Termioptycha albifurcalis ( Hampson, 1916 )

Rao, B. Sumit Kumar & Sivaperuman, Chandrakasan, 2025, Contribution to the knowledge of Pyraloid moths (Lepidoptera, Pyraloidea) from the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, India, Journal of Insect Biodiversity and Systematics 11 (1), pp. 129-149 : 140

Termioptycha albifurcalis ( Hampson, 1916) ( Figs 3C, 6H)

Macalla albifurcalis Hampson, 1916:144–145 . TL: India (Travancore, Pirmád).

Salma albifurcalis (Hampson) : Solis, 1992:287.

Termioptycha albifurcalis (Hampson) : Heppner & Inoue, 1992:91.

Material examined. 1♀, India, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Great Nicobar Biosphere Reserve, Watch tower, 21-VIII-2019, coll. B. Sumit Kumar Rao (Reg. No. ZSI / ANRC /T-16118) .

Diagnosis. Wingspan 28 mm. Termioptycha albifurcalis is similar to Termioptycha margarita (Butler, 1879) but can be separated by a rounded white patch at the middle of the termen and in female genitalia by the long uniformly narrow antrum.

Distribution. China, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Thailand, India (Kerela, Great Nicobar Islands-Present Study) ( Ranjan et al., 2022; Rong et al., 2017).

Remarks. While Termioptycha albifurcalis has been documented from the states of Kerala and Maharashtra, Singh et al. (2022b) mistakenly claimed its presence in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands citing Sondhi et al. (2021). Upon reviewing Sondhi et al. (2021) findings, it was concluded that their claim of this species' presence on the Andaman and Nicobar Islands was erroneous. The present study marks the first official record of Termioptycha albifurcalis form the primary forests of Great Nicobar Island.