Dammika Wijekoon

• B.Sc.Special(Zoology) (Hons), M. Phil. Ph.D
• Lecturer at University of Ruhuna, Matara

A new species, Diaphanes uvaparanagama Wijekoon sp. nov., from a freshwater-associated habitat in Uva province, Intermediate Zone, Sri Lanka, is described using males and reliably associated larvae. Males of this species are distinguished by a transparent pronotum and elytra with bright red thoracic terga and mesocutellum, pale yellow abdominal ven...

Background & objectives Mosquito-bome diseases are a major health issue among communities in Asia, and dengue has become a serious public health concern in Sri Lanka with varying magnitude since 1960. With the realization of the failures and limitations of current vector control strategies, the authorities are moving towards simple, low- cost, and...

The primary purpose of fireflies' light-emitting behavior is to communicate with potential mates. Furthermore, they sporadically employ flashes as a defensive strategy, a way to mark territory, and a means of physical aggregation. Nevertheless, little is known about firefly territorial behavior. For this reason, this study focused on the patterns o...

Solitary bees are the incredibly essential group of insects that plays a major role in pollination. There is currently little information available on bee associations in southern province of Sri Lanka. Diversity of bees in University of Ruhuna had never been studied before, the goal of the current study was to serve as a first step in that directi...

The pigeon pea (Cajanus cajan (L.)) is often a cross-pollinated, perennial legume grown in different agroclimatic regions. The study was carried out to investigate the Pigeon pea flower-visiting bee diversity, their relative abundance and their active time at Bata Atha Agro Technology and Tourism Park, Hambantota District in Sri Lanka, from April t...

Fruit flies are a menace to global agriculture. In Sri Lanka, Bactrocera dorsalis Hendel is an invasive species, and B. kandiensis Drew and Hancock is an endemic fruit fly species. There is very little information available about how fruit flies co-utilize resources for oviposition. This work was thus carried out to study the co-utilizing potential...

Bactrocera dorsalis Hendel is a severe fruit pest that causes significant economic losses globally. Despite B. dorsalis having been distributed mostly across Asia, studies on its current and future density variation in Sri Lanka are sparse to date. The present study was thus carried out to assess the contemporary density variation (2020–2022) and f...

The oriental fruit fly, Bactrocera dorsalis (Hendel) (Diptera: Tephritidae), is a serious fruit pest in South Asia; however, studies of their oviposition behavior on different host fruits in Sri Lanka are insufficient. Thus, the present study was conducted to determine the oviposition preference and host susceptibility of B. dorsalis on four commer...

We present the first record of the Southeast Asian firefly genus, Pygoluciola Wittmer, 1939 from Sri Lanka with descriptions of two new distinctive yellow species, P. rammale Wijekoon & De Silva sp. nov. and P. ruhuna Wijekoon & De Silva sp. nov. Both species are from a low-land forest in Southern Province, Sri Lanka, and females were associated wi...

We re-describe the male of Diaphanes olivieri Gorham almost 128 years after its first description and report its reliably associated flightless female for the first time based on the specimens collected from Rammale Forest Reserve, Intermediate climatic Zone, Southern Sri Lanka in 2023. The external morphology and genitalia, mating behavior, and ha...

We present the first record of the Southeast Asian firefly genus, Pygoluciola Wittmer, 1939 from Sri Lanka with descriptions of two new distinctive yellow species, P. rammale Wijekoon & De Silva sp. nov. and P. ruhuna Wijekoon & De Silva sp. nov. Both species are from a low-land forest in Southern Province, Sri Lanka, and females were associated wi...

Asymmetricata impressa Olivier is one of the Luciolinae fireflies in Sri Lanka. The original description of this species as Luciola impressa was based on male and female specimens collected from Peradeniya, Kandy, Central Province of Sri Lanka in 1910. There were no subsequent records of A. impressa following its original description, and hence, it...

Bactrocera dorsalis (Oriental fruit fly) and Bactrocera kandiensis (an endemic) are two common fruit flies in Sri Lanka. When discriminating these two species using their external morphology, there were many taxonomic impediments over the phenotypic mutualism. Conservation and management practices are thoroughly influenced by their overlapping rang...

Fireflies are one of the subjects of the global night tourism industry. Many popular coastal regions in Sri Lanka have acquired the greatest attention for day and night tourism, attracting thousands of local and foreign visitors. As such, Sri Lankan fireflies have a high potential for night tourism in the country's popular coastal areas. Recognizin...

Fireflies are a group of charismatic insects, and they are important for the sake of tourism and biodiversity. Information on fireflies associating with forest ecosystems in Sri Lanka is still scarce. Hence, the present study was aimed for investigating the firefly fauna in Rammale Forest Reserve (RFR), southern, intermediate zone, Sri Lanka. The s...

Fireflies are fascinating nocturnal insects. Asymmetricata humeralis Walker is a widespread firefly species in all Provinces of Sri Lanka. Asymmetricata humeralis was originally described as Colophotia humeralis by Walker in 1858 in Sri Lanka. During our recent study (2022) two morphs of male A. humeralis have been recorded from a mangrove associat...

Abstract Bactrocera dorsalis Hendel (Diptera: Tephritidae) is one of the major pests in the mango industry in Southern Asia, whereas there are no documented statistics of the population variation of B. dorsalis with mango (M. indica) phenology in Sri Lanka. Hence, the present study was conducted to estimate the abundance variation of B. dorsalis wi...

Mosquitoes are medically important insects, not just as nuisance biters but also as carriers of deadly diseases such as dengue, malaria, Japanese encephalitis etc., particularly in tropical countries. The larval and pupal stages of their life cycle are frequent in most tropical and temperate water bodies. Control strategies for pestiferous mosquito...

Fruit flies (Diptera: Tephritidae) are important insect pests in the commercial fruit and vegetable industry worldwide. In the Sri Lankan scenario, the majority of tephritid taxonomic studies relied on morphological features and that modus faces some phenotypic confusions and limitations over the presence of closely related species having cryptic o...

Luciola nicollieri Bugnion, 1922 is one of the sixteen originally described Luciolinae from Sri Lanka. Specimens of L. nicollieri have been rediscovered in 2022 almost after 100 years of its first description, and their identity was confirmed by comparison with the original description, photos of their type specimen and based on expert's views. Fli...

The firefly genus Harmatelia is endemic to Sri Lanka, and H. bilinia was originally described by Walker (1858) based on a specimen collected from ‘Udawaththa’ Forest Reserve, low-wet zone of Sri Lanka. After the original description, there has been no confirmed record of this species in type locality, hence the status of this species in Sri Lanka r...

Seventeen species (17) of firefly genus Curtos Motschulsky have been recorded from South East Asia whereas there were no previous records from Sri Lanka. A first record of the genus Curtos Motschulsky in Sri Lanka and a re-description of males and females of C. costipennis Gorham are presented including light patterns and areas of incidence in Sri...

Abstract Introduction Pulmonary diseases are common extraarticular manifestations of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and account for high disease related mortality. Pulmonary function tests (PFTs) are considered one of the cost-effective options for early identification of pulmonary involvement in RA. Objectives The objective of this study was to assess...

Bactrocera dorsalis is the most serious fruit pest in Asia and B. kandiensis is an endemic fruit fly species to Sri Lanka. In addition, B. correcta and Zeugodacus cucurbitae are other commonly recorded fruit fly species in Sri Lanka. There were many taxonomic impediments when discriminating fruit fly species using their wing shape and wing venation...

Background: Bactrocera dorsalis is the most frightening fruit pest in Asia and B. kandiensis is an endemic fruit pest in Sri Lanka. In addition, B. correcta and Zeugodacus cucurbitae are other commonly recorded fruit fly species in Sri Lanka. There were many taxonomic impediments when discriminating fruit fly species using their wing shape and wing...

Background & objectives: Although, the number of considerable cases of dengue and lymphatic filariasis have been reported from Galle District, Sri Lanka in the past several years, contribution of abandoned boats to spread vector mosquitoes of Aedes and Culex in the coast is not well studied. Our aim was to assess the positive composition of differen...

Fireflies of Sri Lanka- is the first-ever comprehensive book on the taxonomy and ecology of fireflies in Sri Lanka to address the long-felt need to fill the gap in the firefly literature in the country. Sri Lankan fireflies have been unexplored to any extent after they were originally described by European naturalists during the colonial era. Many...

Bactrocera dorsalis Hendel, (Diptera: Tephritidae) is one of the serious fruit pests in Sri Lanka. The present study aims to investigate the abundance of B. dorsalis adults and their infestation levels on Willard (Wld) and Karutha kolomban (Kc) mango varieties grown in main bio-climatic zones of Sri Lanka.The study was conducted from September 2020...

Bactrocera dorsalis Hendel, (Diptera: Tephritidae) is one of the serious fruit pests in South Asia. In Sri Lanka, there are dearth of past studies on the abundance and infestations of B. dorsalis on commercially important fruit varieties. Hence, the present study aimed to investigate the abundance of B. dorsalis adults and their infestation levels...

Fruit flies are one of the widely distributed insect pests and they mostly damage economically important fruits and vegetables in the tropical region. However, there are no recently published reports of fruit fly assemblages associated with commercial fruit plantations in Sri Lanka. Hence, the present study aimed to investigate the abundance and di...

Luciola nicolleri was originally described from Sri Lanka by Bugnion in 1922. However, there has been no record of this species since the original description, and subsequently, this species was considered extinct. In recent observations (in 2022), the species has been rediscovered from ‘Walasmulla’(6°14'36.7"N 80°39'09.1"E), Southern, Intermediate...

The poster that was presented in "International Firefly Symposium, 2022", Gala, Portugal

Bactrocera dorsalis Hendel is the most widespread serious fruit pest in Asia and the knowledge on oviposition behaviour of B. dorsalis on different fruit varieties are vital for effective management of the pest. Hence, the present study investigated the preference and oviposition behaviour of B. dorsalis on different colour types of Willard mango v...

Exposure to asbestos causes health hazards including asbestosis, mesothelioma and lung cancer. Asbestos industry workers are at a higher risk of exposure. Objective of this research is to assess the health status and the safety practices of asbestos industry workers. Four hundred seventy-five workers from three asbestos sheet manufacturing factorie...

The pale yellow firefly, Abscondita promelaena was originally described from Sri Lanka. Two male morphs (M1 & M2) of Abs. promelaena have been recorded from Uva Province, Sri Lanka in 2011. There were no previous records of morphs of Abs. promelaena in Southeast Asia. Present study aims to further investigate the taxonomic and ecological evidences...

Introduction: X-linked recessive hereditary disorders is the main cause of colour vision deficiency (CVD). The prevalence of CVD varies from race to race. This study was conducted to determine the prevalence of CVD among 10-to16-year-old school children in Galle educational zone, Sri Lanka.

The Subfamily Lampyrinae fireflies are distributed over the Oriental realm. Lamprigera tenebrosa (Walker, 1858) is one of the Lampyrinae which were originally described from Sri Lanka (as Ceylon). However, their systematics and biology have not been explored to any extent after they were first described in early eighteenth. Lamprigera tenebrosa was...

Diaphanes lutescens was originally described by Walker, 1858, using specimens from Sri Lanka. The systematics and biology of this species has been unexplored since it was first described in the early eighteenth century. This paper provides a detailed description of systematics and biology of the identified male, female and larvae of D. lutescens wi...

Dengue has become a national burden in Sri Lanka, and the understanding of breeding ecology of vectors, Aedes aegypti Linnaeus and Aedes albopictus Skuse, is the most effective way to control the disease. The present study was undertaken to investigate the relative larval abundance of Ae. aegypti and Ae. albopictus in different types and characteri...

Since early 18th century no proper scientific investigations have been conducted on aspects of systematics, ecology and conservation value of Sri Lankan fireflies. The present survey was conducted to study the distribution, relative abundance and species diversity of fireflies in three habitat types in nine Provinces of Sri Lanka. Field studie...

İnvasive alien plants cause major threats to the biodiversity of Sri Lanka. Abundance and distribution of these plants within the country has increased significantly within past two decades. Present study aims to identify invasive alien plant species in five selected natural habitats in Matara District. Further, insect fauna associated with two spe...

Essential oil is a mixture of low molecular weight constituents that are responsible for its characteristic aroma. They are used in several industries as raw materials such as perfumes, cosmetics, food flavor and pesticides etc. Objective of this project was to isolate and characterize the insect repellant volatile oil of Toddalia asiatica leaves....

LUNG FUNCTIONS OF WORKERS OF ASBESTOS RELATED INDUSTRY IN SRI LANKA: A CASE-CONTROL STUDY

LUNG FUNCTIONS OF WORKERS OF ASBESTOS RELATED INDUSTRY IN SRI LANKA: A CASE-CONTROL STUDY

Introduction Formaldehyde can have toxic and allergenic effects on several organs including lungs. Evaporation of formaldehyde from formalin-treated cadavers in the anatomy dissection rooms can cause high exposure to medical students. st Decrease in values of Forced Vital Capacity (FVC), Forced Expiratory Volume in 1 second (FEV1) and Peak Expirat...

The collection of Sri Lankan Cantharoidea in the National Museums Colombo was initiated and identified by European and British collectors in the early 1800s. Their collection has been reserved as "Sri Lankan firefly collection" in the National Museums, Colombo. Subsequently no systematic studies have been undertaken in an attempt to confirm the ide...

Lampyrid larvae (Coleoptera; Lampyridae) are voracious feeders on molluscans pests. Their role as biologically control agent for agricultural molluscan pests has never been studied experimentally. The aim of study was to investigate the predatory role of lampyrid larvae (L. tenebrosa) using two selected molluscan pest species by comparing the damag...

Luciola cingulata is originally described by Olivier in 1885 from Ceylon with a brief description of their taxonomic characters. The Geographical list of Luciolinae in South East Asia by Ballantyne, 2010 reported that, L. cingulata has been recorded from Burma, China, Cambodia, Ceylon, Indonesia and India. However, an ecological study of L. cingula...

Abstract. Abscondita, a new genus of fireflies from South-east Asia, is described from males and females of Abs. anceyi (Olivier), Abs. cerata (Olivier), Abs. chinensis (L.), Abs. perplexa (Walker), Abs. promelaena (Walker) and Abs. terminalis (Olivier), all transferred from Luciola Laporte. Both L. dubia Olivier and L. dejeani Gemminger are synony...

Background and Objectives Previous studies have shown that colour blindness affects the education and carriers of professionals. This study was desinged to elicit the prevalence of colour blindness and its impact on undergraduates. Materials and Methods Colour vision of the randomly selected 309 engineering and 91 medical students was tested by us...

After the initial studies on firefly fauna in eighteenth century by British peoples, studies on fireflies never been conducted other than Southern Province of Sri Lanka. Hence present study was conducted focusing the species diversity and distribution of Lampyrids in Uva and Sabaragamuwa provinces as an effort to update the biodiversity of fireflie...

Lampyrids are one of the charismatic groups of insects and proper studies have never been conducted regionally other than Southern Province of Sri Lanka. Hence, present study surveyed the species diversity and distribution of lampyrids from January to December 2011 in selected habitats of Badulla District, Uva Province, Sri Lanka. Four different h...

Fireflies ( Coleoptera: Lampyridae) are one of the most distinctive, and specialized insect group of world. Available museum collection of 63 firefly species belonging to 24 genera housed in National museum, Colombo have been collected from early 1970`s. A higher number of specimens of that collection come from Sabaragamuwa province, however studie...

Lampyrids or fireflies are one of the ecotourism subjects throughout the world and there is a possibility to use them as a rapidly increasing tourism aspect in Sri Lanka. Previous records have revealed 63 species of fireflies belonging to 24 genera were listed in the country. However, the ecotourism significance of Sri Lankan firefly fauna is poorl...

According to the documented records of the National Museum of Sri Lanka, 63 species of fireflies belonging to 24 genera were recorded in the eighteenth century. Thereafter, no scientific investigations were conducted on the diversity of firefly fauna across Sri Lanka. The present study was conducted to determine the diversity of Luciolinae fireflie...

Present study investigated the seasonal abundance and diversity of butterflies in selected trails in Kiralakelle wetlandfrom January to December 2008. It was proposed ecotourism centre in Matara District. Four butterfly trails wereselected and point scan line‐transect technique was used to survey of butterflies. Abundance, diversity and evennessind...

Taxonomic research especially on insects are very time consuming, poorly funded and have not given sufficient priority. Since it is one of the important basic aspects in understanding the diversity of any organism, it is crucial to utilize reliable techniques to overcome the above mentioned problems. Fine photography has been identified as one of t...

Butterflies are one of the taxonomically well known invertebrate groups in Sri Lanka. However, ecological studies on this aesthetically important indicator group are very limited. Present study investigated the seasonal abundance and species diversity of butterflies in Kiralakelle. It was proposed as an open sanctuary for ecotourism in Matara Distr...

Lepidopteran species are known to exhibit species specific activity pattern and habitat utilization to reduce the interspecific competition and to protect themselves from their predators. These behavior patterns could be more complex and unique in natural habitats of Sri Lanka, a country which possesses very rich biodiversity including 244 butterfl...

Sri Lanka possesses a rich diversity of butterflies compared to other countries in the region, but studies on this interesting taxon remain limited. The present study on current status of butterflies at Kiralakelle wetland was carried out as an effort of filling this gap to some extent. Data was collected from four butterfly trails (trail 1, trail...

Ants are very common group of insects and constitute up to 20% of the animal biomass in tropical region. About 65 genera, 12 subfamilies and 210 species were recorded from Sri Lanka. Majority of ants belongs to the subfamily Myrmicinae and Formicinae. Ants play essential roles in ecosystem functioning by inhabiting in divers microhabitats. The obj...

Although, butterflies are a group of charismatic insects, their behaviors have been rather poorly documented in Sri Lanka. Thus, present study investigated the most active time period, spatial distribution in different strata of vegetation and nectar plants of butterflies in the Kiralakelle, an important wetland in Matara District. Four butterfly t...