New moth species discovered in Arunachal Pradesh

ITANAGAR: Researchers have discovered a new species of moth from the Talle Wildlife Sanctuary in Arunachal Pradesh.

The discovery of the Zygaenid moth was published in the Journal of Threatened Taxa, an international journal on conservation and taxonomy, on December 26 last year.

The article was published by Bombay Natural History Society scientist Monsoon Jyoti Gogoi and renowned lepidoptera (study of butterflies and moths) expert J J Young, and state education department employee Punyo Chada.


"During a field trip to Talle Wildlife Sanctuary we colleted a torn, deformed moth found to be an undescribed female Elcysma, at an elevation of 1,700m in Ziro. This discovery represents the first record of Elcysma from Arunachal Pradesh," the researchers said.

They suggested that the new species, scientifically named Elcysma Ziroensis, be commonly called Apatani Glory, named after a local tribe called Apatani.

This species has only been seen during autumn, notably in the month of September, indicating that it is a univoltine species, meaning it has one brood of young in a year.