Moths are lepidopteron insect primarily nocturnal, potentially bio-indicators, decomposer, prey forestry and agricultural pests, and night time pollinators. For the moth diversity in the Gandhisagar Wildlife Sanctuary, Mandsaur and Neemach districts of Madhya Pradesh the current study will be the first to report on species diversity, species composition, and abundance. In the year 2022 to 2024, a comprehensive survey was carried out in the forest areas of Gandhisagar Wildlife Sanctuary and its environs from March to December. In the course of the investigation, we identified 148 species, 121 genera, 44 subfamilies and 17 families under 10 superfamilies from the study area. The family Erebidae 49 species was dominant, followed by Crambidae 28 species, Geometridae 23 species, Noctuidae 15 species, Sphingidae 8 species, Notodontidae 5, Limacodidae 4 species, Nolidae and Saturniidae 3 species each, Euteliidae and Lasicocampidae 2 species each. The other families are Bombycidae, Hybaleidae, Eupterotidae, Pterophoridae and Thyrididae one species each were the least recorded families. The study revealed that there were noteworthy variations found in the moth faunal diversity in the Gandhisagar Wildlife Sanctuary Madhya Pradesh.

Lepidoptera, Moths, Nocturnal, Pests, Pollinator, Diversity, Gandhisagar Wildlife Sanctuary.

Madhya Pradesh is the Central Indian state and home to some of the unique and richest biodiversity in the country, protected under different categories like national parks, wildlife sanctuaries, tiger reserves and biosphere reserves (Ramakrishna et al., 2006; Chandra, 2011). Among these, Gandhisagar Sanctuary wildlife is a famous and situated on the northern boundary of Mandsaur and Neemach districts in Madhya Pradesh, India. It is spread over an area of 368.62 km2 (142.32 sq mi) adjoining Rajasthan state in India. It was notified in 1974 and more area was added in 1983. The Chambal River passes through the sanctuary dividing it into two parts. The western part is in Nimach district and eastern part is in Mandsaur district. It is in the Khathiar-Gir dry deciduous forests ecoregion. This region is known a Nimar region which touches its border with Rajasthan thus more of less knows as dry region thus vegetation is also not so dry and we will find many rocky patches during safari drive. The forest of this sanctuary is part of Khathiar-Gir dry deciduous forest thus here we will find trees like Salai, Kardhai, Dhawda, Tendu, Palash etc.  It is part of World famous Chaturbhuj Nala rock shelters are also part of same Gandhisagar wildlife sanctuary. This sanctuary is spread over the area surrounding to Gandhi Sagar dam backwater. 

The order Lepidoptera is one of the most recognized and popular insect order which includes moths and butterflies. They are amongst four most species diverse orders along with Coleoptera, Diptera and Hymenoptera (Pathania et al., 2014). Moths account for 85% of the lepidopteran population, and the remaining 15 % are butterflies and skippers (Pathania, et al., 2009). Moths are characterized by drably colored scales on the body, epiphysis on the foreleg, different types of antennae, phytophagous and predominantly nocturnal nature (Srivastava, 2002; Chandra et al., 2013; Singh et al., 2017; Kathirvelu et al., 2019). They are very sensitive to climate changes and vegetation alterations, making them an important group for monitoring climate and habitat changes (Thomas, 2005; Lees and Zilli 2019). Moths and butterflies contribute to essential ecosystem processes such as pollination, herbivore and decomposition in many terrestrial biomes (Lewis, 2001; Lomov et al., 2006; Chandra et al., 2019; Paunikar et al., 2021). They are also considered vital for ecosystem services because of various roles such as forestry agricultural and other vegetable crops pests (Beeson, 1942; Browne, 1968; Joshi et al., 2004; Nair, 2007; Sharma et al., 2008; Paunikar and Sharma, 2022a), food for mammals andbirds (Vaughan, 1997; Wilson et al., 1999) and night pollinators (Macgregor et al., 2015; Singh et al., 2022a). Moths are strongly associated with vegetation structure and composition, which makes them a suitable indicator taxon for various ecological studies (Chandra et al., 2019; Singh et al., 2022a). Moth communities are receiving increasing conservation interest (Scalercio et al., 2009; Sondhi et al., 2018; Paunikar et al., 2023a), because of high sensitivity to the environmental change and proved to be powerful indicator of forest disturbance (Kitching et al., 2000; Summerville et al., 2004; Kendrick, 2009; Sondhi et al., 2016; Paunikar et al., 2023b). 

Recently, scientists estimated to Lepidoptera comprises 166, 320 described species belonging to 143 families in 43 superfamilies distributed globally, except for Antarctica. In India, Lepidoptera are known by 13,124 species in 3,668 genera, 101 families and 31 superfamilies. Of which, 1379 species are butterflies and the remaining 11,745 species are moths (Singh et al., 2024).

The various Lepidopterists have been carried out to investigate the moth diversity in different parts of the Madhya Pradesh, since eighteen century. The major works have been done by Cotes and Swinhoe (1886-89) in six volumes of "A Calalogue of Moths of India" included 120 species from Madhya Pradesh. Hampson (1892, 1894, 1895 and 1896) and Bell and Scott (1937) published in five volumes of "Fauna of British India" included 76 species from central India. Ramakrishna et al. (2006) documented moth fauna of National Parks of Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh. Chandra and Nema (2007) compiled the moth diversity from Central India including Madhya Pradesh & Chhattisgarh includes 313 species/subspecies of moths belonging to 221 genera and 25 families. Chandra and Nema (2003, 2008); Chandra (2009); Chandra and Sambath (2016ab); Sambath, (2017; 2018a; 2018b; 2020, 2022); Sambath and Nair (2023); Paunikar et al. (2024) reported the moth diversity of different National Parks, Wildlife Sanctuaries, Tiger Reserves and Biosphere Reserves of Madhya Pradesh. Singh et al. (2022b) compiled the 226 species of moth from Madhya Pradesh.

In the present investigation we are concentrated on the lepidopteron- Moth species assemblage's in the forest areas of Gandhisagar Wildlife Sanctuary, Madhya Pradesh state of Central India.

Site Study. The study on moth diversity was carried out in Gandhisagar Wildlife Sanctuary which is spread two districts, Mandsaur and Neemach belongs to Western Madhya Pradesh region. It is located at 24.670556 N, 75.788056 E. It is located in the rain shadow and therefore receives only around 400-500 mm of average rainfall in the monsoon. 

Source: Web-Map of Gandhisagar Wildlife Sanctuary, Neemach and Mandsaur district of Madhya Pradesh.

Moth Specimen Collection and Observation by Light Trap Method. A mercury light trap method was used for the collection of moth. This is most common method of collecting nocturnal moths that hide or rest during the day in places where they are unlikely seen. Large number of moths caught at night using a light trap. White cloth screen (3 × 3.5) was hanging between two poles and extended forward over the ground slightly away from the direct source of mercury light placed.

Preservation and Identification of Specimens. The collected moth species were pinned, stretched and preserved in fumigated insect boxes. The photographic collection as well as preserved specimens from sites was identified with the help of identification key and available literature by Hampson (1892-1896), Bell and Scott (1937); Barlow (1982); Kirti and Singh (2015, 2016); Shubhalaxmi (2018); Kirti et al. (2019); Kalawate et al. (2024). Besides the above mentioned literature, a number of web resources including www.jpmoths.org; moths of India (http://www. mothsofindia.org/; Sondhi et al. (2024) were used for the purpose of identification.

The moth species identified belonging to 148 species, 121 genera, 44 subfamilies and 17 families under 10 superfamilies from the study area presented at Table 1, Fig. 1 & 2 with Plate. The family Erebidae 49 species (33.10%) was dominant, followed by Crambidae 28 species (18.91%), Geometridae 23 species (15.54%), Noctuidae 15 species (10.13%), Sphingidae 8 species (5.40%), Notodontidae 5 (3.37%), Limacodidae 4 species (2.70%), Nolidae and Saturniidae 3 species (2.02%), Euteliidae and Lasicocampidae 2 species each (1.35%), Furthermore, Bombycidae, Hybaleidae Eupterotidae, Pterophoridae and Thyrididae one species each (0.67%) respectively were the least recorded families. The maximum genera was found in family Erebidae 40 genera was a first runner, followed by Crambidae 25 genera, Geometridae 17 genera, Noctuidae 10 genera, Sphingidae 6 genera, Limcodidiae and Notodontidae 4 genera each, Saturniidae and Nolidae 3 genera each and Lasiocampidae 2 genera. The other families Bombycidae, Hybaleidae, Eupterotidae, Euteliidae and Thyrididae one genus each were the least recorded from the study area. The findings illustrate that the family Erebidae is widely distributed and abundant which corroborates the findings of Sambath and Nair (2023); Paunikar et al. (2024) who reported the dominance of Erebidae moths in the  Sanjay-Dubri national Park and Ratapani Wildlife Sanctuary of Madhya Pradesh. 

The highest abundance of the Erebidae family in the study is represented by the subfamily and Arctiinae (36.73%), Erebinae (32.65%) and Lymantrinae (18.36%) that constitutes the most species-rich subfamily of Erebidae. The second highest Crambidae family in the study is represented by the subfamily and Spilomelinae (50.00%) and Pyraustinae (25.00%) that constitutes the most species-rich subfamily of Crambidae. The Geometridae family is the third highest represented by subfamily Ennominae (56.52%), Sterrhinae (21.73%) and Geometrinae (17.39%) respectively and fourth highest species under Noctuidae family represented by subfamily Noctuiinae (53.33%). Their abundance can be explained by the occurrence of diverse habitats rich in forest tree, grasses and several crop plants preferred by the members by the species under the families Erebidae, Crambidae, Geometridae and Noctuidae. 

Table 1: Checklist MothFauna of Gandhisagar Wildlife Sanctuary, Mandsaur and Neemach districts of Madhya Pradesh.

Fig. 1. Graph showing families wise of moths with species in percentage.

Fig. 2.  Graph showing families wised number of moth with genera.

Moth Diversity of Gandhisagar Wildlife Sanctuary, Mandsaur and Neemach, Madhya Pradesh

The present study has been carried out to elucidate a fauna which was previously unknown and it is a small step towards a complete taxonomic understanding of moth species from the Gandhisagar Wildlife Sanctuary of Madhya Pradesh. The researchers and other conservationist can collect a lot of information based on the study of that place later on. This research will serve as a further study on the moth diversity of other wildlife sanctuary of different states of the country. It will be helpful for future generation for further study to assess this important lepidopteran insects.

Sanjay Paunikar and Akhil Nair (2025). Studies on Moth Distribution (Insecta: Lepdioptera: Heterocera) in Gandhisagar Wildlife Sanctuary Mandsaur and Neemach Districts of Madhya Pradesh, Central India. Biological Forum, 17(2): 42-50.