Top 15 Most Common Insects in Bhutan
Insects, characterized by segmented bodies and external skeletons, are integral to Bhutan’s unique ecosystems. Different locations within Bhutan, with its diverse climate and geological features, host varying insect populations. The top 15 most common insects differ based on such environmental factors, highlighting the intricate relationship between insects and their habitats. Both pests and beneficial insects play vital roles, shaping Bhutan's bio-network in significant ways.
Most Common Insects
1. Bi-spot royal
Ancema ctesia, the bi-spot royal, is a species of blue butterfly (Lycaenidae) found in Pakistan and India. The larvae feed on Viscum articulatum.
2. Autumn leaf
The larvae are black, with two rows of dorsal white spots. Head with a pair of branched spines; rest of the segments with a dorsal and a lateral row of blue branched spines on each side. The pupae are yellowish with numerous black spots; constricted in the middle; head produced into two points. Male's and female's underside yellowish brown, paling anteriorly to rich golden yellow on the forewing, shading anteriorly into dusky brown on the hindwing. Forewing: the apical half black, following a line from vein 12 opposite the discocellulars, passing through apex of cell, obliquely across middle of interspace 3 and curving down to tornus; a black spot near apex of cell coalescing with the inner margin of 1he black colour; a short, very oblique, broad golden-yellow band, broader in the female than in the male, from middle of costal margin to interspace 5; a spot beyond in line with it in interspace 4; two, sometimes three, minute, preapical white specks; the cilia fulvous (tawny), touched with white, anteriorly. Hindwing uniform; the costal margin broadly as noted above, a subterminal narrow band and narrower terminal line posteriorly, dusky black; a postdiscal black spot in interspaces 2 and 5 respectively; the cilia fulvous. The ground colour varies from reddish to dark greenish brown with irrorations (speckles) of greyish and black scales; apex of the forewing and the terminal margin posteriorly of the hindwing more or less lilacine; forewings and hindwings crossed by a dark narrow discal fascia, generally bordered on the inner side by a greyish line; this fascia bent inwards at right angles above vein 6 of the forewing and in most specimens, bordered internally by a diffuse pale patch and externally by an oblique whitish mark, beyond which is a subcostal white spot, followed by a transverse sinuous postdiscal series of obscure ocelli crossing both wings, each ocellus centred by a minute dot, white on the fore, black on the hindwing. In the male there are generally, but not invariably, a number of whitish spots on the basal areas of both wings. Antennae blackish brown, ochraceous at apex; head, thorax and abdomen dark fulvous brown; beneath, the palpi white, the thorax and abdomen pale brown. Wingspan is about 8 - 9 cm.
3. Band-eyed drone fly
Eristalinus taeniops can reach a length of 1.09 - 1.4 cm. These hoverflies exhibit a bee-like yellow-black drawing. The thorax has a metallic yellow-brown color and it is densely yellow hairy. Also the scutellum are yellow-brown colored. The abdomen is reddish-yellow, with transversal black bands. The compound eyes have five distinct, vertical, dark stripes. The wings are transparent, usually yellowish-brown at the base, while the halteres are brightly pale yellow colored.
4. Himalayan jester
Symbrenthia hypselis, the Himalayan jester, is a species of nymphalid butterfly found in South Asia, and some islands in South East Asia (Sumatra, Java)
5. Common nawab
Upperside of male and female is black. Forewings and hindwings with a discal broad transverse area from below vein 4 in forewing to vein 2 on hindwing, a moderately large spot in interspace 5, a minute preapical dot beyond in interspace 6 on forewing, and a subterminal row of spots with two or three spots beyond them on the tornal angle of the hindwing, pale yellow, sometimes with an ochraceous, sometimes with a greenish tinge. The discal area on the forewing nearly as broad in interspace 3 as on the dorsum, on the hindwing narrowing to an acute point on vein 2 at two-thirds of its length from base of wing. Tails touched with bluish grey. Underside with the discal transverse area and spot in interspace 5 as on the upperside; base and costal margin of the forewing to apex, and base and dorsal margin of the hindwing broadly lilacine brown, on forewing with two small black spots near base. Bordering the transverse discal area on the inner side, where it is margined with black lines, and above, is a broad chocolate carved band, continued more narrowly along the outer side of the discal area; beyond this on the forewing is a concave series of dusky black lunules, on the hindwing the band itself is traversed by a line of obscure pale lunules; finally on the hindwing there is a subterminal series of internally white-bordered black spots followed by an obscure ochraceous terminal line, and above the tornal angle a slender transverse black line from vein 1 to the dorsal margin. Wingspan 6 - 9 cm. Caterpillar is elongated, slug-shaped, dark green; head large, wide and surmounted by four divergent curved fleshy spinous processes; anal segment with two short naked terminal points; the segments with an oblique yellowish-white lateral stripe, most prominent on the 7th, 9th and 11th segments, and beneath these a lower series of small white spots. Pupa is thick, cylindrically oval; green streaked with white; dorsum and thorax convex; head broad, truncated, obtusely pointed in front.
6. Greenish Silk-Moth
The Trilocha varians is an insect that spends a lot of time in the oriental region. Their color varieties can be anywhere from dark brown to dark red. You may see them feasting on a ficus, which is one of the larva's favorite meals.
7. Siren
Hestina persimilis, the siren, is an East Palearctic species of siren butterfly (Apaturinae) found in western China, Simla to Assam, Orissa. The larva feeds on Celtis australis.
8. Red-spot jezebel
Delias descombesi, the redspot Jezebel is a medium-sized butterfly of the family Pieridae, that is, the yellows and whites.
9. Giant Crab Spider
The giant Crab Spider is a large spider native to the tropics; the largest reported individual had a leg span of 30 cm. This cosmopolitan spider is highly valued in some areas, as it's able to catch cockroaches and other indoor pests. Reportedly, it hunts even scorpions and bats. This spider is venomous and sometimes bites humans, but it's considered harmless.
10. Notonagemia analis
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