Nine aditions to the Croatian pyraloid moth fauna (Lepidoptera: Pyraloidea)

Abstract

During the last few years, numerous surveys were undertaken to improve the knowledge of the Croatian pyraloid moth fauna. The first author carried out research from 2016 until 2022 on the island of Brač in Dalmatia. The second and third authors carried out research in 2018 and 2019 in the area around Zadar in Dalmatia and the region of Lika. The fourth author collected specimens in 2012 and 2022 in the area of Šibenik, Dalmatia, and the fifth author in 2008, in the area of Split, also in Dalmatia. A list of all recorded species from several locations in Dalmatia and Lika is presented, containing the first data on pyraloid moths from the island of Brač. Throughout these surveys, a total of 163 species were recorded, of which nine are new to the Croatian moth fauna. From the family Pyralidae, the following species were recorded for the first time: Aphomia foedella (Zeller, 1839), Apomyelois bistriatella (Hulst, 1887), Delplanqueia inscriptella (Duponchel, 1836), Epischnia asteris Staudinger, 1870, Melathrix coenulentella (Zeller, 1846), Phycita asselbergsi Slamka, 2019 and Phycitodes saxicola (Vaughan, 1870). From the family Crambidae the following species were reported for the first time from Croatia: Hyperlais lutosalis (Mann, 1862), and Pyrausta rectefascialis Toll, 1936. The rare and endangered thermophilic species Ostrinia quadripunctalis (Denis & Schiffermüller, 1775) and the myrmecophilous Aglossa signicostalis Staudinger, 1870 were also identified. These findings are the second records from Croatia and hereby represent a contribution to their known distribution in Croatia. The finding of two specimens identified as Evergestis infirmalis Staudinger, 1870 – previously unreported from Croatia and the Balkan Peninsula – is presented. DNA barcode data reveal a possible misidentification with all the Evergestis caesialis (Herrich-Schäffer, [1849]) identified from Croatia. Images of the imago and the genitalia, as well as the DNA barcode sequences, are also presented. With these nine additions to the checklist, the Croatian pyraloid moth fauna now numbers 406 species.