Entomologica Romanica Vol. 25 / 2021

2021

Entomologica romanica 25: 1-10, 2021 ISSN 2601-7105 online/doi: 10.24193/entomolrom.25.1 New and rare noctuid species (Lepidoptera, Noctuidae) in the fauna of the Republic of Moldova Cristina Ț ugulea & László Rákosy Summary: Data on 17 rare species of noctuids (Noctuidae) in the fauna of the Republic of Moldova are given in the present paper. The investigations were carried out during 2012-2020 in 26 sites throughout the Republic of Moldova. The genus Actebia Stephens, 1829 and the species Actebiapraecox (Linnaeus, 1758) and Xylena solidaginis (Hübner, 1803) are reported as new for the fauna of the Republic of Moldova. Thus, the number of noctuid species in the fauna of the Republic of Moldova reached 427. The species: Acontia titania (Esper, 1798), Aedophron rhodites (Eversmann, 1851), Periphanes delphinii (Linnaeus, 1758), Eucarta amethystina (Hübner, 1803), Dasypolia temples (Thunberg, 1792), Oxytripia orbiculosa (Esper, 1799), Euxoa cos (Hübner, 1824), Gortyna cervago (Eversmann, 1844), Meganephria bimaculosa (Linnaeus, 1758) and Cucullia argentea (Hufnagel, 1766) needs protection and conservation, so it is recommended according to IUCN criteria to be included in the next edition of the Red Book of the Republic of Moldova and the elaboration of concrete management measures. Rezumat: Lucrarea prezintă 17 specii de noctuide (Noctuidae) rare în fauna Republicii Moldova. Investigațiile au fost efectuate în intervalul 2012-2020 în 26 situri de pe întreg teritoriul Republicii Moldova. Genul Actebia Stephens, 1829 este semnalat pentru prima data din Republica Moldova. Speciile Actebia praecox (Linnaeus, 1758) și Xylena solidaginis (Hübner, 1803) reprezintă taxoni noi pentru fauna Republicii Moldova. Astfel, numărul speciilor de noctuide din fauna Republicii Moldova se ridică la 427. Speciile Acontia titania (Esper, 1798), Aedophron rhodites (Eversmann, 1851), Periphanes delphinii (Linnaeus, 1758), Eucarta amethystina (Hübner, 1803), Dasypolia templi (Thunberg, 1792), Oxytripia orbiculosa (Esper, 1799), Euxoa cos (Hübner, 1824), Gortyna cervago (Eversmann, 1844), Meganephria bimaculosa (Linnaeus, 1758) și Cucullia argentea (Hufnagel, 1766) sunt rare și localizate, necesitând protecție și conservare. Conform criteriilor IUCN se recomandă includerea speciilor menționate în următoarea ediție a Cărții Roșii a Republicii Moldova și elaborarea unor măsuri concrete de management. Key words: Noctuidae, Republic of Moldova, new species, rare species, protected species. Introduction After regrouping the subfamily Catocalinae and Calpinae to the Erebidae family, the Noctuidae family, with about 12000 species is the second largest family of Noctuoidae in the world. According to the latest studies (Țugulea and Derjanschi 2015, Ț ugulea 2020) in the Republic of Moldova, the Noctuidae family consists of 425 species, taxonomically classified in 169 genera and 17 subfamilies: Plusiinae (23 species), Eustrotiinae (5), Acontiinae (6), Pantheinae (1), Dilobinae (1), Acronictinae (21), Metoponiinae (5), Cuculliinae (24), Oncocnemidinae (5), Amphipyrinae (7), Psaphidinae (5), Heliothinae (11), Condicinae (3), Bryophilinae (10), Xyleninae (141), Hadeninae (84) and Noctuinae (73 species). Given that neighboring countries recorded a much higher number of noctuid species (e.g. Romania with 557 [Rakosy et al. 2021]), their number could increase in the coming years in the fauna of the Republic of Moldova. Despite the fact, that noctuids are most often viewed only from the point of view of pests, as a result of the large number of published works on this subject, a number of factors have contributed to the decrease of the numbers of specimens in the populations, which has led to the increase of the number of endangered noctuid species (Țugulea 2020). In recent years we have witnessed an alarming decline in some species of butterflies and moths that a few decades ago were considered very common. The noctuids are as endangered as diurnal butterflies and face the same problems, such as intensification of agriculture, abandonment of traditional land use, changes in forest management and pollution of the environment. There is a decrease in the number of specimens of noctuid populations not only of endangered species but also of those with harmful status. If on August 27 1971, the scientist M. Tkaci collected in Giodeni district for one night, at the with light trap - 205 specimens of Anarta trifolii (Hufnagel, 1766) (Tkaci 1977), then between 2012-2020, the number of individuals of this species has decreased extremely much. The scientist mentions that in the following year, the number of captured individuals increased.

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