Moths of Bhutan: A preliminary checklist of Saturniidae (Wild Silk Moths) from Mendrelgang, Bhutan

Saturniidae

The family is commonly known as saturniids, are among the largest and most spectacular of the moths. They form a family of Lepidoptera, with an estimated 2,300 described species worldwide. The Saturniidae include such Lepidoptera as the giant silk moths, royal moths and emperor moths. (Source: Wikipedia).

The checklist provided here is the saturniids collected from the Mendrelgang, Tsirang district of Bhutan. It is located at approximately 27°02’ N 90°10’E at an altitude between 700–1750m ASL.

The survey of moths was conducted to commemorate the completion of "100 years of Modern Education in Bhutan" by the teachers (I Jatishwor Singh & Meenakshi Chib) and students of Mendrelgang Middle Secondary School. During the survey large numbers of moths were collected which belongs to different different families and genera.

Here presents the checklist of saturniids along with the photographs and their common names, which were collected during the survey.

Family: Saturniidae (11 species, 8 genera)

1. Actias parasinensis Brechlin 2009 WESTERN CHINESE MOON MOTH

2. Actias selena Hubner 1806 INDIAN MOON MOTH

3. Antheraea (Antheraeopsis) pernyi Guerin-Meneville 1855 OAK – TASSAR SILK MOTH

4. Antheraea (Antheraeopsis) assamensis Helfer 1837 MOGA SILK MOTH

5. Archaeoattacus edwarsii White 1859 EDWARDS’ ATLAS MOTH

6. Attacus atlas Linnaeus 1758 ATLAS MOTH**

7. Cricula trifesnestrata Helfer 1837 THREE-WINDOWED CRICULA

8. Loepa katinka Westwood 1847 PLAIN GOLDEN-EMPEROR MOTH

9. Loepa sikkima Moore 1865 DARK- GOLDEN EMPEROR MOTH**

10. Samia canningii Hutton 1859 WILD ERI SILK MOTH