Report on the Emergence Time of a Species of Thitarodes Ghost Moth (Lepidoptera: Hepialidae), Host of the Caterpillar Fungus Ophiocordyceps sinensis (Ascomycota: Ophiocordycipitaceae) in Uttarakhand, India

Abstract

Ghost moths in the genus Thitarodes Viette, 1968, are hosts of the economically important caterpillar fungus, which is harvested in high mountain meadows across the Hengduan mountains and the Himalayas. In northwestern India, although caterpillar fungus has been collected in the state of Uttarakhand, no adults of Thitarodes species have been recorded. We report the sighting of a female pupa of Thitarodes sp. and its last-instar molt at Munsiyari, Uttarakhand, India, on 5 July 2019 and estimate that the adult emergence time in this habitat should be late July or early August. Although the habitats of caterpillar fungus in Uttarakhand are geographically closer to those in Nepal, they are climatically more similar to habitats of caterpillar fungus in Qinghai province in China. Among records at the same elevation, climatic variables are highly predictive of the emergence date of Thitarodes adults (adjusted-R2: 0.7925, F = 6.27, P = 0.03). Our result highlights the role of the Himalayan mountains as both a north–south climatic barrier and an east–west climatic gradient. We encourage local stakeholders and scientists in Uttarakhand to survey adult emergences of Thitarodes from July to mid-August.