Sphingidae Taxonomic Inventory

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Moths (Insecta: Lepidoptera) of Delhi, India: an illustrated checklist based on museum specimens and surveys

Publication Type:Journal Article
Year of Publication:2021
Authors:J. Komal, Shashank, P. R., Sondhi, S., Madan, S., Sondhi, Y., Meshram, N. M., Anooj, S. S.
Journal:Biodiversity Data Journal
Volume:9
Start Page:e73997
Pagination:e73997
Date Published:10/2021
Keywords:ACHERONTIA, AGRIUS, BOMBYCIDAE, BOMBYX, CEPHONODES, CHECKLIST, CLANIS, DAPHNIS, EUPTEROTE, EUPTEROTIDAE, HIPPOTION, HYLES, INDIA, LEPIDOPTERA, LEUCOPHLEBIA, MACROGLOSSUM, NEPHELE, PSILOGRAMMA, SPHINGIDAE, THERETRA, TRILOCHA, WORLDMAP1
Abstract:

"Background
There have been several recent checklists, books and publications about Indian moths; however, much of this work has focused on biodiversity hotspots such as North-east India, Western Ghats and Western Himalayas. There is a lack of published literature on urban centres in India, despite the increased need to monitor insects at sites with high levels of human disturbance. In this study, we examine the moths of Delhi, the national capital region of India, one of the fastest growing mega-metropolitan cities. We present a comprehensive checklist of 338 moths species using 8 years of light trapping data (2012-2020) and examining about 2000 specimens from historical collections at the National Pusa Collection of ICAR-Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi (NPCIARI) spanning over 100 years (1907-2020). The checklist comprises moths from 32 families spanning 14 superfamilies with Noctuoidea (48.5%) and Pyraloidea (20.4%) being the the two most dominant superfamilies. We provide links to images of live individuals and pinned specimens for all moths and provide detailed distribution records and an updated
taxonomic treatment.

New information
This is the first comprehensive annotated checklist of the moths of Delhi. The present study adds 234 species to the biodiversity of moths from Delhi that were not reported previously, along with illustrations for 195 species."

URL:https://doi.org/10.3897/BDJ.9.e73997
DOI:10.3897/BDJ.9.e73997
Scratchpads developed and conceived by (alphabetical): Ed Baker, Katherine Bouton Alice Heaton Dimitris Koureas, Laurence Livermore, Dave Roberts, Simon Rycroft, Ben Scott, Vince Smith