Stauropus alternus Walker, 1855 - Lobster Moth

Subspecies in India

Stauropus alternus alternus (NE India, E. Himalaya) and Stauropus alternus albescens (S. India, Sri Lanka) are treated as the two subspecies recorded from India. 

Taxonomic Information

List of Stauropus Germar, 1812 known from India.
Stauropus berberisae Moore, 1888. India (Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand); Pakistan.
Stauropus major Van Eecke, 1929. India (NE India, Andaman Islands); Myanmar.
Stauropus sikkimensis sikkimensis Moore, 1866. India (West Bengal, NE India); Nepal.
Stauropus sikkimensis khasianus Rothschild, 1917. India (Assam, Meghalaya).
Stauropus thiaucourti Schintlmeister, 2003. India (Tamil Nadu); Sri Lanka.

Photo Gallery and Species Biology

Stauropus alternus - Lobster Moth

Stauropus alternus albescens - Lobster Moth


Similar species: Stauropus sikkimensis Moore, 1866
Typical Stauropus sikkimensis has post medial line curved rather than dentate. Medial area suffused with greenish.
Image at http://v3.boldsystems.org/index.php/Taxbrowser_Taxonpage?taxid=284231 [accessed 19 April 2022].

StateJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecNo date
Andaman and Nicobar Islands
Andhra Pradesh111
Arunachal Pradesh
Assam1
Bihar
Chandigarh
Chhattisgarh
Dadra & Nagar Haveli
Daman & Diu
Delhi
Goa
Gujarat
Haryana
Himachal Pradesh
Jammu and Kashmir
Jharkhand
Karnataka422
Kerala111
Lakshadweep
Madhya Pradesh
Maharashtra21
Manipur
Meghalaya
Mizoram
Nagaland
Odisha
Paschimbanga
Pondicherry
Punjab
Rajasthan
Sikkim
Tamil Nadu
Tripura
Uttar Pradesh
Uttarakhand
West Bengal
Total5111221122
  1. OD: Stauropus alternus Walker, 1855. List Spec. Lepid. Insects Colln Br. Mus. 5: 1020.
  2. Hampson, G. F. [1893]. The Fauna of British India including Ceylon and Burma. Moths, Vol. 1. Taylor & Francis, London. Pp. xxiii + 527. Saturniidae to Hypsidae 527 p - 333 fig.  # 261, Pg. 149-150, Figure 91.
  3. Schintlmeister, A. 2003. Die Gattung Stauropus Germar, 1812 (Lepidoptera: Notodontidae). Nachrichten entomologischer Verein Apollo, Frankfurt/Main, N.F., 24 (3): 97-118. 
  4. http://www.jpmoth.org/~dmoth/75_Notodontidae/3074_Stauropus/3076%20Stauropus%20alternus/Stauropus%20alternus.htm
  5. http://www.nbair.res.in/insectpests/Neostauropus-alternus.php
  6. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stauropus_alternus
  7. http://www.mothsofborneo.com/part-4/neostauropus/notodontidae_33_1.php

Page citation

Anonymous 2024. Stauropus alternus Walker, 1855 – Lobster Moth. In Sondhi, S., Y. Sondhi, R.P. Singh, P. Roy and K. Kunte (Chief Editors). Butterflies of India, v. 3.72. Published by the Indian Foundation for Butterflies. URL: https://www.mothsofindia.org/stauropus-alternus, accessed 2024/03/28.