Fauna of Protected Areas - 15: Insect fauna of Peppara Wildlife Sanctuary, Kerala

Abstract

In a study on the insect fauna of Peppara Wildlife Sanctuary 227 species were collected of which 206 species were identified. The insects recorded in this study mostly belonged to Lepidoptera, Coleoptera and Hemiptera. Lepidoptera contained four species of butterflies having protected status (Papilio budha, Hypolimnas missipus, Mycalesis anaxias and Castalius rosimon) besides four species (Papilio paris tamilana, Cyrestis thyodamas, Kaniska canace and Tirumala septentrionis dravidarum) that were rather rare and having restricted distribution. The moth fauna was very rich comprising mostly of arboreal feeding forms indicating a fairly undisturbed forest patch in the area. The fauna included the Atlas Moth Attacus atlas. The pest species identified in this study were mostly associated with graminaceous plants or herbaceous ground vegetation. Beetles were present in abundance being dominated by phytophagous and scavenger forms, the former feeding mostly on herbaceous ground flora and the latter associated with animal excreta. Among bugs, most species collected were phytophagous forms. The hymenoptera contained several species of solitary bees and wasps. Over 20 species of dipteran flies were collected. The leaf insect Phyllium (?) crurifolium and two species of unidentified damselflies (Odonata) were also recorded from the study area.