Study on Species composition of Moths (Insecta: Lepidoptera) in Chemancheri Panchayath, Kozhikode, Kerala, India

Abstract Moths are the important component of terrestrial ecosystems due to their role as food resources for birds and small mammals, night pollinators, nutrient recyclers and potential indicators. The current study will be the first report on moth species identification, population, species composition, abundance, and their status based on IUCN category of moth fauna in Chemancheri panchayath, Kozhikode, Kerala. In this study period, totally 104 specimen moths were collected from the 4 sampling sites. Out of these, 61 specimens were identified, 37 specimens are consolidated in to 11 families and 22 specimens are consolidated in to 18 species. Based on the result shows the highest number of moth species, the Erebidae family was the most dominant, representing 36 species and followed by Crambidae representing 7 species, Noctuidae and Limacodidae with 4 species each, Notodontidae representing 3 species, Dripanidae representing 2 species, Eupterotidae, Zygaenidae, Geometridae, Bombycidae, Saturnidae with 1 species each. So from this we can conclude that species in the family Erebidae and Crambidae are dominant in the sites when compared to other families. The present study was designed to find the diversity and species composition of moths existing at different trophic level in food chain for sustainable ecological process in Chemancheri panchayath, Kozhikode, Kerala.