Current distribution of Nilgiri grass yellow Eurema nilgiriensis Yata (Lepidoptera: Pieridae), with an updated taxonomic key to Eurema of Western Ghats, India

Abstract

Eurema nilgiriensis Yata, 1990, the Nilgiri grass yellow, was described from Nilgiris in southern India. There are not many published records of this species since its original description, and it was presumed to be a high-elevation endemic species restricted to its type locality. Based on the external morphology (wing patterns) as well as the male genitalia, the first confirmed records of the species from Agasthyamalais and Kodagu in the southern Western Ghats, is provided here. This report is a significant range extension for the species outside the Nilgiris, its type locality. Ecological data pertaining to this species as well as the field identification key to all known Eurema of Western Ghats are also presented.