Prefatory Arthropod biospeleology of Robber’s cave of Satara district of Maharashtra

The present study aimed to document the preliminary arthropod fauna of the Robber’s Cave. The cavern vertebrate fauna is well documented, but the arthropod fauna has not been documented from the studied cave area. The result is based on the preliminary survey and photographic evidence of the fauna from the site. The study resulted in the identification of 22 species from 10 orders of arthropods, including two identified at the family level only. Among the observed fauna, the dominant were moths of the order Lepidoptera, followed by Coleoptera, Araneae, Hemiptera, Isopoda, Scolopendromorpha, Phasmatodea, Orthoptera, Hymenoptera, and Opiliones. This study throws light on the importance of the arthropod fauna studies and their conservation in caves of Satara, Maharashtra, India.