Submitted date: 13 November 2021 Accepted date: 6 May 2022 Published date: 23 May 2022 Pp. 40–41, Pls. 11–12.
First reports of some Megachilid bees (Hymenoptera) from Kerala, India
A.S. Prakash & C. Bijoy* *Corresponding author. E-mail: anjusara2025@gmail.com
Family Megachilidae consists of long tongued bees which are easily recognized by the presence of two submarginal cells in the forewing (except in Fideliini) and the female bees from this family (except parasitic forms and Pararhophitini) can be distinguished by the presence of scopa underneath the abdomen. Genus Megachile Latreille, 1802 is one of the most diverse bee genera and they play a significant role in pollination. This genus consists of leafcutter bees, mason bees and resin bees
Submitted date: 18 November 2021 Accepted date: 5 May 2022 Published date: 23 May 2022 Pp. 38–39, Pl. 10.
First report of lance lacewing, Spilosmylus tuberculatus from the Western Ghats
T.B. Suryanarayanan* & C. Bijoy *Corresponding author. E-mail: suryantb1995@gmail.com
In India, 16 species of lance lacewings (Order Neuroptera: Family Osmylidae) belonging to 8 genera and 3 subfamilies have been reported, but there has not been a single species reported from the Western Ghats region. Spilosmylus Kolbe 1897 is the dominant genus of the Subfamily Spilosmylinae and only four species: S. darjeelingensis Ghosh, 2000, S. lineatocollis (McLachlan, 1870), S. pretiosus (Banks, 1931), and S. tuberculatus (Walker, 1853) have been reported from India. Spilosmylus tuberculatus is a widespread species in eastern and southern Asia, but the species has not been reported so far from the Western Ghats region of India. Spilosmylus tuberculatus has been formerly reported from Balaghat (Madhya Pradesh), Assam, Andaman Islands and Maharashtra. Here we report it as the first record of the family Osmylidae from the Western Ghats.
Submitted date: 10 September 2021 Accepted date: 4 May 2022 Published date: 23 May 2022 Pp. 35–37, Pl. 9.
Rediscovery of Anisogomphus ceylonicus (Odonata: Gomphidae) based on its larva
A.P. Sumanapala*, T. Ranasinghe & D. Sumanapala *Corresponding author. E-mail: apsumanapala@gmail.com
Anisogomphus ceylonicus (Hagen in Selys, 1878) is one of the rarest of the Sri Lankan Odonata. It was first discovered from Ramboda over 140 years ago based on a female specimen, which was originally described as Gomphus ceylonicus and later assigned to the genus Heliogomphus by F. C. Fraser. Almost a century later, Lieftinck (1971) collected an immature male and its exuvia of a clubtail dragonfly from Rambukpath Oya, 10 miles northwest of Hatton in 1962 and described as Anisogomphus solitaris. However, Bedjanič & van der Poorten (2013) recognized that H. ceylonicus is conspecific with A. solitaris, and thus reassigned it to the genus Anisogomphus. Since the discovery of the species, only these two records have ever been documented, despite odonatological surveys and numerous biodiversity explorations conducted on the island.
Submitted date: 21 August 2021 Accepted date: 13 January 2022 Published date: 23 May 2022 Pp. 33–34
Hersilia sp. feeding on Scolopendra sp.
R. Gazdar*, P. Joshi, A. Shinde & V. Kulkarni *Corresponding author. E-mail: roozbehgazdar@gmail.com
Spiders are efficient hunters that prey on a variety of invertebrates and vertebrates. They rely on strategies varying from the use of toughened silk to venom. The genus Hersilia Audouin 1826 is called two-tailed spiders due to its characteristic long spinnerets. It is distributed across the Afrotropical, Oriental and Australasian realms. Currently there are five species known to occur in India: Hersilia savignyi Lucas 1836, H. sumatrana Thorell 1890, H. tibialis Baehr & Baehr 1993, H. orvakalensis Javed, Foord & Tampal 2010, and H. longivulva Sen, Saha & Raychaudhuri 2010.
Submitted date: 31 March 2022 Accepted date: 10 May 2022 Published date: 23 May 2022 Pp. 25–32, pls. 6–8.
FIRST CONFIRMED DISTRIBUTION RECORDS OF Dendrelaphis bifrenalis (BOULENGER, 1890) (REPTILIA: COLUBRIDAE) IN INDIA, WITH A REVISED KEY TO THE SOUTHERN INDIAN FORMS
R. Aengals, S.R. Ganesh, P.G.S. Sethy, J. Samson Kirubakaran, M. Ahamed Jerith, M. Satheeshkumar, A. Thanigaivel & Gernot Vogel* *Corresponding author. E-mail: Gernot.Vogel@t-online.de
Abstract We report for the first time an accurate record of Dendrelaphis bifrenalis (Boulenger, 1890), a colubrid snake thus far considered endemic to Sri Lanka, from southern India. Our data is based on a voucher specimen collected from Shenbagathoppu, Srivilliputhur, Tamil Nadu, India. We also refer a paratype of D. girii from Sirumalai and a voucher specimen previously identified as D. girii from Meghamalai (both from Tamil Nadu, India) to D. bifrenalis. Additionally, based on congruence of diagnostic features, observed but uncollected specimens reported from the Eastern Ghats in Jawadi, Bilgiri and the Tada (or Kambakkam) hills are herein referred to D. bifrenalis. The Indian records of D. bifrenalis available thus far indicate its occurrence in mixed deciduous forests of mid-hills. Our examination of the historical (in 1890s) specimen that formed the sole basis of the record of D. bifrenalis in India, from “Trevandrum, Travancore” in the wet zone of the Western Ghats reveals that it is in fact D. girii. We conclude by drawing parallels in distribution patterns between the Western Ghats-endemic D. girii and the corresponding Sri Lankan wet zone endemic species D. wickrorum, whose description enabled a proper identification of the Sri Lankan and Indian dry zone populations as D. bifrenalis.
Key words : deciduous forests, Eastern Ghats, forebody stripes, Shenbagathoppu, Sri Lanka