Taxonomic Studies on family Noctuidae from Western Ghats of India

The present research work deals with Taxonomic studies on family Noctuidae (Lepidoptera)from Western Ghats of India. The collection-cum-survey tours to various Western ghat states viz. Tamilnadu, Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra, Goa and Gujarat ,yielded a rich harvest of 2490 adult representatives of family Noctuidae From this collected lot, as many as 101 species referable to 58 genera under four different subfamilies viz. Catocalinae, Hadeninae, Chloephorinae and Noctuinae were identified with the help of literature and confirmed by comparison. All these species have been taxonomically treated in the present research work as per latest techniques used in Lepidopterology. The illustrations of wing venation were drawn with the help of an image processing unit. The external male and female genitalic attributes of all the identified species have been studied in detail and incorporated in their detailed diagnosis.