New larval host plant records for wild silkmoths from Arunachal Pradesh in the Indian Eastern Himalaya

Silkmoths are both ecologically significant and economically valuable insects, with larval host plant associations playing a crucial role in shaping their development, survival, and silk yield. Arunachal Pradesh, a biodiversity hotspot in the Eastern Himalayas, harbours diverse silk moth species. However, comprehensive documentation of their host plants remains limited. Through extensive field surveys conducted in various parts of Arunachal Pradesh, we recorded 14 species of wild silkworms, and documented seven species of new host plant associations for three wild silkmoth species in addition to the previous records. The new records include Gunda ochracea Walker (Bombycidae) on Ficus rumphii Blume (Moraceae), Antheraea frithi Moore on Terminalia chebula Retz, Terminalia myriocarpa Van Heurck and Müll. Arg, Combretum pilosum Roxb. ex G.Don (Combretaceae), Lagerstroemia speciosa (L.) Martyn (Lythraceae), Castanopsis lanceifolia (Oerst.) Hickel and A.Camus (Fagaceae) and Samia canningii (Hutton, 1859) on Litsea monopetala (Roxb.) Pers. (Lauraceae). These results fill a major gap in the ecological knowledge of wild silkmoths in the Eastern Himalayas. Additionally, it supports sericultural applications of the documented larval host plants.