Abstract
The conservation status of Attacus wardi, a large iconic moth endemic to north-western Australia, is reviewed based on new data. Available evidence on the spatial distribution, critical habitat and threatening processes suggests the species qualifies as threatened according to IUCN Red List Criteria, and that its conservation status nationally should be revised from Endangered to Vulnerable. The species depends on relatively large patches of wet and dry coastal tropical monsoon forest, and it has the potential to be an important flagship species for the conservation of these ecological communities. Further studies are needed to determine minimum patch size and spatial connectivity among patches to support viable populations of the moth.
References
Anonymous (1909) A local entomological collection. Northern Territory Times and Gazette, Darwin. 22 May 1909
Bowman DMJS (2000) Australian rainforests: islands of green in a land of fire. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge
Braby MF (2007) Collecting biological specimens in the Northern Territory with particular reference to terrestrial invertebrates: guidelines to current legislation and permits. North Territ Nat 19:35–45
Braby MF (2010) Conservation status and management of the Gove Crow, Euploea alcathoe enastri Fenner, 1991 (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae), a threatened tropical butterfly from the indigenous Aboriginal lands of north-eastern Arnhem Land, Australia. J Insect Conserv 14:535–554
Braby MF, Wilson C (2007) Atlas moth Attacus wardi. In: Woinarski JCZ, Pavey C, Kerrigan R, Cowie I, Ward S (eds) Lost from our landscape: threatened species of the Northern Territory. Northern Territory Government, Darwin, pp 139–140
Common IFB (1990) Moths of Australia. Melbourne University Press, Melbourne
Commonwealth Lighthouse Service Museum (2011) MV Cape Don Society Inc. http://mvcapedonsociety.org.au/
Dodd FP (1913) Notes upon Australian Lepidoptera, In: Oberthür C (ed) Études de Lépidoptérologie comparée. Rennes, pp 53–55, 56–58
Dodd WD (1935) Meanderings of a naturalist. The North Queensland Register, Cairns. 9 Mar 1935
Fensham RJ, Woinarski JCZ (1992) Yawulama. The ecology and conservation of monsoon forest on the Tiwi Islands, Northern Territory. A report prepared for the National Rainforest Conservation Program. Conservation Commission of the Northern Territory, Darwin
Franklin DC, Matthews R, Lawes MJ (2010) History of the East Point monsoon forest. North Territ Nat 22:2–16
Harvey JY (1968) The Palmerston and Pine Creek railway. Aust Hist Railw Soc Bull 19:25–48
IUCN Standards Petitions Subcommittee (2010) Guidelines for using the IUCN Red List categories and criteria. Version 8.1. IUCN Species Survival Commission, Gland, Switzerland
Lane DA, Martin G, Weir RP (2010) The life history of Attacus wardi Rothschild (Lepidoptera: Saturniidae) from the Northern Territory, Australia. Aust Entomol 37:115–127
Liddle DT, Russell-Smith J, Brock J, Leach GJ, Connors GT (1994) Atlas of the vascular rainforest plants of the Northern Territory. Australian Biological Resources Study, Canberra
Monteith GB (1991) The Butterfly Man of Kuranda, Frederick Parkhurst Dodd. Queensland Museum, South Brisbane
New TR (2004) Moths (Insecta: Lepidoptera) and conservation: background and perspectives. J Insect Conserv 8:79–94
New TR, Sands DPA (2003) The listing and de-listing of invertebrate species for conservation in Australia. J Insect Conserv 7:199–205
Oberthür C, Houlbert C, Dodd FP (1916) Contributions à l’étude des grands Lépidoptères d’Australie. Études de Lépidoptérologie comparée 11:1–120
Panton WJ (1993) Changes in post World War 2 distribution and status of monsoon rainforests in the Darwin area. Aust Geogr 24:50–59
Peigler RS (1989) A revision of the Indo-Australian genus Attacus. The Lepidoptera Research Foundation, Beverly Hills
Rossiter NA, Setterfield AA, Douglas MM, Hutley LB (2003) Testing the grass-fire cycle: alien grass invasion in the tropical savannas of northern Australia. Divers Distrib 9:169–176
Russell-Smith J (1991) Classification, species richness, and environmental relations of monsoon rain forest in northern Australia. J Veg Sci 2:259–278
Russell-Smith J, Bowman DMJS (1992) Conservation of monsoonal vine-forest isolates in the Northern Territory, Australia. Biol Conserv 59:51–63
Sands DPA, New TR (2002) The action plan for Australian butterflies. Environ Aust, Canberra
Warren MS, Bourn N, Brereton T, Fox R, Middlebrook I, Parsons MS (2007) What have red lists done for us? The values and limitations of protected species listing for invertebrates. In: Stewart AJA, New TR, Lewis OT (eds) Insect conservation biology proceedings of the royal entomological society’s 23 symposium. CABI, Wallingford, pp 76–91
Wilson BA, Brocklehurst PS, Clark MJ, Dickinson KJM (1990) Vegetation survey of the Northern Territory. Technical report number 49. Land conservation unit. Conservation Commission of the Northern Territory, Palmerston
Woinarski JCZ, Mackey BG, Nix HA, Traill B (2007a) The nature of northern Australia. Natural values, ecological processes and future prospects. ANU E Press, Canberra
Woinarski JCZ, Pavey C, Kerrigan R, Cowie I, Ward S (2007b) Lost from our landscape: threatened species of the Northern Territory. Northern Territory Government, Darwin
Zborowski P, Edwards ED (2007) A guide to Australian moths. CSIRO Publishing, Melbourne
Acknowledgments
We are grateful to T.R. New, R. Oberprieler and S. Ward for providing constructive comments on this note, T.A. Houston, B. Hanich and M.G. Rix for providing access to, and E.D. Edwards for confirming the identity of, the specimen of A. wardi in WAM, and J. Russell-Smith for information on the extent of monsoon forest in the NT. V. Kessner, A. Withers, P. Davidson, I. Morris, S. Webster and K. Blazely are also thanked for providing information and unpublished data on A. wardi. L.J. Aitchison and G.B. Monteith kindly assisted in drawing historical newspaper articles to our attention.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Braby, M.F., Nielsen, J. Review of the conservation status of the Atlas Moth, Attacus wardi Rothschild, 1910 (Lepidoptera: Saturniidae) from Australia. J Insect Conserv 15, 603–608 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10841-011-9402-y
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10841-011-9402-y