 1.6mtall;Leafbladebroad; Panicleup FI.& Fr.:July-September.
to50cmlong,verydense,purplespikelets;Spikelets3.5 mm
long; Glume 3.5 mm long; Lemma 3.5 mm long; Anthers ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
mm
1.3 long.
SpecimenExamined:NearcanalLunkaransar,Bikaner, WearegratefultoDr.S.S.Katewa,ProfessorinScience
Rajasthan.Kantiya&Sharma 1489,Purohit&Sharma,3109. college,MLSUniversity,Udaipurforencouragement.
REFERENCES
Bor, N.L. (1960): The GrassesofBurma,Ceylon, IndiaandPakistan. Publishers,Jodhpur.
Vol. I. London. Shetty, B.V. & V. Singh (1987-93): Flora of Rajasthan. Vol. I-III.
Moulik,S.(1997):TheGrassesandBamboosofIndia.Vol.I-II.Scientific Botanical SurveyofIndia, Howrah.
J. Bombay Nat. Hist. Soc., 105 (2), May-Aug 2008 227