Cirrhochrista bracteolalis Hampson, 1891

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 : 134

Cirrhochrista bracteolalis Hampson, 1891 ( Figs 2E, 6A)

Cirrhochrista bracteolalis Hampson, 1891:135 . TL: India (Nilgiri hills).

Material examined. 2♀♀, India, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Great Nicobar Island, Govind Nagar , 05- IX-2018, coll. K.C. Gopi and Party (Reg. No. ZSI / ANRC /T-17118, 17120) ; 4 ♀♀, India, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Great Nicobar Island, Gobind Nagar , 05-IX-2018, coll. K.C. Gopi and Party (Reg. No. ZSI / ANRC /T-16107, 16108, 16227) .

Diagnosis. Wingspan of 35 – 37 mm. Externally similar to other members of this genus with whitish forewings, brownish costal margins, and whitish hindwings, Cirrhochrista bracteolalis can be distinguished by its female genitalia with a funnel-shaped antrum, an infundibular ductus bursa, and a rounded, membranous corpus bursa with a horn-shaped signum.

Distribution. China, India (South, North and North-east Indian States, Nicobar Islands- Present study), Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand, Malaysia (Sabah), Philippines ( Chen et al., 2006; Singh et al., 2023; Whitaker et al., 2017).

Remarks. Previously documented from various states across mainland India including Sikkim, Tamil Nadu, West Himalaya, Himachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Assam, Meghalaya, Manipur, Karnataka, West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh, and Maharashtra. This study reports the first occurrence of Cirrhochrista bracteolalis from Nicobar Islands. This new record significantly expands the known distribution of the species. Representative individuals of this species were observed in traps placed in the primary forests and from secondary forest margins of the Great Nicobar Islands.