Preliminary study on moths along the banks of river Tamiraparani in Tirunelveli district
The Tamiraparani river basin is a vital source of water and livelihood for millions of people in southern Tamil Nadu. It supports diverse ecosystems, including wetlands, forests and agricultural lands. However, the basin faces multiple challenges, such as pollution, overexploitation and urbanization. The riparian zones of the river have a good diversity of vegetation, which provide critical habitats for moths especially in semi-arid landscapes. We initiated a study to document moths in the Tamiraparani river basin from June to December in 2022. Using the light sheet method and direct observations for four hours each day, we sampled for moths at 12 sites along the river.
We report a total of 221 species of moths belonging to 18 families and 127 Genus. From this overall list, 111 moths were identified to the species level based on available literature and resources. The family Crambidae (58 moths) was found to be the most diverse taxa, followed by family Erebidae (51 moths). Of the 111 species documented, 62 species of moths have been reported as crop pests. This study provides baseline data on the moth diversity of the Tamiraparani river basin and can inform future studies on this important group of insects.
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