Volume 15 – 2010 Papers presented at the 16th European Congress of Lepidopterology of the Societas Europaea Lepidopterologica, 25-31 May, 2009, Cluj-Napoca, Romania
Umkulunkula gen. nov. - a new genus of Pyralinae (Insecta: Lepidoptera, Pyraloidea) from southern Africa Wolfram Mey1 1Museum für Naturkunde, Leibniz Institute at Humboldt Universität, Invalidenstr. 43, D – 10115 Berlin, Germany article no.: Entomologica romanica 15: 5-10, 2010 Summary: The new genus Umkulunkula gen. nov. is established here for an undescribed pyraline species. It has a wide distribution in southern Africa and is named U. kalahariensis sp. nov. The detailed description of the species is based on male and female adults and include external and genital features. The new genus is characterised by four presumed apomorphies: discal spot in forewings with semi-erect scales, male genitalia with juxta and separate transtilla forming a forked appendage, abdominal segment VIII of females with separate sternite and tergite, mid-tibia of both sexes enlarged by long piliform scales. The sistergroup is currently unknown. Closely related genera are Pyralis and Pyralosis by sharing the same wing form, venation and head morphology. Key words: Lepidoptera, Pyralinae, Umkulunkula kalahariensis gen. nov., spec. nov., taxonomy, Namibia, South Africa. e-mail: wolfram.mey@museum.hu-berlin.de	[details, abstract]	[pdf]
DNA barcoding of museum specimens of Lymantriidae preserved in the Royal Museum for Central Africa Zoltán T. Nagy1, Floris C. Breman2 & Ugo Dall’Asta2 1Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences, Joint Experimental Molecular Unit, Rue Vautier 29, B-1000 Brussels, Belgium 2Royal Museum for Central Africa, Joint Experimental Molecular Unit, Leuvensesteenweg 13, B-3080 Tervuren, Belgium article no.: Entomologica romanica 15: 11-16, 2010 Summary: Some preserved specimens of the lepidopteran collection of the Royal Museum for Central Africa were used in a pilot DNA barcoding study. They differed in age, the applied preservation methods and collection sites. Thereby, short and standard DNA barcode sequences were obtained, and species assignments based on neighbour-joining tree reconstruction were carried out and compared with morphological identification. Our results show that the DNA barcoding approach is able to distinguish lymantriid species on an efficient way. Furthermore, we show three examples where it also provides with novel information to taxonomic problems: we found a possibly undescribed species of Leucoma, recovered the possible synonymy of Stracena promelaena and Stracena flavescens, and found an unexpected genetic diversity of some Porthesaroa species. Key words: DNA barcoding, Lymantriidae, COI, Afrotropic. e-mail: ztnagy@naturalsciences.be, floris.breman@africamuseum.be, dallasta@africamuseum.be	[details, abstract]	[pdf]
Saturniidae and Brahmaeidae of the Palaearctic Region: How many species are there? Wolfgang A. Nässig1 & Stefan Naumann2 1Entomologie II, Senckenberg, Senckenberganlage 25, D-60325 Frankfurt am Main, Germany 2Hochkirchstrasse 11, D-10829 Berlin, Germany article no.: Entomologica romanica 15: 17-20, 2010 Summary: The authors intend to write chapters on different families of Bombycoidea for a volume of the new book series “Palaearctic Macrolepidoptera”, to be published by Apollo Books. The families covered are Saturniidae (ca. 150 species), Brahmaeidae (including the former family Lemoniidae, ca. 20 species), Endromidae (1–2 species) and Eupterotidae (ca. 77 species). Phylogenetic and systematic issues concerning the classification of these families are shortly discussed. Key words: Book series “Paelaearctic Macrolepidoptera”, Saturniidae, Brahmaeidae, Eupterotidae, Lemoniidae, Endromidae. e-mail: wolfgang.naessig@senckenberg.de, sn@saturniidae.com	[details, abstract]	[pdf]
Variation of flight thorax temperature among Mediterranean butterflies Gabriel Nève1 1Aix-Marseille Université, UMR CNRS IRD 6116 – IMEP, Case 36, 3 place Victor Hugo, 13331 Marseille Cedex 3, France article no.: Entomologica romanica 15: 21-24, 2010 Summary: Thorax temperatures necessary for flight behaviour was measured in 347 butterflies belonging to 40 species captured at two sites in Mediterranean France. There is a wide variation among species; the recorded minimum was 20.9°C in some Pieris rapae specimens, and the maximal was 39.9°C in an Iphiclides podalirius specimen. Median values ranged from 30.2°C for Polyommatus icarus and 31.5 for Gonepteryx cleopatra to 37.2°C for Melitaea didyma and 37.3°C for Iphiclides podalirius. Foraging habitat may be a key variable explaining this variation. The variation in flight temperature may be a variable linked with the range size of the relevant species, as the widespread Pieris rapae displays a higher flight thorax temperature variance than the Mediterranean species E. crameri. How robust these hypotheses are remains to be tested on a range of species and locations. Key words: thorax, flight temperature, Lepidoptera, Lycaenidae, Papilionidae, Nymphalidae. e-mail: gabriel.neve@univ-provence.fr	[details, abstract]	[pdf]
Demographic parameters of two sympatric Maculinea species in a Romanian site (Lepidoptera: Lycaenidae) Raluca Vodă1, Natalia Timuş1, Inge Paulini2, Răzvan Popa1, Ciprian Mihali3, Andrei Crişan1 & László Rákosy1 1Babeş-Bolyai University, Faculty of Biology and Geology, Department of Taxonomy and Ecology, Clinicilor 5-7, 40006 Cluj-Napoca, Cluj County, Romania 2Dept. of Geobotany & Nature Conservation, University of Bonn, Karlrobert-Kreiten-Str. 13, 53115 Bonn, Germany 3Electron Microscopy Center, Babeş-Bolyai University, Str. Clinicilor 5-7, 400006, Cluj-Napoca, Romania article no.: Entomologica romanica 15: 25-32, 2010 Summary: Romania is one of the few countries where all five European taxa of the butterfly genus Maculinea are known to occur. However, there are very few national studies focused on this group of butterflies, in contrast with the high amount of information available for Central and Western Europe. In this paper, we present the results of the first mark-release-recapture (MRR) study on populations of Maculinea teleius and M. nausithous that occur sympatrically on a mesohygrophilous meadow near Cluj-Napoca, Romania. By applying the MRR method throughout the entire flight period of both species, we estimated both individual survival and population size. The population size of both species was typical for Maculinea (2,480 individuals for M. nausithous and 1,198 for M. teleius). The estimates of survival were high (on average 0.8 for both species), suggesting relatively long life spans by comparison to results of other studies on the two species. Together with occasional observations of several years, the results of this study suggest that the populations of the studied species are relatively well conserved. This is of particular importance for M. nausithous since this species is known from very few localities in Romania and the population studied by us is one of the largest in the country. However, recent changes in habitat management could represent a threat to the long term survival of these Maculinea species and immediate conservation measures have to be taken in order to ensure their persistance. Key words: distribution, Maculinea nausithous kijevensis, Maculinea teleius, mark-release-recapture, population size. e-mail: raluvoda@yahoo.com	[details, abstract]	[pdf]
Lepidoptera fauna of the German federal state of Baden-Wuerttemberg (south-western Germany) online Robert Trusch1 1State Museum of Natural History, Karlsruhe, Erbprinzenstraße 13, D-76133 Karlsruhe, Germany article no.: Entomologica romanica 15: 33-39, 2010 Summary: The State Museum of Natural History in Karlsruhe collects data on the moths and butterflies of Baden-Wuerttemberg in a central Lepidoptera database which is not publicly accessible. The database is supervised by the Lepidoptera section of the entomological department of the museum. The observation and collection data incorporated in the database are recorded predominantly by honorary co-workers of the project. In mid 2008 we published updated distribution maps of all 1,167 Macrolepidoptera-species of Baden-Wuerttemberg online under www.schmetterlinge-bw.de. Making updated grid distribution maps available to the general public is because the maps published between 1991 and 2005 in the book series „Die Schmetterlinge Baden-Württembergs“ (The Macro-Lepidoptera of Baden-Wuerttemberg, Ebert 1991-2005) are becoming outdated slowly but inevitably. The online maps allow users to click on a grid to see the year of the record and the recorder’s name which is a novel function compared with the printed maps. Observers can compare their own records with the complete set of database records and may spot potential inaccuracies or errors. Baden-Wuerttemberg is not the only place where the number of active lepidopterists is decreasing. This trend means that in the future fewer people with specialist knowledge will be available for faunistic projects. Reaching a wider range of potentially interested people via the internet may help to develop new circles of co-workers. Quality control is enhanced by the exclusive admission of dependable or checked records into the database. New recorders need to understand that a scientifically reliable record often requires documentation, beginning with photography and ending, if necessary, with the collecting of a specimen. Recorders have to be encouraged to acquire a profound knowledge of the species and to take up collecting. To this end the museum is ready to provide them assistance in applying for the necessary collecting permits. The task of the central Lepidoptera database in Baden-Wuerttemberg is to keep up-to-date our knowledge concerning the occurrence, seasonal appearance, habitats, and threats to the local species, and to make this information available to researchers, to conservationists and to the interested general public. The database contributes to the preservation of threatened Lepidoptera by providing important data to the “endangered species protection programme” (Artenschutzprogramm) of the state of Baden-Wuerttemberg which is carried out by the „Landesanstalt für Umwelt, Messungen und Naturschutz Baden-Württemberg“ (LUBW), the federal authority for environment, measurements and nature conservation. The database is equally indispensable in supplying data on the species protected under the Natura 2000 network of the European Community (FFH), and for the production of red data books of threatened species. Key words: central database, Baden-Wuerttemberg, faunistics, honorary co-workers, interactive distribution maps, biogeography, preservation, threatened Lepidoptera. Schlüsselwörter: Landesdatenbank Schmetterlinge, Baden-Württemberg, Faunistik, ehrenamtliche Mitarbeit, interaktive Beobachtungskarten, Verbreitung, Biogeographie, Artenschutz e-mail: trusch@smnk.de web: www.schmetterlinge-bw.de	[details, abstract]	[pdf]