''Thitarodes'' is a genus of
moth
Moths are a paraphyletic group of insects that includes all members of the order Lepidoptera that are not butterflies, with moths making up the vast majority of the order. There are thought to be approximately 160,000 species of moth, many of ...
s of the family
Hepialidae
The Hepialidae are a family of insects in the lepidopteran order. Moths of this family are often referred to as swift moths or ghost moths.
Taxonomy and systematics
The Hepialidae constitute by far the most diverse group of the infraorder Exo ...
. In English ''Thitarodes'' is known as "ghost moth". They are found in eastern
Asia
Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an ...
. The majority are restricted to the
Tibetan Plateau
The Tibetan Plateau (, also known as the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau or the Qing–Zang Plateau () or as the Himalayan Plateau in India, is a vast elevated plateau located at the intersection of Central, South and East Asia covering most of the T ...
. Often in Chinese entomological nomenclature ''Thitarodes'' is still referred to as ''Hepialus'', although the name was changed back in 1968. Furthermore, some authors use incorrectly the term "bat moth" which is a bad translation of the Chinese term for ghost moth.
Many larvae of this genus are the hosts to the parasitic fungus ''
Ophiocordyceps sinensis
''Ophiocordyceps sinensis'' (formerly known as ''Cordyceps sinensis''), known colloquially as caterpillar fungus, is an entomopathogenic fungus (a fungus that grows on insects) in the family Ophiocordycipitaceae. It is mainly found in the me ...
''. The fungus-insect complex known as caterpillar fungus, or by its original Tibetan name ''yartsa gunbu'' (or its Nepali pidgin version ''yarsa gumba''). It was first used in
traditional Tibetan medicine
Traditional Tibetan medicine (), also known as Sowa-Rigpa medicine, is a centuries-old traditional medical system that employs a complex approach to diagnosis, incorporating techniques such as pulse analysis and urinalysis, and utilizes behavior ...
, but is now highly prized by practitioners of
traditional Chinese medicine
Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is an alternative medicine, alternative medical practice drawn from traditional medicine in China. It has been described as "fraught with pseudoscience", with the majority of its treatments having no logica ...
who know it as ''dong chong xiacao'' or ''short chong cao''.
Species
*''
Thitarodes albipictus'' –
China (
Yunnan
Yunnan , () is a landlocked province in the southwest of the People's Republic of China. The province spans approximately and has a population of 48.3 million (as of 2018). The capital of the province is Kunming. The province borders the ...
)
*''
Thitarodes arizanus'' –
Taiwan
Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the northe ...
*''
Thitarodes armoricanus'' – China (
Tibet Autonomous Region
The Tibet Autonomous Region or Xizang Autonomous Region, often shortened to Tibet or Xizang, is a province-level autonomous region of the People's Republic of China in Southwest China. It was overlayed on the traditional Tibetan regions of ...
)
*''
Thitarodes baimaensis'' – China (Yunnan)
*''
Thitarodes baqingensis'' – China (Tibet AR)
*''
Thitarodes bibelteus''
*''
Thitarodes biruensis''
*''
Thitarodes caligophilus''
*''
Thitarodes callinivalis'' – China (Yunnan)
*''
Thitarodes cingulatus'' – China (
Gansu)
*''
Thitarodes damxungensis'' – China (Tibet AR)
*''
Thitarodes danieli'' –
Nepal
Nepal (; ne, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne,
सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is ma ...
*''
Thitarodes deqinensis''
*''
Thitarodes dierli'' – Nepal
*''
Thitarodes dinggyeensis''
*''
Thitarodes dongyuensis'' – China
*''
Thitarodes eberti'' – Nepal
*''
Thitarodes ferrugineus'' – China (Yunnan)
*''
Thitarodes gonggaensis'' – China (
Sichuan
Sichuan (; zh, c=, labels=no, ; zh, p=Sìchuān; alternatively romanized as Szechuan or Szechwan; formerly also referred to as "West China" or "Western China" by Protestant missions) is a province in Southwest China occupying most of th ...
)
*''
Thitarodes hainanensis''
*''
Thitarodes jiachaensis''
*''
Thitarodes jialangensis'' – China (Tibet AR)
*''
Thitarodes jinshaensis'' – China (Yunnan)
*''
Thitarodes kangdingensis'' – China (Sichuan)
*''
Thitarodes kangdingroides'' – China (
Kangding
Kangding (), also called Tachienlu and Dartsedo (; ), is a county-level city and the seat of Garzê Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture in Sichuan province of Southwest China. Kangding is on the bank of the Dadu River and has been considered the hist ...
area, Sichuan)
*''
Thitarodes latitegumenus''
*''
Thitarodes litangensis'' – China (Sichuan)
*''
Thitarodes malaisei'' –
Myanmar
Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John Wells explai ...
*''
Thitarodes markamensis'' – China (Tibet AR)
*''
Thitarodes meiliensis'' – China (Yunnan)
*''
Thitarodes namensis''
*''
Thitarodes namlinensis''
*''
Thitarodes namnai''
*''
Thitarodes nipponensis'' –
Japan
*''
Thitarodes oblifurcus'' – China (Qinghai)
*''
Thitarodes pratensis'' – China (Yunnan)
*''
Thitarodes pui''
*''
Thitarodes renzhiensis'' – China (Yunnan)
*''
Thitarodes richthofeni'' – China
*''
Thitarodes sejilaensis''
*''
Thitarodes sinarabesca'' – China
*''
Thitarodes shambalaensis'' – China (
Sichuan
Sichuan (; zh, c=, labels=no, ; zh, p=Sìchuān; alternatively romanized as Szechuan or Szechwan; formerly also referred to as "West China" or "Western China" by Protestant missions) is a province in Southwest China occupying most of th ...
)
*''
Thitarodes varians'' – China (Tibet AR)
*''
Thitarodes variabilis'' – Far east of
Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eigh ...
*''
Thitarodes varius'' – Far east of Russia
*''
Thitarodes xizangensis'' – China (Tibet AR)
*''
Thitarodes xunhuaensis'' – China (Qinghai)
*''
Thitarodes yadongensis''
*''
Thitarodes yeriensis'' – China (Yunnan)
*''
Thitarodes yongshengensis''
*''
Thitarodes zaliensis'' – China (Tibet AR)
*''
Thitarodes zhangmoensis'' – China (
Xinjiang
Xinjiang, SASM/GNC: ''Xinjang''; zh, c=, p=Xīnjiāng; formerly romanized as Sinkiang (, ), officially the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (XUAR), is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China (PRC), located in the northwest ...
)
*''
Thitarodes zhongzhiensis'' – China (Yunnan)
Former species
*''
Thitarodes anomopterus'' – China (Yunnan)
*''
Thitarodes jianchuanensis'' – China (Yunnan)
*''
Thitarodes lijiangensis'' – China (Yunnan)
*''
Thitarodes luquensis'' – China (Gansu)
*''
Thitarodes menyuanicus'' – China (
Qinghai
Qinghai (; alternately romanized as Tsinghai, Ch'inghai), also known as Kokonor, is a landlocked province in the northwest of the People's Republic of China. It is the fourth largest province of China by area and has the third smallest po ...
)
*''
Thitarodes nebulosus'' – China (Tibet AR)
*''
Thitarodes sichuanus'' – China (Yunnan)
*''
Thitarodes yulongensis'' – China (Yunnan)
*''
Thitarodes yunlongensis'' – China (Yunnan)
*''
Thitarodes yunnanensis'' – China (Yunnan)
*''
Thitarodes zhayuensis'' – China (Tibet AR)
References
* Wang X-L, Yao Y-J (2011) Host insect species of Ophiocordyceps sinensis: a review. ZooKeys 127: 43–59.
External links
Hepialidae genera*
Hepialidae
Fauna of Yunnan
Exoporia genera
Taxa named by Pierre Viette
{{Hepialidae-stub