On the discovery of Arytrura musculus (Menetries, 1859) (Lepidoptera: Erebidae) in Croatia

Abstract

Background and purpose: The moth fauna of Croatia is still insufficiently surveyed. During the last several years, several overviews of the moth fauna for several locations were published and several new species for the country had been found. Only two species from Annexes II and IV of the Habitats Directive are listed for Croatia. A third is known to occur in the country, but has been omitted due to a lack of recent records. Presented here is the first record of a fourth species from the Annexes – Arytrura musculus.Materials and methods: This survey was carried out on one location in Nature Park Lonjsko Polje, on 17.6.2016. The habitat at the location is typical for the area, consisting of floodplain oak forests with Genista tinctoria. Two pyramidal light traps were used.Results: One specimen of Arytrura musculus was found. This is a rare and disjunctly distributed species across Eastern Europe. The closest known populations to the Croatian locality are situated in Hungary, 122 and 130 km away.Conclusions: This species needs to be added onto the list of Natura 2000 species for the Nature Park and for the whole country at the earliest possible convenience. Detailed surveys of the entire Lonjsko Polje Nature Park and other wetland areas in northern Croatia are needed in order to ascertain the distribution, assess the status and assure the long-term conservation of this species in the country.