Introduction

The genus Axylia Hübner, [1821] is distributed throughout the Palaearctic, Afrotropical and the Indomalaya ecozones. There are 26 species worldwide but a single European representative ( Fibiger, 1990). In the past, Axylia putris (Linnaeus, 1761) was mentioned by Borg (1932), the brother of the botanist Professor Ganni Borg as present in Malta, however this has always been considered as a misidentification, since no physical specimens could be traced and because his work contains several mistakes with species which have never been recorded from Malta. It is estimated that around 25% of the species mentioned in his work are doubtful or misidentified ( Sammut, 2000).

Material

M alta, G ozo Island, Dahlet Qorrot, 1 ♂,11-VI-2021; Dahlet Qorrot (22 ♂♂, 4 ♀♀) 17-X-2022 at 250W MV light, leg. J. Agius (in coll. J. Agius).

Discussion

On mainland Europe, Axylia putris (Linnaeus, 1761) is reported as flying during June and July with an occasional second brood during September. Due to Malta’s location at the centre of the Mediterranean, it does not come as a surprise that local species have a different voltinism and/or flight period from the same species found further north. Considering that this species has been recorded in both summer and autumn and that the autumn brood is prolific and contains a mix of males and females, it can easily be assumed that Axylia putris (Linnaeus, 1761) is breeding in Gozo. The larvae feed on a variety of plants such as cereals, Galium, Lotus, Polygonum, Rumex, Trifolium, Urtica and Vicia. Most of these plants are widespread across the Maltese Islands so it could be just a matter of time that this species is recorded from other localities.

Figure 1.
Axylia putris (Linnaeus, 1761) - M alta, Gozo Island, Dahlet Qorrot 3 ♂♂, 1 ♀)

The species is new to the Maltese lepidopterofauna. I propose the Maltese name Axilja, after a transliteration of the genus.

Acknowledgements

The author is grateful to Dr. Antonio Vives for the Spanish abstract.

References

Borg, P. (1932). The Lepidoptera of the Maltese Islands. Government Printing Press.

Fibiger, M. (1990). Noctuinae I. Noctuidae Europaeae (Vol. 1). Entomological Press.

Sammut, P. (2000). Kullana Kulturali. 12 - Il-Lepidoptera. Pubblikazzjonijiet Indipendenza.