Entomologist's Gazette - Vol. 65, No. 3, 2014

Published: 7/25/2014

Article Details for this issue

First record of Melitaea ornata Christoph, 1893, from Slovenia, with notes on its confirmed distribution and hybridisation with M. phoebe ([Denis & Schiffermüller], 1775)

By: PETER RUSSELL, JAMES PATEMAN & RUDI VEROVNIK

Page: 135–153

Type: Paper

Synopsis:
Egg batches obtained from females, sampled from populations of Melitaea ornata-like butterflies in south-western Slovenia in 2011 and 2012, were reared under ‘laboratory’ conditions in the U.K. Most unusually, heavy mortality of ova, larvae, pupae and imagines was observed and very few healthy butterflies resulted from the female captured in 2011. It is suggested that this female was M. ornataut had been fertilised by a male M. phoebe from a nearby population, producing very few hybrid offspring. The rearings from the two females taken in 2012 produced adults from larvae with red-brown heads and thus were confirmed as M. ornata; this is the first confirmed record of this species from Slovenia. The results of examination of the male genitalia of reared (i.e. known from head colour) M. phoebe and M. ornata are presented together with some wild-caught examples; these are compared with the individual’s wing morphology and larval head colour. Comments are made on the lack of recognition of M. ornata in some recent publications and stressing the doubtfulness of separating this species from M. phoebe using only characters of wing morphology. The continued confusion between these two species and with M. punica by recent authors is exemplified.

BOOK REVIEW Guide to the Butterflies of the Palearctic Region. Nymphalidae part VI. Subfamily Limenitidinae, by E. Gallo & C. Della Bruna (edited by G. C. Bozano).

By: JOHN TENNENT

Page: 154

Type: Book Review

Fire melanism of Myrmeleotettix maculatus Thunberg, 1815 (Orthoptera: Acrididae) at two heathland sites in Norfolk

By: TIM GARDINER

Page: 155–160

Type: Paper

Synopsis:
A small-scale study of the response of the Mottled Grasshopper Myrmeleotettix maculatus Thunberg, 1815 (Orthoptera: Acrididae) to heathland fires was undertaken at two sites (Belton Common and Waveney Forest) in east Norfolk. The study found that grasshoppers on blackened, burnt ground frequently had dark colour forms with no green coloration at all. Movements of dark coloured grasshoppers onto burnt ground after fires were suspected, perhaps due to the effective camouflage against predation that this habitat offers to the melanic forms in particular. As the sward recovered in the post-fire seasons at Belton Common, the proportion of grasshoppers with green coloration dramatically increased to match that of the re-establishing vegetation. Adaptive fire melanism ensures that species such as M. maculatus are ready to utilise effectively burnt sites and could survive heath fires for example.

The status of Acizzia acaciaebaileyanae (Froggat), A. jamatonica (Kuwayama) and A. uncatoides (Ferris & Klyver) (Hemiptera: Psyllidae) in Britain

By: CHRISTOPHER MALUMPHY & SALLY LUKER

Page: 161–167

Type: Paper

Synopsis:
Collection data for three species of exotic jumping plant-lice assigned to the genus Acizzia recorded in Britain are reviewed. Since 1990, A. uncatoides (Ferris & Klyver) has been found breeding on Acacia spp. and Paraserianthes lophantha (= Albizia lophantha) growing in private and public gardens in Cornwall, London, Norfolk, Suffolk and Surrey. During 2007 and 2009, A. acaciaebaileyanae (Froggat) was found breeding on Acacia spp. plants growing in two private gardens in Surrey. Both species of jumping plant-lice have also been found at commercial nurseries and both have caused serious damage to plants growing outdoors and under protection. Acizzia jamatonica (Kuwayama) has been intercepted once in Britain, on imported Albizia julibrissin plants. It is concluded that A. uncatoides and A. acaciaebaileyanae are locally naturalized in parts of southern England, whereas A. jamatonica is not currently established in Britain. The host range, biology, geographical distribution and economic impact of each of the three species are reviewed.

NOTES AND OBSERVATIONS Erebia medusa ([Denis & Schiffermüller], 1775) (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae, Satyrinae) on Lesbos, Greece

By: JOHN BOWERS

Page: 168

Type: Short Notes

Chionodes distinctella (Zeller, 1839) (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae): discovery of larvae in the British Isles

By: S. D. BEAVAN & R. J. HECKFORD

Type: Paper

Synopsis:
An account is given of the larva of Chionodes distinctella (Zeller, 1839), which has apparently not been found previously in the British Isles. A few larvae were discovered in sand-covered silken tubes attached to the moss Syntrichia ruralis ssp. ruraliformis (Besch.) Cardot and feeding on Lotus corniculatus L. in May 2013 at Findhorn, near Forres, Moray (V.C. 95). Mainland European accounts and foodplants are reviewed.

New records of Jordanita (Roccia) volgensis (Möschler, 1862) (Lepidoptera: Zygaenidae, Procridinae) from Siberia (Russia) and Ukraine

By: KONSTANTIN A. EFETOV & SVYATOSLAV A. KNYAZEV

Page: 175–178

Type: Paper

Synopsis:
Jordanita (Roccia) volgensis (Möschler, 1862) has been discovered in Omsk Region (second record from Siberia, Russia) and in Donetsk Region (third record from Ukraine).

A new European species, Adscita dujardini sp. nov. (Lepidoptera: Zygaenidae, Procridinae), confirmed by DNA analysis

By: KONSTANTIN A. EFETOV & GERHARD M. TARMANN

Page: 179–200

Type: Paper

Synopsis:
Based on morphology, Adscita (Adscita) dujardini sp. nov. is described from Italy, France, Switzerland and Slovenia. The differences from A. (A.) albanica (Naufock, 1926) are discussed. The specific status of the new taxon is also confirmed by DNA data. A key to the western Palaearctic species of the genus Adscita Retzius, 1783, is provided.