Catocala

Genomic sequencing (or morphology when indicated) and analysis of Hesperiidae that includes a number of primary type specimens reveals inconsistencies between the phylogenetic trees and the current classification that are resolved here. The following taxonomic changes are proposed. Oeonus Godman, 1900, stat. nov. is a subgenus of Oxynthes Godman, 1900. Decinea lydora (Plötz, 1882), stat. rev. is a valid species, not a synonym of Lindra neroides (Herrich-Schäffer, 1869), comb. nov. The following are: species-level taxa, not subspecies: Cabirus junta Evans, 1952, stat...

Seven species of tachinid flies reared from herbivorous lepidopterans collected from the deciduous forest canopy at Hokkaido University Tomakomai Experimental Forest (0.2 ha plot), Hokkaido, Japan, are recorded and described: Blepharomyia brevicornis sp. nov. ex Erannis golda Djakonov (Geometridae), Catocala lara Bremer and Orthosia odiosa (Butler) (both Noctuidae); Ctenophorinia grisea Mesnil ex Himeropteryx miraculosa Staudinger (Notodontidae); Blepharipa carbonata (Mesnil) ex Marumba jankowskii (Oberthr) (Sphingidae); Cyzenis equifacialis sp...

Catocala electa is one of the secondary pests in agriculture. In this study, the whole mitochondrial genome sequence of C. electa was determined with the help of Illumina sequencing. The complete genome sequence is 15,575 bp in total length, which contains 13 protein-coding genes (PCGs), 22 transfer RNAs(tRNAs) region, 2 ribosomal RNAs (rRNAs) and 1 control region (CR). The overall base components of mitogenome of all bases was 39.58% for A, 41.72% for T, 11.38% for C and 7.33% for G. Phylogenetic analysis using the ML method showed that C...

An inventory of Lepidoptera in the Theniet El Had National Park (PNTEH), Algeria, revealed 86 taxa, both butterflies and moths. The specimens were collected in 68 localities distributed over ten cantons within the park in the period 2015-2017. A preliminary faunistic list is compiled as a base-line contribution to the study of adult Lepidoptera in this park. In total, 3139 specimens were collected. The moths are clearly well diversified, with 14 families and 49 species obtained from a total of 1485 adult specimens...

Insect migrations are spectacular natural events and resemble a remarkable relocation of biomass between two locations in space. Unlike the well-known migrations of daytime flying butterflies, such as the painted lady ( Vanessa cardui ) or the monarch butterfly ( Danaus plexippus ), much less widely known are the migrations of nocturnal moths. These migrations - typically involving billions of moths from different taxa - have recently attracted considerable scientific attention. Nocturnal moth migrations have traditionally been investigated by light trapping and by observations in the wild, but in recent times a considerable improvement in our understanding of this phenomenon has come from studying insect orientation behaviour, using vertical-looking radar...

Catocala becheri Borth, Kons & Saldaitis, 2017 was recently described from Central Vietnam. It is a member of a morphologically well-defined group including Catocala intacta Leech, 1889 and Catocala hoferi Ishizuka & Ohshima, 2003 which both differ from C. becheri in wing pattern and male genitalia. (Borth et al. 2017). Recent collecting has provided additional specimens, including the first female C. becheri, described below.

The Asian Catocala naganoi species group is delimited and reviewed, with a diagnosis of the constituent species based on genitalic, wing pattern, and COI 5' mtDNA characters. The included species are Catocala naganoi Sugi, 1982, C. solntsevi Sviridov, 1997, C. naumanni Sviridov, 1996, and C. katsumii sp. n. which is described here as new.

A new species, Catocala nilssoni, sp. n., from the Liaoning and Shandong Provinces of northeast China is described. The new species clearly differs in wing pattern and genitalia from any other Catocala species. DNA results for one specimen of the new species further confirms its morphological exclusivity. Actual Catocala danilovi (O. Bang-Haas, 1927) male genitalia is pictured for the first time and the taxonomical status of the related Catocala florianii Saldaitis & Ivinskis, 2008 is discussed.

The taxonomy of the Catocala nupta (L.), 1757 complex is analyzed using corresponding characters of the male genitalia, wing pattern, and COI 5' mitochondrial DNA, and is presently found to contain only two additional species: Catocala concubia Walker, [1858], and a new species Catocala benedeki described herein. Three new lectotypes are designated, and 12 status changes for existing names are introduced (10 new synonyms, 2 revised statuses).

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Catocala toropovi Saldaitis, Kons & Borth, 2014 was recently described from the valleys of the Ili and Charyn rivers in southeast Kazakhstan. This species is similar to C. repudiata Staudinger, 1888 and C. optima Staudinger, 1888, but differs on morphological as well as genetic characters (Saldaitis et al. 2014). Catocala toropovi was described based on male specimens, as females were unknown at the time. During studies of Lepidoptera in Xinjiang Province, China, two females of C. toropovi were collected, and this paper provides a brief description and analysis of the female of this species...

Here we describe Catocala didenko sp. n. as new for the noctuid genus Catocala Shrank, differing from Catocala duplicata Butler, 1885 and Catocala gansan Ishizuka & Wang, 2013 on wing pattern, male genitalia, and COI 5' mitochondrial DNA. These three species, along with Catocala dissimilis Bremer, 1861, comprise a small and distinctive species group within the genus. Exemplary uncommon morphological characters for this group include: extensive area of ventral side of claspers unsclerotized (Fig. 17); claspers with a subapical ventral bulging projection (Fig...

A Skinner mercury vapor light trap was operated from 2001 through 2009 in a residential backyard to document biodiversity within the moth families Thyatiridae, Drepanidae, Geometridae, Mimallonidae, Apatelodidae, Lasiocampidae, Saturniidae, Sphingidae, Erebidae (including Lymantriinae and Arctiinae), Euteliidae, Nolidae, and Noctuidae. When making comparisons to older literature, we recalculated our results to conform to the older classification of the Noctuoidea. Moths were released after identification. There were 501 species documented in 77581 captures from 1290 sampling dates...

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Phylogenetic relationships of 31 Japanese Catocala species were analyzed based on the partial nucleotide sequences of the mitochondrial NADH dehydrogenase subunit 5 (ND5) gene (762 bp). When several non-Catocala Noctuidae moths were designated as the outgroup, these Catocala species formed a monophyletic group. However, divergences between these Catocala species were very deep, and no close phylogenetic relationships were recognized among them except for that between the two recently separated species, C. xarippe and C...

The natural resting orientations of several species of nocturnal moth on tree trunks were recorded over a three-month period in eastern Ontario, Canada. Moths from certain genera exhibited resting orientation distributions that differed significantly from random, whereas others did not. In particular, Catocala spp. collectively tended to orient vertically, whereas subfamily Larentiinae representatives showed a variety of orientations that did not differ significantly from random. To understand why different moth species adopted different orientations, we presented human subjects with a computer-based detection task of finding and 'attacking' Catocala cerogama and Euphyia intermediata target images at different orientations when superimposed on images of sugar maple (Acer saccharum) trees...

Blue jays trained to detect Catocala moths in slides were exposed to two types of slide series containing these moths: series of one species and series of two species intermixed. In one-species series, detection ability increased with successive encounters with one prey type. No similar effect occurred in two-species series. These results are a direct demonstration of a specific search image.

A dark moth (Catocala antinympha) and a light moth (Campaea perlata) rested on appropriate backgrounds in an experimental apparatus allowing a choice between black and white backgrounds. The selections remained unchanged when the circumocular scales of the moths were painted either black or white. These results suggest that selections of background by cryptic moths, with respect to background reflectance, are genetically fixed. Background selections by melanic forms in various species are interpreted in the light of this conclusion...

Blue jays learned to respond differentially to the presence or absence of Catocala moths in slides. This detection of the moths by the jays was affected by the background upon which the moth was placed and its body orientation, thus providing an objective measure of crypticity. These procedures are useful for the study of visual detection of prey.

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