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Acanthus ilicifolius is a spiny semi-woody evergreen shrub which is one of the most dominant mangrove associate species. Although its floral biology is well documented, there is not enough systematic study of floral visitors of this species. Successful plant reproduction is highly dependent on plant-pollinator interaction. The present study aims to understand the range of floral visitors of A. ilicifolius and their spatio-temporal variation in visitation pattern from the Indian Sundarbans. This study was conducted in five islands of Sundarbans Biosphere Reserve (SBR), namely, Bali, Gosaba, Satjelia, Gangasagar and Bakkhali during 2015 and 2016. Fifteen flower visitors under five taxonomic orders, i.e., Hymenoptera, Coleoptera, Diptera, Lepidoptera and Passeriformes were identified. Seven out of these fifteen species were reported for the first time as floral visitor of A. ilicifolius. Order Hymenoptera was the most frequent insect group, whereas Apis mellifera of this order was the predominant flower visitor. Although Gangasagar and Bakkhali being tourist spots, face greater anthropogenic interference, they had the highest abundance of floral visitors. A significant variation in floral visitor abundance was observed across different time of the day throughout the study period. Floral visitors were most abundant in the morning between 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. This study provides the first comprehensive report of diversity and abundance of the floral visitors and their visitation pattern on A. ilicifolius. Implications for insect conservation: Proper documentation of the ecology of insect pollinators would automatically help to conserve the plants along with the insects, and thus preserve the entire mangrove ecosystem of the Sundarbans as well as mangroves around the world.

A survey on lepidopteran pests of mangrove was conducted in different Islands of Sunderban Biosphere Reserve within the district of South 24 Parganas, West Bengal, India, over a period of 4 years (2012–2016). During the survey, a severe lepidopteran infestation was observed on the Avicennia alba Blume, which is one of the major mangrove species of Sunderbans. The life history of the lepidopteran species was studied in field as well as in laboratory conditions. The adults were identified as Hyblaea puera (Cramer, 1777) (Lepidoptera : Hyblaeidae) which is being reported for the first time from the Indian part of Sunderbans. The study revealed that the Hyblaea puera (Cramer, 1777) completed its life cycle in 21–25 days in both laboratory and field conditions. The biology and ecology of the said species and the nature of damage caused to the mangroves by these moths are discussed.

One new species of genus Ramila (named Ramila sunderbanensis sp. nov.) is described and illustrated from two male specimens collected from the mangroves of Sunderban Biosphere Reserve, India. The n...

Sunderbans, the UNESCO World Heritage Site is one of the largest mangrove forests in the World. This unique tidal halophytic mangrove ecosystem is also spread over the neighbouring country- Bangladesh. This ecosystem supports a variety of halophytic mangrove species and provides shelter and food to many faunal components (Chakraborty, 2011). Till date, several studies have been made on dipteran fauna from SBR which was altogether compiled by Mitra (2013). Further, Mitra et al. (2014, 2015) added some more records of the Diptera from this area. Apart from documenting the dipteran insects, we attempted here their functional contribution towards sustainability of this sensitive ecosystem.