Puddling by Lepidopterans on a Road-Stretch Along Dehing-Patkai National Park, Assam
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Keywords

Dehing-Patkai
Food Resources
Elephant Dung
Road-Kill.

How to Cite

Ray, S. D., Quadros, G., Dey, P., Sharma, S. K., & Singh, R. P. (2021). Puddling by Lepidopterans on a Road-Stretch Along Dehing-Patkai National Park, Assam. Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society (JBNHS), 118, 152–155. https://doi.org/10.17087/jbnhs/2021/v118/156610

Abstract

Puddling behaviour of lepidopterans was observed along a stretch of road near Dehing-Patkai National Park, Assam. The survey was conducted for 15 days from 4:00 to 11:00 hrs and 15:00 to 18:00 hrs on a selected road stretch of the protected area. Six lepidopteran species of three families were encountered feeding on available resources. False Tiger Moth Dysphania militaris (Linnaeus 1758) was the most frequent (89.47%), followed by four other moth species and one butterfly Branded Orange Awlet Burara oedipodea (Swainson 1820) (1.32%). The food resources on the road, namely elephant dung, carnivore scats, and road-kills of reptiles, amphibians, crustaceans, and insects dominated by conspecific moths, were also documented. Among the six main resources, elephant dung (67%) was utilized by the maximum number of individuals of different moth species.
https://doi.org/10.17087/jbnhs/2021/v118/156610

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