Kalatope Sanctuary’s bio-diversity

This blog has primarily been created for showcasing the bio-diversity of the Kalatope Wildlife sanctuary. For those who are not aware of the whereabouts of this nondescript little forested belt.. it is near the touristic town of Dalhousie, Chamba district of Himachal Pradesh in India

Kalatope Moths – ‘Pyralidae, Saturniidae, Sphingidae & Notodontidae’

Some of the most beautiful moths I have seen during my study of the Moths of Kalatope sanctuary, fall into these four families. I remember catching sight of the ‘Luna moth’ caught under a piece of wood and wondering if it was dead or alive… gently prising it out and seeing the slight flutter of life which caused no end of joy for seeing the beautiful creature live… I did not know if it had any defence mechanisms against the birds which could attack it, so hid it under the tiles on the roof, where it stayed the whole day and then fluttered away into the night…

I thank whole heartedly the members of IndianMoths group on Facebook who made me come alive to the existence of Moths, especially to Dr. Roger Kendrick and Peter Smetacek who even today deal patiently with my ignorance and guide me towards knowing these creatures…

Given below is the check-list of these four families, which are hyper-linked to the image pages… Any mistakes found on these pages can be kindly pointed out to me by leaving a comment on the page…

Kalatope Moths Check-list – ‘Pyralidae, Saturniidae, Sphingidae & Notodontidae’

FAMILY	SUB-FAMILY	TRIBE	SPECIES
Pyralidae	Epipaschiinae		Locastra c.f. muscosalis (Walker, [1866])
Pyralidae	Epipaschiinae		Salma sp – Walker, 1863
Pyralidae	Pyralinae	Endotrichini	Endotricha sp. – Zeller 1847
Pyralidae	Pyralinae	Pyralini	Heterocrasa expansalis – Warren, 1896
Pyralidae	Pyralinae	Pyralini	Orybina flaviplaga – Walker, 1863
Pyralidae	Pyralinae	Pyralini	Tamraca torridalis – Lederer, 1863
Pyralidae	Pyralinae	Pyralini	Toccolosida rubriceps – Walker, 1863
Pyralidae	Pyralinae		Sacada sp. – Walker, 1862
Pyralidae	Pyralinae		Pyralis sp – Linnaeus, 1758
Pyralidae	Epipaschiinae		Coenodomus sp – Walsingham, 1888
Pyralidae	Epipaschiinae
Saturniidae	Saturniinae	Saturniini	Actias selene – Hübner, 1807 (Luna moth / Indian Moon Moth)
Saturniidae	Saturniinae	Saturniini	Loepa katinka – Westwood, 1848
Saturniidae	Saturniinae	Saturniini	Loepa sp. – Moore, 1860
Saturniidae	Saturniinae		Caligula thibeta – Westwood, 1853
Sphingidae	Macroglossinae	Macroglossini	Macroglossum nycteris – Kollar, 1844
Sphingidae	Macroglossinae	Macroglossini	Rhagastis olivacea – Moore, 1872
Sphingidae	Macroglossinae	Macroglossini	Theretra nessus – Drury, 1773
Sphingidae	Macroglossinae	Macroglossini	Theretra oldenlandiae – Fabricius, 1775
Sphingidae	Macroglossinae	Dilophonotini	Cephonodes hylas – Linnaeus, 1771
Sphingidae	Smerinthinae	Sphingulini	Dolbina sp – Staudinger, 1877
Sphingidae	Smerinthinae	Smerinthini	Clanidopsis exusta – Butler, 1875
Sphingidae	Sphinginae	Sphingulini	Dolbinopsis (Dolbina) inexacta – Walker, 1856
Sphingidae	Sphinginae	Acherontiini	Agrius convolvuli – Linnaeus, 1758
Notodontidae	Dudusiinae		Dudusa sphingiformis – Moore, 1872
Notodontidae	Phalerinae		Phalera parivala – Moore, 1859
Notodontidae	Pygaerinae		Clostera sp – Samouelle, 1819
Notodontidae			Spatalia (subgen. Allata) sp. – Hübner, 1819
Notodontidae	Ceirinae		Bireta longivitta Walker 1856
Notodontidae	Ceirinae		allied to the genera Bireta and Periergos
Notodontidae	Notodontini		Neodrymonia sp – Matsumura, 1920

Kalatope Moths – Zygaenidae, Drepanidae & Lasiocampidae

Credits first: Thankful to Dr. Roger Kendrick and Peter Smetacek for leading me to these identifications and helping me to learn about moths, as also to the members of the facebook groups… who through their constant appreciation and ‘likes’ made it a special exercise to present the variety of moths found at Kalatope Wildlife Sanctuary…

Please DO report any errors found on these pages through the comment box…

Check-list of Kalatope Moths – Families ‘Zygaenidae, Drepanidae & Lasiocampidae’

FAMILY	SUB-FAMILY	TRIBE	SPECIES
Zygaenidae	Chalcosiinae	Chalcosiini	Campylotes histrionicus – Westwood, 1839
Zygaenidae	Chalcosiinae	Chalcosiini	Chalcosia pectinicornis – Linnaeus, 1758
Zygaenidae	Chalcosiinae	Chalcosiini	Soritia puchella – Kollar, 1844
Zygaenidae	Chalcosiinae	Chalcosiini	Soritia puchella complex – Kollar, 1844
Zygaenidae	Procridinae	Artonini	Artona (=BALATAEA) zebraica – Butler, 1876
Zygaenidae	Procridinae	Artonini	Artona quadrimaculata – Moore, 1879
Drepanidae	Drepaninae	Drepanini	Agnidra discispilaria – Moore, 1868
Drepanidae	Drepaninae	Drepanini	Drepana pallida, Moore, 1879
Drepanidae	Drepaninae	Drepanini	Macrauzata fenestraria, Moore, 1868
Drepanidae	Drepaninae	Drepanini	Macrocilix mysticata – Walker, 1863
Drepanidae	Drepaninae	Oretini	Oreta sp. Walker, 1855 (c.f. O.vatama)
Drepanidae	Thyatirinae	Thyatirini	Thyatira batis, Linnaeus, 1758
Drepanidae	Thyatirinae		Habrosyne sp. Hübner, 1821 (c.f. H.indica)
Drepanidae	Drepaninae		Auzata sp. Walker, 1863 (c.f. A.semipavonaria)
Drepanidae	Drepaninae		Callidrepana patrana – Moore, 1866
Lasiocampidae	Lasiocampinae	Pinarini	Lebeda sp – Walker, 1855 (c.f. L. nobilis)
Lasiocampidae	Lasiocampinae	Pinarini	Dendrolimus sp. – Germar, 1812 (c.f. D. cheela)
Lasiocampidae	Lasiocampinae	Pinarini	Kunugia lineata – Moore, 1879
Lasiocampidae	Lasiocampinae	Pinarini	Paralebeda plagifera – Walker, 1855
Lasiocampidae	Lasiocampinae	Trabalini	Trabala vishnou – Lefèbvre, 1827