Taxonomic Information
Patania Moore, 1888 species from the Indian subcontinent (Singh et al 2022).
Patania aedilis (Meyrick, 1887). India: Meghalaya (Khasis).
Patania aegrotalis (Zeller, 1852). India: Nilgiris, West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh.
Patania balteata (Fabricius, 1798). India: throughout India; Nepal; Sri Lanka; Myanmar.
Patania caletoralis (Walker, 1859). N. India (TL), Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim, Meghalaya, West Bengal, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Jharkhand, Bihar, Andaman & Nicobar Is.
Patania characteristica (Warren, 1896). India: Meghalaya (Khasi Hills), West Bengal, Arunachal Pradesh.
Patania concatenalis (Walker, [1866]). India: West Bengal TL: (Darjeeling), Assam, Sikkim, Uttarakhand, Punjab, Meghalaya, Manipur, Nagaland, Chhattisgarh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu
Patania costalis (Moore, 1888). India: West Bengal (TL: Darjeeling), Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim, Meghalaya, Himachal Pradesh, Andaman Is.
Patania deficiens (Moore, [1886]). India: S. India, Assam, West Bengal, Sikkim, Meghalaya, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh; Sri Lanka.
Patania flavispila (Swinhoe, 1894). India: Meghalaya (TL: Cherrapunji).
Patania fraterna (Moore, [1886]). India: Nilgiris, Assam, Meghalaya; Sri Lanka (TL).
Patania imbecilis (Moore, 1888). India: West Bengal TL: (Darjeeling), Sikkim, Meghalaya, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Andaman Is.
Patania jatingaensis (Rose & Singh, 1989). India: Meghalaya (TL: Khasi Hills), Assam.
Patania menoni (Kirti & Gill, 2007). India: Arunachal Pradesh (TL: Tirap).
Patania mysisalis (Walker, 1859). India: Meghalaya (TL: Khasi Hills), Assam, Sikkim, Goa, Nilgiris, Kerala.
Patania orobenalis (Snellen, 1880). India: Sikkim.
Patania palliventralis (Snellen, 1890). India: Sikkim (TL), Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, West Bengal.
Patania punctimarginalis (Hampson, 1896). India: Sikkim (TL), Bihar.
Patania ruralis (Scopoli, 1763). India: Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Sikkim, West Bengal; Nepal.
Patania sabinusalis (Walker, 1859). India: Himalaya, Assam, Sikkim, Meghalaya, West Bengal, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Maharashtra, Nilgiris,
Patania scinisalis (Walker, 1859). India: Himalaya, Meghalaya, Sikkim (TL), Assam, Andaman Is.
Patania shompen Singh & Ahmad, 2022. India: Andaman & Nicobar Is.
Patania tardalis (Snellen, 1880). India: Sikkim, Meghalaya.
Patania ultimalis (Walker, 1859). India: Assam; Sri Lanka; Myanmar.
Patania verecunda (Warren, 1896). India: Meghalaya (TL: Khasi Hills), West Bengal, Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim, Nagaland, West Bengal, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Tamil Nadu.
Numerous species in Patania Moore, 1888 have now shifted to the genus Purpurata Xue, Lu & Du, 2024: Purpurata directa Xue, Lu & Du, 2024, Purpurata iopasalis (Walker, 1859), Purpurata obfuscalis Yamanaka, 1998, Purpurata plagiatalis (Walker, 1859), Purpurata shompen Singh & Ahmad, 2022.
Photo Gallery and Species Biology
Patania ruralis - Mother of Pearl Moth
| State | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | No date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Andaman and Nicobar Islands | |||||||||||||
| Andhra Pradesh | |||||||||||||
| Arunachal Pradesh | 2 | ||||||||||||
| Assam | |||||||||||||
| Bihar | |||||||||||||
| Chandigarh | |||||||||||||
| Chhattisgarh | |||||||||||||
| Dadra & Nagar Haveli | |||||||||||||
| Daman & Diu | |||||||||||||
| Delhi | |||||||||||||
| Goa | |||||||||||||
| Gujarat | |||||||||||||
| Haryana | |||||||||||||
| Himachal Pradesh | 3 | ||||||||||||
| Jammu and Kashmir UT | |||||||||||||
| Jharkhand | |||||||||||||
| Karnataka | |||||||||||||
| Kerala | |||||||||||||
| Ladakh UT | |||||||||||||
| Lakshadweep | |||||||||||||
| Madhya Pradesh | |||||||||||||
| Maharashtra | |||||||||||||
| Manipur | |||||||||||||
| Meghalaya | |||||||||||||
| Mizoram | |||||||||||||
| Nagaland | |||||||||||||
| Odisha | |||||||||||||
| Paschimbanga | |||||||||||||
| Pondicherry | |||||||||||||
| Punjab | |||||||||||||
| Rajasthan | |||||||||||||
| Sikkim | |||||||||||||
| Tamil Nadu | |||||||||||||
| Telangana | |||||||||||||
| Tripura | |||||||||||||
| Uttar Pradesh | |||||||||||||
| Uttarakhand | 2 | ||||||||||||
| West Bengal | 1 | ||||||||||||
| Total | 8 |
- Phalaena ruralis Scopoli, 1763. Ent. Carn. Pg. 242.
- Robinson,G. S. Microlepidoptera of Nepal. In: Haruta, T. (Ed.). 1995. Moths of Nepal. Part 4. TINEA. Vol. 14 (Supplement 2). The Japan Heterocerists’ Society, Tokyo. Pl. 125/18 as Pleuroptia ruralis.
- Kirt, J. S & N. S. Gill. 2007. Revival of genus Patania Moore and reporting on a new species menoni (Pyraustinae: Pyralidae: Lepidoptera). Journal of Entomological Research. 31-3, pp 265-275. Lists sabinusalis but not ruralis.
- Uniyal, V.P., Bhardwaj, M., Sanyal, A.K. 2013. An Assessment of Entomofauna for Management and Conservation of Biodiversity in the Gangotri Landscape. Annual Progress Report, Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun. 237 pp. Pl 18.
- Chandra, K., Kumar, V., Singh, N., Raha, A., Sanyal, A.K.2019. Assemblages of Lepidoptera in Indian Himalaya through long term monitoring plots. Zoological Survey of India, Kolkata, 1-457 pp. Pl. 51.13
- https://v3.boldsystems.org/index.php/Taxbrowser_Taxonpage?taxid=719460
- http://www2.nrm.se/en/svenska_fjarilar/p/pleuroptya_ruralis.html
- http://lepiforum.org/wiki/page/Patania_Ruralis
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patania_ruralis
- https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/560710-Patania-ruralis
Page citation
Anonymous 2026. Patania ruralis (Scopoli, 1763) – Mother of Pearl Moth. In Sondhi, S., R.P. Singh, G. Iyer, J. D'silva and K. Kunte (Chief Editors). Butterflies of India, v. 4.1. Published by the Indian Foundation for Butterflies. URL: https://www.mothsofindia.org/patania-ruralis, accessed 2026/01/31.