Two researchers from Tamil Nadu have spotted a rare moth species Mimeusemia ceylonica for the first time in India in the buffer zone of Kalakkad–Mundanthurai Tiger Reserve (KMTR) after it was last sighted 127 years ago – at Trincomalee in Sri Lanka in 1893.
- Recognising this feat, international peer-reviewed journal on animal science Species had published an article on their work in February 2023.
- Mimeusemia ceylonica is a moth species belonging to the subfamily Agaristinae and family Noctuidae.
- It was first illustrated and described by English entomologist George Hampson in 1893.
- The species was rediscovered during a moth survey conducted on October 11, 2020 at the Agasthyamalai Community-based Conservation Centre (ACCC) situated in the buffer zone of KMTR, Tirunelveli district.
(Source: The Hindu)
