A preliminary study of the hawkmoth diversity (Lepidoptera: Sphingidae) of Kanyakumari District, Tamil Nadu, India

• Main Authors: Geetha Iyer, Ian James Kitching
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Wildlife Information Liaison Development Society 2019-03-01
• Series: Journal of Threatened Taxa
• Subjects: kanyakumari wildlife sanctuary; species checklist; suchindrum
• Online Access: https://www.threatenedtaxa.org/index.php/JoTT/article/view/4694

Kanyakumari District is situated at the southernmost tip of peninsular India in Tamil Nadu State and is bounded by the Western Ghats and the coasts of three seas.  There are no detailed historical records of the moths of this region, which, before India’s independence, was part of Travancore State.  This paper presents a brief account of the 27 species of hawkmoths of Kanyakumari District, recorded during surveys conducted from 2011-2015, and is the first formal record of the hawkmoths of this region.  A list of the species from the collection of the Natural History Museum, UK, collected in the erstwhile Travancore State that are likely to be found in the Kanyakumari region is also included.