Two new non-luminous species of fireflies described from the Nilgiris

Two new species of non-luminous fireflies have been described from the Nilgiris, with one in every of them being named after the indigenous Kurumba tribe.

The two species Lamellipalpodes kurumba and Lamellipalpodes debprasama  had been discovered within the Nilgiris district in Tamil Nadu. With the most recent findings, the whole variety of Lamellipalpodes species now stands at 14, with 5 being discovered inside the borders of the nation.

The findings, titled ‘Two new species of fireflies of the genus Lamellipalpodes from the Nilgiris, Tamil Nadu’, had been revealed within the International Journal of Tropical Insect Science, Springer-Nature Group, by authors Arnob Chakrovorty, N. Moinudheen, Banani Bhattacarjee, A. Abinesh, A. Samson, and N. Sadiq Ali.

“Lamellipalpodes is a genus of non-luminous fireflies distributed in India, Myanmar, Nepal, and Thailand. Prior to this research, solely two species had been identified from India,” mentioned Mr. Arnob Chakrovorty, one of many lead authors of the paper, who found yet one more species in 2025 in West Bengal.

Nomenclature

“This paper offers with the outline of two new species of Lamellipalpodes from the Nilgiris, Western Ghats, India, with one in every of them being named in honour of the Kurumba tribes of the area who all have been defending the natural world of the Nilgiris for many years,” mentioned Mr. Chokrovorty.

N. Moinudheen, one other writer of the paper, mentioned that the choice to call the species after the Kurumba individuals is to recognise one of many indigenous teams of the Nilgiris who’ve confronted persecution and oppression because the arrival of the British to the Nilgiris hills. “The Kurumbas’ traditions are additionally susceptible to extinction. It is our small effort at guaranteeing that the group is acknowledged for his or her shut hyperlinks to the setting,” he mentioned.

Banani Bhattacharjee, one other writer, mentioned that the naming of the opposite species Lamellipalpodes debprasama was a tribute to her mother and father Debdas and Sulekha Bhattacharjee in addition to to the mother and father of Mr. Arnab, Pranab and Mandira Chakraborty. “Sadly, I misplaced my father throughout my B.Sc programme, however I’ve each him and my mom by the naming of this specimen,” she mentioned.

Mr. Moinudheen mentioned that bugs akin to fireflies often inhabit areas near wetlands and grasslands, that are being misplaced throughout the Western ghats. He mentioned that extreme pesticide use is one other main risk to the bugs, research of that are uncommon. “It is vital that we undertake extra research wanting into the ecology of non-luminous fireflies, that are nonetheless extraordinarily uncommon,” he added.

The analysis was carried out with the collaborative efforts of the iForNature Nature Club Laboratory, Wildlife and Nature Conservation Trust (WNCT), Kalyani University, Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS), and Pondicherry University.