Monsoon Beauty Highlights of Rarities : Relish the sights of a swift tiger beetle, an elusive plant, and an exceedingly rare moth.

Highlights from the Period 15th to 26th July 2023

Beetles : Tiger Beetle

Animals - Arthropods - Hexapods - Insects - Winged and Once-winged Insects -Beetles (Order Coleoptera)

Dinesh Kumar's patient and outstanding close up of a normally fast running Jansenia Tiger beetle (Genus Jansenia), from Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India shows us why these beetles are so beautiful and lovely.

Observed by @dineshkumar7

Location : Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India

Observed on: 24th, July 2023

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A short note on Tiger Beetles from Wikipedia :

"Tiger beetles are a family of beetles, Cicindelidae, known for their aggressive predatory habits and running speed. The fastest known species of tiger beetle, Rivacindela hudsoni, can run at a speed of 9 km/h (5.6 mph; 2.5 m/s), or about 125 body lengths per second."

Dinesh showcases some of his work on instagram

Plants : Lysimachia

Plants - Vascular Plants -Flowering Plants - Dicots -Heathers, Balsams, Primroses, and Allies -Primroses - Cape Myrtle - Genus Loosestrifes (Lysimachia)

Raju Koranga, in Uttarakhand, yet again finds a rare plant, some brilliant yellow Loosestrifes (Genus Lysimachia), of which there are only 3 records on inaturalist India

Observed by @rajkoranga

Location : Munsiari, Uttarakhand, India

Observed on: 15th, July 2023

Rajendra Singh Koranga: A Citizen Scientist Making a Difference was recently profiled by India's Nature, this is the link to more detailed profile and a video

He sometimes posts on instagram as well.

A second Lysimachia observation is here

Insect : Moth

Animals - Arthropods - Hexapods - Insects - Winged and Once-winged Insects -Lepidoptera - Owlet Moth Superfamily - Prominent Moths

A First Record for Inaturalist

Raju Koranga, while observing moths during "National Moth Week" shares a record of the rare Neodrymonia canifusa moth, which remains the sole observation on Inaturalist globally.

Observed by @rajkoranga

Location : Munsiari, Uttarakhand, India

Observed on: 23rd, July 2023

• The observation was identified with exceptional detail by @pierotoni10, a highly skilled and meticulous moth identifier.

Neodrymonia** is a member of the Prominent Moth family (Notodontidae) - "Their scientific name "back tooth" and the common name of prominents come from many species that have a tuft of hair on the trailing edge of the forewing which protrudes upwards at rest." Source - Wikipedia

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India's Nature on instagram

Latest highlights from the event are documented on Instagram with more complete details on Inaturalist Journals

India's Nature is also on Telegram

Posted on July 26, 2023 04:05 PM by ram_k