Taxonomy, DNA Barcoding and Bionomics of Genus Thitarodes Viette (Lepidoptera: Hepialidae) from Uttarakhand (India), Host Moths of Ophiocordyceps Sinensis (Occasional Paper No. 433)

Contents: 1. Introduction. 2. Materials and Methods. (i) Sampling locations. (ii) Field sampling. (iii) Details of daily observations. (iv) DNA analysis. 3. Taxonomy. (i) Description of a New Thitarodes species. (ii) Taxonomic remarks. 4. Taxonomic and Economic Issues. (i) Historical background of Thitarodes. (ii) Diagnostic characters. (iii) Delimiting geographically proximate genera. (iv) Bionomics of Thitarodes. (v) Behaviour of adult Thitarodes during light trapping. (vi) Economic importance of caterpillar fungus (Ophiocordyceps sinensis). (vii) Threats to habitats and ecology of keerajari (O. Sinensis). 5. Global distribution and checklist of Thitarodes species. 6. Knowledge gaps and future research prospects. Acknowledgements. References.