Journal of Threatened Taxa | www.threatenedtaxa.org | 26 March 2019 | 11(5): 13579–13591

New host records of polyphagous Lepidoptera on Ban Oak Quercus leucotrichophora A. Camus (Fabaceae) in the Garhwal Himalaya, India

Arun Pratap Singh ¹, Kalpana Bahuguna ² & Gaurav Chand Ramola ³

^1–3 Entomology, Forest Protection Division, Forest Research Institute (ICFRE), P.O. New Forest, Dehradun, Uttarakhand 248006, India.

¹ ranoteaps@gmail.com (corresponding author), ² kalpana.bahuguna@gmail.com, ³ gauravramola30@gmail.com

Abstract: The paper provides information on the life history stages of 12 species of Lepidoptera recorded for the first time feeding on Ban Oak Quercus leucotrichophora in Garhwal Himalaya,supported by images along with their distribution range and host plants recorded across the globe.  A comprehensive list of all the Lepidoptera recorded so far feeding on Q. leucotrichophora is also provided.

Keywords: Arctiinae, Chakrata, Dehradun, Erebidae, Geometridae, Lycaenidae, Pyralidae, Zygaenidae.

Mathur & Singh (1959) were the first to give a comprehensive list of 35 species of Lepidoptera feeding on Ban Oak Quercus leucotrichophora (Fabaceae), which occurs in the moist temperate forest zone from the western to the central Himalaya (Table 1).  Recently, the life cycle of the Indian Gypsy Moth Lymantria obfuscata Walker, 1865 was studied on the host Q. leucotrichophora by Verma et al. (1979) and Thakur et al. (2015) in Himachal Pradesh, and two other species were later recorded as hosts on this oak (Smetacek & Smetacek 2011; Table 1) in the Kumaon region of Uttarakhand.  Beeson (1941) had earlier recorded Antheraea roylei Moore, 1858 (Satruniidae) feeding on Q. leucotrichophora along with seven other species of Lepidoptera, which were later reported by Mathur & Singh (1959).  Besides these 39 species that belong to 16 families, there are no other records of Lepidoptera feeding on Q. leucotrichophora from the Himalayan region of India.  The present study reports for the first time 12 new species of Lepidoptera feeding on Q. leucotrichophora from the Garhwal region of the Uttarakhand State of India.  An account of each species is given below.

Common Onyx Horaga onyx onyx (Moore, [1857]) (Papilionoidea: Lycaenidae: Theclinae: Horagini) (Image 1)

 A fifth instar larva (12mm; Image 1a) was collected on 14 September 2018 while feeding on the foliage of Q. leuco trichophora in the plantation in New Forest Campus of the Forest Research Institute (FRI), Dehradun.  The larva was bred in the laboratory (Image 1b) FRI, Dehradun, on Q. leucotrichophora leaves.  The mature larva (16mm) fed on the entire oak leaf leaving only the midrib. Pupation took place on 20 September 2018 (pupa: 10mm) on the leaf stalk.  The shape of the pupa, being oval and light green in colour with dark spots, resembled the eyes on a human face (Image 1c).  The emergence of the butterfly (female; wingspan: 28mm; Image 1d) took place on 28 September 2018.

This species occurs throughout the Indian subcontinent up to 2,000m in hilly tracts (northern, northeastern, central, and southern India) with a flight period throughout the year (Wynter-blyth 1957), while the subspecies O. h. onyx occurs from Kangra in Himachal Pradesh up to Myanmar (Evans 1932).  The larval food plant recorded for the subspecies is Coriaria nepalensis Wall. (Coriariaceae) in the Himalaya (Wynter-blyth 1957).  The other subspecies O. h. cingalensis feeds on Mangifera indica L. (Nitin et al. 2018) in southern India and Sri Lanka.  Other larval food plants for this species are Durio zibethinus L. (Malvaceae) in Thailand and Glochidion rubrum Blume, Bijdr. (1825) (Euphorbiaceae) in Taiwan (Robinson et al. 2010).  The life cycle of the early stages of this species were photographed by Chandrasekharan (2018) in Kannur District of Kerala but was not described.

Eterusia aedea aedea (Clerck, 1759) (Zygaenoidea: Zygaenidae: Chalcosiinae) (Image 2)

A dark reddish-brown larva (42mm; Image 2a,b) was recorded feeding on the foliage of Q. leucotrichophora plantation and was collected on 12 April 2018 from the New Forest Campus of FRI, Dehradun.  Pupa (30mm) formed on 16 April 2018, inside an arch-shaped pale coloured cocoon (Image 2c,d) with one end flat and the rest of the curved surface shaped like a purse; it was stuck to the surface of a half-curled oak leaf.  The moth (wingspan: 62mm; Image 2e,f,g) emerged on 14 May 2018 from the mouth of the cocoon which was covered with a lid-like structure (Image 2d) in the laboratory at FRI, Dehradun.

The larvae of E.a. aedea were recorded feeding on a wide range of plants, including Bischofia javanica Blume, Aporosa lindleyana (Wright) Baill., A. villosa (Lindl.) Baill., Cornus florida L., Lagerstroemia sp., Melastoma candidum D. Don, Myrica rubra Siebold & Zucc., Sloanea formosana Li., Rhododendron sp., Symplocos glauca (Thunb) Koidz, Camellia spp. (including C. japonica L., C. sasanqua Thunb., C. sinensis (L.) Kuntze, C.abel, and C. oleifera), Eurya japonica Thunb., E. septata Wu, Hsu & Tsou, Cleyera japonica Thunb. and Buddleja sp.  The Eterusiaaedeas spp. aedea, sinica, formosana, cingala, and virescens were reported as pests on tea (Yen 2004; Robinson et al. 2010).  The species is found in Sri Lanka, India, Taiwan, Japan, and China.  The subspecies E. a. aedea occurs in the northeastern regions of India including Sikkim, Assam, Nagaland, Manipur, and Meghalaya during the months of April, May, July, August, and October (Hampson 1892; Shubhalaxmi et al. 2011; Anonymous 2018a).

Artena dotata (Fabricius, 1794) (Noctuoidea: Erebidae: Erebinae: Ophiusini) (Image 3)

The larvae (2.3–2.5 mm; Image 3a) of this moth were collected from the terminal tips of new shoots of Q. leucotrichophora plantation on 11 October 2017 from the New Forest Campus of FRI, Dehradun.  Dark brownish pupa (26–28 mm; Image 3b) formed on 29 October 2017 and the moth (wingspan: 50mm; Image 3b,c) emerged on 9 November 2017 in the laboratory at FRI, Dehradun.

Artena dotata occurs from the Indian subregion to Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Japan, Sumatra, and Borneo.  Habitat preference is for lowland forest areas, including those with much secondary vegetation after logging.  The pupa is typically ophiusine in form while the larva has a series of thin white lines running longitudinally along the body and was described by Bell (Holloway 2005).  The flight period recorded is from April to June and August to December in Borneo.  It was recorded in the Himalayan region from Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, and Arunachal Pradesh and in northeastern India from Manipur and Nagaland (Hampson 1894a; Sondhi & Sondhi 2016; Anonymous 2018b).  Larval food plants recorded are Combretum latifolium Bl.., Getonia floribunda Roxb., Quisqualis indica L., Terminalia bellirica (Gaertn.) Roxb., T. paniculata Roth., and T. tomentosa (Roxb.) Wight & Arn.in India and Vitis sp. in Korea (Robinson et al. 2010).

Yellow Tussock Moth Artaxa guttata Walker, 1855 (Noctuoidea: Erebidae: Lymantriinae: Nygmiini) (Image 4)

A fourth instar larva (10mm; Image 4a,b) was collected on 24 August 2018 while feeding on the foliage of Q. leucotrichophora in the plantation in the New Forest Campus of FRI, Dehradun.  The larva underwent one moulting into final instar on 26 August 2018 (11–27 mm). Pupation (pupa: 18mm; Image 4c) on the surface of an oak leaf took place on 04 September 2018.  The emergence of the moth (wingspan: 42mm; Image 4d) took place on 13 September 2018 in the laboratory at FRI, Dehradun.  Another larva of the same moth collected on 16 May 2018 from the same location on the oak emerged from its pupa on 18 May 2018 in the laboratory.

This species is found in northern India (Sondhi & Sondhi 2016). The known host plants of this species are Ricinus communis L., Jasminun sp., Lantana camera L.., Mangifera indica L., Terminalia spp., Ziziphus mauritiana Lam., Shorea robusta Roth., Maesa lanceolata Forssk, Mallotus philippensis (Lam.) Muell. Arg.., Anogeissus acuminata (Roxb. Ex. Candolle) Guillemin et al., Barringtonia acutangula (L.) Gaertn., Carissa carandas L., and Lagerstroemia indica (L.) Pers. It occurs in India, Bangladesh, Nepal, and Sri Lanka (Robinson et al. 2010).

Orgyia postica (Walker, 1855) (Noctuoidea: Erebidae: Lymantriinae: Orgyiini) (Image 5)

One larva was collected on 29 October 2017 (15mm) while feeding on the foliage of Q. leucotrichophora in the plantation in the New Forest Campus of FRI, Dehradun.  The larva was bred in the laboratory at FRI and pupated on 28 September 2017, with the moth (male; wingspan: 22mm) emerging on 6 October 2017 (Image 5a).  Larvae were again collected on 15 and 22 October 2018 and 8 and 20 November 2018 from the Ban Oak foliage in the same locality.  The length of the larvae (Image 5b) just before pupation in October and November varied from 24mm to 40mm and the pupal length varied from 24mm to 38mm (Image 5c).  Emergence of one apterous female took place on 24 October 2018 (Image 5d) and one male on 10 November 2018, while two pupae remained under hibernation until January 2019.

This species commonly occurs from the Oriental tropics east to New Guinea and the larvae are known to feed on Buchanania, Mangifera, Durio, Ochroma, Casuarina, Terminalia, Shorea, Hevea, Ricinus, Pelargonium, Cinnamomum, Acacia, Albizia, Caesalpina, Cajanus, Cassia, Dalbergia, Erythrina, Pithecellobium, Pterocarpus, Sesbania, Xylia, Lagerstroemia, Eucalyptus, Tristania, Zizyphus, Malus, Coffea, Citrus, Santalum, Dimocarpus, Litchi, Nephelium, Theobroma, Camellia, Grewia, and Tectona (Holloway, 1999) species and also Populus deltoides W. Bartram ex. Marshall (Singh 1991).

Rhypotoses drepanioides Kishida, 1995 (Noctuoidea: Erebidae: Lymantriinae: Nygmiini) (Image 6)

The larvae (15mm) were collected on 11 October 2017 while feeding on the foliage of Q. leucotrichophora in the plantation in the New Forest Campus of FRI, Dehradun.  Dark coloured pupa (18mm) formed on 15 October 2017 and the emergence of the moth (wingspan: 30mm; Image 6a,b) took place on 09 November 2017 in the laboratory at FRI, Dehradun.

The moth is not so rare in nature.  It is not attracted to light and traps as frequently as other moths.  The distribution of Rhypotoses drepanioides Kishida, 1995 is extended westwards upto the Kumaon Himalaya, in India with larval food plant recorded as Quercus floribunda Lindl. ex A. Camus (Smetacek & Smetacek 1995, 2011).

Thyas juno (Dalman, 1823) (Noctuoidea: Erebidae: Erebinae: Ophiusini) (Image 7)

Fifth instar larva (65mm; Image 7a) was collected on 7 October 2018 while feeding on leaves of Q. leucotrichophora in the plantation in New Forest Campus in FRI, Dehradun.  The mature larva (70mm; Image 7b) underwent pre-pupation on 12 October 2018 by the formation of a hairy mass of body hairs by twining together three leaves and finally formed a pupa (38mm; Image 7c) on 15 June 2018.  The emergence of the moth (wingspan: 90mm; Image 7d,e) took place on 5 November 2018 in the laboratory at FRI, Dehradun.

The moth is known to occur in the Indian subregion, China, Japan, Korea, Thailand, Borneo, Java, Sulawesi, and on southern Maluku.  The larvae feed on Castanea, Quercus, Juglans, and Pterocarya species (Holloway 2005).  The oak species infested are Quercus acutissima Carruth., Q. phillyraeoides A. Gray, Q. serrata Murray, and Q. variabilis Blume in Japan (Robinson et al. 2001).  The adult is a fruit-piercer in Thailand (Kuroko & Lewvanich 1993).  There are, however, no reports of it infesting the genus Quercus in India.  The species is known to be in flight in April and August–September in Mussoorie, Uttarakhand, and Eaglenest Wildlife Sanctuary in Arunachal Pradesh in the Himalaya (Anonymous 2018c).

Cyana coccinea (Moore, 1878) (Noctuoidae: Arctiidae: Lithosiinae: Nudariini) (Image 8)

The fifth instar larva (30mm; Image 8a) was collected on 19 June 2018 while feeding on leaves of Q. leucotrichophora plantation in the New Forest Campus of FRI, Dehradun.  The larva underwent pre-pupal stage (20mm; Image 8b) on 20 June 2018 by the formation of a hairy dome (40mm) from the mass of body hairs on the upper surface of a leaf and finally formed a pupa (20mm; Image 8c) on 21 June 2018.  The emergence of the moth (female; wingspan: 30mm; Image 8d) took place on 28 June 2018 in the laboratory at FRI, Dehradun.

The species is distributed in India from the Himalaya (Uttarakhand, Nepal, and Sikkim) to northeastern India (Sikkim, Assam, West Garo Hills in Meghalaya, and Nagaland) and the Andaman in October–November (Anonymous 2018d).  It also occurs in China, Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam, Laos (Hampson 1894b; Strand 1922; Ghosh & Chaudhury 1998; Chaudhury 2003; Tangmitcharoen et al. 2006; Sondhi & Sondhi 2016).  Host plants recorded for this species are Dimocarpus sp. (Kuroko & Lewvanich 1993), Camellia sinensis (L.) Kuntze (Theaceae), Dalbergia sissoo Roxb. (Leguminosae), Shorea robusta Roth. (Dipterocarpaceae), Tectona grandis (Verbenaceae), Mangifera indica L. (Anacardiaceae), and Dimocarpus longan Lour. (Sapindaceae) (Robinson et al. 2010).  Sanyal et al. (2013) studied the life history of this moth on S. robusta in Dehradun and reported its outbreak in Rajaji National Park in Uttarakhand, India.

Hyposidra talaca (Walker, 1860) (Geometroidea: Geometridae: Ennominae: Boarmiini) (Image 9)

A second instar larva (12mm; Image 9a) was collected on 20 June 2018 while feeding on leaves of Q. leucotrichophora plantation in the New Forest Campus of FRI, Dehradun.  Moulting into the fifth instar larva took place on 25 June 2018 (30–43 mm; Image 9b); pre-pupa (Image 9c) was formed on 2 July 2018, finally turning into a dark brown pupa (18mm; Image 9d) on 4 July 2018.  The emergence of the moth (female; wingspan: 32mm; Image 9e,f) took place on 10 July 2018 in the laboratory at FRI, Dehradun.

The species is distributed from India to Indo-China, Sundaland, Sulawesi, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, the Solomon Islands, Thailand, Taiwan, New Guinea, and Australia (Queensland).  It is a major defoliating pest in tea plantations.  In India, the species was reported from Assam, Meghalaya, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Goa, Madhya Pradesh, and Karnataka with flight throughout the year.  The flight period in the western Himalaya is during the monsoons (July–September; Sondhi & Sondhi 2016; Singh 2018).  Host plants include Anacardium, Bombax, Terminalia, Chromolaena, Gynura, Mikania, Cupressus, Aleurites, Aporusa, Bischofia, Breynia, Glochidion, Hevea, Manihot, Ficus, Morus, Psidium, Polygonum, Rubus, Cinchona, Coffea, Mussaenda, Citrus, Schleichera, Theobroma, Perillafrutescens (L.) Britton, Camellia, and Tectona (Holloway, 1993a).  The larva was described by Singh (1953).

Hypomecis infixaria (Walker, 1860) (Geometridae: Ennominae: Boarmiini) (Image 10)

A second instar larva (Image 10a,b; 8mm) was collected on 5 July 2018 from the leaves of Q. leucotrichophora from the plantation in the New Forest Campus of FRI, Dehradun.  A fifth instar larva (36mm) was formed on 18 July 2018 (Image 10c,d), while a dark brown pupa (16mm) was formed on 31 July 2018.  The emergence of the moth (male; wingspan: 30mm; Image 10e,f) took place on 6 August 2018 in the laboratory at FRI, Dehradun.

Host plants in India include Bauhinia divaricate L., Carissa spinarum L., Dalbergia sissoo Roxb., Derris scandens Roxb. (Benth.), Planchonia careya (F. Muell.) R. Knuth, Platycladus orientalis (L.) Franco, Schleichera oleosa (Lour) Oken, Shorea robusta Roth, Xylia xylocarpa Roxb. Taub., and Tectona grandis L.f. (Robinson et al. 2010).  Another species of the same genus, Hypomecis punctinalis (Scopoli, 1763), is known to feed on the family Fagaceae and the genus Quercus, in Japan and British Isles (Robinson et al. 2010).

Hypomecis transcissa (Walker, 1860) (Geometridae: Ennominae: Boarmiini) (Image 11)

 A fifth instar larva (38–40 mm; Image11a,b), dark brown and black, was collected on 24 August 2018 feeding on the foliage of Q. leucotrichophora in the plantation in the New Forest Campus of FRI, Dehradun.  Pupation took place (pupa: 17mm; dark brown; Image 11c) between two oak leaves on 30 August 2018 and the moth (wingspan: 42mm; Image 11d) emerged on 6 September 2018 in the laboratory at FRI, Dehradun.

The host plant recorded is Aleurites (Euphorbiaceae) species.  The moth occurs in the Indian subregion, from Sri Lanka to Sundaland (Holloway 1993b).  Its distribution is in India (Dharamsala, Sikkim, Assam, and Nilgiris), Bhutan, Sri Lanka, Burma, and Java (Hampson 1895).  The species is also found in Malaysia and Hong Kong (Robinson 2010).  Host plants recorded outside India are Aleurites Montana Lour., Castanopsis fissa (Champ. ex. Benth.) Rehd. & Wils., Cinnamomum zylanicum Blume, Nephelium lappaceum L., Hevea sp., Theobroma cacao L., and Vernicia fordii (Hemsl.) Airy Shaw (Robinson et al. 2010).  Flight period is from August to December in Himachal Pradesh, Maharashtra, Assam, Tripura (Anonymous 2018d), and Uttarakhand (Sondhi & Sondhi 2016).

Ephestiodes (Ragonot, 1887) sp. (Pyraloidea: Pyralidae: Phycitinae) (Image 12)

The larvae of this moth were recorded feeding on Q. leucotrichophora in Chakrata Forest Division, Uttarakhand, on 22 May 2018.  Feeding took place by scratching and skeletonizing the oak leaf surface (Image 12a).  Two pale-coloured larvae (32mm; Image 12b,c) and a mass of 11 dark brown pupae (14–15 mm; Image 12d,e) within interwoven leaves were collected from the Chakrata Cantonment Forest (30.743⁰N & 77.871⁰E; 2,610m).  Four moths (wingspan: 24–32 mm; Image 12f) emerged on 24 and 25 May 2018 in the laboratory at FRI, Dehradun.  The moths (Image 12g,h,i) were slender with light brown forewings with yellowish shading in the basal third and darker reddish-brown in distal two-thirds.   The hind wings were much wider than the forewings and were pale with a brown terminal line and having long pale fringe scales.

An allied species of the same genus, Ephestiodes infimella Ragonot, 1887, is native to North America (Wikipedia contributors, 2018, April 5) and feeds on wild cherry and Ambrosia sp. with adults on the wing from June to September (Stegmaier 1971), besides Prunus sp. and Smilax rotundifolia L. in the Nearctic region (Robinson et al. 2010).

Except for H. o. onyx and Ephestiodes sp., all other new Lepidoptera recorded feeding on Q. leucotrichophora are polyphagus in nature with these species occurring across either the entire Himalaya and/or the Indian subcontinent.

Table 1. Past records of Lepidoptera feeding on Ban Oak Quercus leucotrichophora A. Camus in the western Himalaya.

 For images – click here

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