Rare clearwing moth species spotted for first time in Buxa Tiger Reserve
The moth belongs to the genus
Scoliokona
, which had never been documented in India before. Nature Mates founder Arjan Basu Roy and Titli Trust trustee Sanjay Sondhi discovered the insect in 2022 near Jayanti village, during a butterfly diversity project conducted between 2018 and 2022.
'We initially thought it was a wasp, but on closer inspection, we realised it was a moth unlike any we had seen in India before,' said Basu Roy.
After detailed study and consultation with lepidopterist Professor Axel Kallies—who originally described the species in 1998—the identification was confirmed. The discovery was published in the journal
Tropical Lepidoptera Research
.
'This finding extends the known western boundary of the species, previously recorded only in South-East Asia,' Basu Roy explained. The moth's presence highlights the limited knowledge about India's moth biodiversity, experts say.
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Moths are important pollinators, but face threats from habitat loss, light pollution and pesticide use, said Sondhi.
The specimen is now preserved at the Biodiversity Lab Research Collections at the National Centre for Biological Sciences, Bengaluru.
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