New distributional record of Hippotion boerhaviae (Fabricius) (Lepidoptera: Sphingidae) from Meghalaya, India

"The present study provides the first distributional report of Hippotion boerhaviae (Fabricius, 1775) from Meghalaya, India, thereby extending its distribution in northeastern India. Specimens were collected in Ri-Bhoi district, Meghalaya, India, using a vertical sheet light trap and identified based on diagnostic morphological features. The species is characterized by a slender body, elongate forewings with a dark antemedial line, and rosy-pink hindwings bordered with black, distinguishing it from its close congener, Hippotion rosetta  (Swinhoe, 1892). Their distribution further indicates suitable habitats in the semi-evergreen and tropical moist deciduous forests adjoining the Nongkhyllem Wildlife Sanctuary. This finding fills a biogeographical gap in the known range of H. boerhaviae (Fabricius) across the Indo-Burma biodiversity hotspot. It underscores the need for continued faunal surveys to document the rich but underexplored Lepidoptera diversity of Meghalaya."