Lithosiini, Billberg, 1820

Singh, Navneet, Joshi, Rahul, Kirti, Jagbir Singh, Bisht, Santosh Singh & Param, Harsimranjeet Singh, 2021, A catalogue of Indian Arctiinae (Erebidae, Lepidoptera), Zootaxa 5058 (1), pp. 1-118 : 13

publication ID

https://doi.org/ 10.11646/zootaxa.5058.1.1

publication LSID

lsid:zoobank.org:pub:7477B46C-8D54-450F-B9C1-03ED3130579D

DOI

https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.5914799

persistent identifier

https://treatment.plazi.org/id/160487FB-FFC6-5708-A8E0-1ACEC57CFA5E

treatment provided by

Plazi (2021-10-27 06:28:57, last updated by Carolina 2025-01-07 17:13:45)

scientific name

Lithosiini
status

 

Lithosiini View in CoL

Diagnostic characters: The Lithosiini moths are commonly called as lichen moths, because some are specialized in feeding on lichens. Adults are with rather narrow forewings and deep hindwings that may equal or exceed them in area. The monophyly of the Lithosiini is supported by larval mandibles with an enlarged, basal molar area associated with the specialized diet of lower plants; there is a characteristic arrangement of the larval labral setae; the eggs are smooth with shallow depressions, rather than sculpted with networks of ridges (Kitching & Rawling in Kristensen 1999, Holloway et al. 2001).

Diversity and distribution: Indian Lithosiini comprise 419 species and five subspecies under 128 genera. Of the 128 genera reported from India, 67 genera are represented by single species, 58 genera by two to 20 species and three genera, Barsine , Cyana , and Miltochrista are known by 21, 42, and 54 species respectively ( Fig.6 View FIGURE 6 ). In India, Lithosiini is most diverse in North-East India followed by Central Himalaya, East Himalaya, and West & North- West Himalaya. Only one species is reported from Desert and no Lithosiini are recorded from Trans-Himalaya ( Fig. 7 View FIGURE 7 ).

Food plants: The larval diet is frequently algae and lichens, occasionally bryophytes, these being grazed on the surface of leaves, branches, tree trunks etc. that may lead to these higher plants being recorded erroneously as hosts. The cocoon can be dense or very large, net-like, incorporating larval setae ( Bendib & Minet 1999 [2000]).

Bendib, A. & Minet, J. (1999 [2000]) Lithosiine main lineages and their possible interrelationships. 1. Definition of new or resurrected tribes (Lepidoptera: Arctiidae). Annales de la Societe entomologique de France, New Series, 35 (3 - 4), 241 - 263.

Holloway, J. D. (2001) The moths of Borneo. Part 7. Family Arctiidae, subfamily Lithosiinae. Malayan Nature Society, KualaLumpur, 486 pp. https: // doi. org / 10.1603 / 0013 - 8746 (2008) 101 [40: LOANWN] 2.0. CO; 2

Kristensen, N. P. (1999) Phylogeny of endopterygote insects, the most successful lineage of living organisms. European Journal of Entomology, 96, 237 - 253.

Gallery Image

FIGURE 6. Species diversity of Indian Lithosiini genera

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FIGURE 7. Distribution of Lithosiini within the biogeographic zones/ subzones of India and among the records like ‘throughout India’, ‘North India’, and ‘India’

Kingdom

Animalia

Phylum

Arthropoda

Class

Insecta

Order

Lepidoptera

Family

Erebidae