Biodiversity of Moths in Hinganghat Taluka, Wardha, Maharashtra (India)

Abstract

Moths belong to the order Lepidoptera of phylum Arthropoda. Contrary to their cousins Butterfly, the moths usually remain ignored and unnoticed most of the time. Many of the moths also parasitize the crops and hence their presence is not welcomed. Despite all the anthropological pressure, the moths have manged to diversify themselves. The present study deals with the biodiversity of moths in nearby region of Hinganghat city of district Wardha. The location of the study area includes Pimpalgaon farm, Sultanpur farm and Hinganghat city too. The specimen data was acquired by light and photography method. This study was carried out from July 2020 to October 2020, which is the monsoon season in the region. The sampling and survey were conducted throughout the day and night and at convenient time. The diversity of moth fauna has yet not been described from Hinganghat taluka of district Wardha located in Maharashtra. In the present study, 184 moth specimens were photographed, out of which 163 were identified. 45 species were identified at species level and another two at genus level that belong to 10 families. During the study, it was found that the highest species were recorded from family Erebidae. When we see a richness of specimens, the highest number of specimens was shown by Crambidae. This study could help to understand the biodiversity of moths from the region and could also help to form any conservation strategy.