Introduction

Species occupying the southern half of the Iberian Peninsula and northern Morocco, extending further to northern Algeria and Tunisia, can be attributed to the Iberian-Maghrebian corotype while the Betic-Riffian corotype is used for species restricted to the mountains of the South of Iberian Peninsula and the Rif Mountains of northern Morocco, including the Sistema Central in Iberian Peninsula or the northern part of the Atlas Mountains (SERRANO et al., 2003).

The subfamily Sterrhinae includes many species distributed in both areas as, for example, Idaea sericeata calvaria Wehrli, 1927, I. ochrata albida Zerny 1936, I. nigrolineata (Chrétien, 1911), I. mustelata (Gumppenberg, 1892), I. bigladiata Herbulot, 1975, I. nexata (Hübner, 1813), I. manicaria (Herrich-Schäffer, 1852), I. minuscularia (Ribbe, 1912), I. fractilineata (Zeller, 1847), I. incisaria (Staudinger, 1892), Cinglis andalusiaria Wagner, 1935, Rhodostrophia vibicaria strigata Staudinger, 1871, Cyclophora hyponoea (Prout, 1935) and many others (HAUSMANN, 2004). Other species are only present in the Iberian Peninsula with single records in North Africa as Idaea luteolaria (Constant, 1863), I. figuraria (Bang-Haas, 1907), I. simplicior (Prout, 1934) and Oar reaumuraria (Millière, 1864), while Cleta ramosaria (Villers, 1789) is scarcely recorded on both sides of the Gibraltar Straight.

North African lepidopteran species are very often remaining undetected or overlooked in European collections due to lack of information since few species descriptions based on morphology and genitalia are available. For example, I. gelbrechti Hausmann, 2003 was described from Ifrane in Morocco and the first record in the Iberian Peninsula was cited in MÜLLER (2010). Later, GUERRERO et al. (2012) added further records to the Iberian-Maghrebine region with new records in south-eastern Spain after studying the specimens labelled as Idaea aversata (Linnaeus, 1758) in several entomological collections.

Idaea lobaria Chrétien, 1909 was described from Biskra in Algeria and was tentatively placed into the I. infirmaria species-group including also the West-Mediterranean species I. infirmaria (Rambur, 1833) and I. rhodogrammaria (Püngeler, 1913), the East-Mediterranean I. tineata (Thierry-Mieg, 1931) and the Iberian endemism I. saleri Domínguez & Baixeras, 1992. The remaining species are distributed in North Africa (I. alutaceata (Rungs, 1945)), and in the Canary Islands (I. bacalladoi (Pinker, 1974), I. purpurariata (Pinker, 1974) and I. fuerteventurensis (Pinker, 1974)). Idaea lobaria is distributed from the Levant to northern Morocco. This species in habitus is reminiscent of I. fractilineata (Zeller, 1847) and differs from the latter by several morphological and genital characters (HAUSMANN, 1994, 2004).

Material and methods

Adult female specimens were examined externally in order to evaluate possible differences and the female genitalia structures were dissected using standard procedures (HAUSMANN, 2001) with minor modifications. Female adults (Figure 1) and the morphology of genital structures (Figure 2) were studied using a Zeiss Stemi 508 stereomicroscope with a Zeiss Axiocam ICc5 digital camera. All specimens are deposited in the collection of the Department of Zoology and Physical Anthropology of Universidad de Murcia (Spain).

Results

In 2003, 2006 and 2016 the following 12 females were collected.

Material: MURCIA, Rambla Salada, Las Torres de Cotillas, 80 m, 30SXH50, 1 ♀, 26-VI-2003; 2 ♀♀, 8-VII-2003; 1 ♀, 1-X-2003; 1 ♀, 7-VII-2016 (Guerrero leg.); Río Mula, Embalse de los Rodeos, Las Torres de Cotillas, 120 m, 30SXH50, 1 ♀, 27-VI-2003 (Guerrero leg.); Rambla Salada, Cañada Hermosa, Murcia, 150 m, 30SXH40, 3 ♀♀, 29-VI-2006; 3 ♀♀, 17-VII-2006 (Guerrero leg.).

The specimens have been found between 80 and 150 m above sea-level in a gullied landscape in the center of the Murcia province, located within the thermo-mediterranean bioclimatic belt, and characterized by high summer temperatures and low and sporadic rainfall (mean annual precipitation of 300 mm).

Discussion

The south-east of the Iberian Peninsula presents large areas of arid habitats with many species and plant communities with closest relationships to those of North Africa. This area seems to have been under arid conditions for a long time, allowing the evolution and persistence of hundreds of plant species adapted to those environments, some of them endemics, and others shared with the semiarid Maghreb (Algeria and Morocco) (more information in ALCARAZ, 2017).

The sampled localities correspond to two semi-desert landscapes around two seasonal or sporadic water courses with some differential characteristics. The location around the Mula River is an area of badland ravines or “ramblas”, gypsum marls, with high dryness and erodibility and sparse vegetation. The most characteristic plant species are some of the Ibero-Africanisms adapted to this type of substrate, with resistance to high concentrations of calcium sulfates and high temperatures such as Limonium, Tamarix, Ferula, Helianthemum, Fumana, Salsola, Suaeda, Arthrocnemum, and other xero-halophilic genera. The other two localities corresponding to Rambla Salada are situated in a ravine of clay materials and little consolidated conglomerates, with high salinity which characterize the type of the present vegetation. The reed (Phragmites australis) dominates depending on water depth, with other common halophilic plants occurring such as Arthrocnemum, Suaeda, Limonium, Tamarix, etc.

In North Africa, the species has been recorded from sea-level up to 1,500 m in Morocco (Anti-Atlas) inhabiting deserts, semi-deserts and oases.

Idaea lobaria can be considered as univoltine or bivoltine and it has been recorded from the end of June to early of October while the scarce North African records are from early May to early June. The Iberian data from October may refer to a partial second emergence. In the Levant, scarce data indicate also bivoltinism from early April to late June and from mid-October to mid-November.

Acknowledgements

This study was supported by the project on insect barcoding CGL2009-10906 of the Spanish Ministry of Research and Science and by Regional Excellence 19908-GERM-15 project of the Fundación Séneca (Murcia, Spain). Collecting permits were issued by Environmental Authority of Murcia.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

ALCARAZ, F., 2017.– The arid Southeast.– In J. LOIDI (Ed.). The Vegetation of the Iberian Peninsula, Plant and Vegetation, 13: 249-274. Springer International Publising A G., Basel.

GUERRERO, J. J., ORTIZ, A. S. & RUBIO, R. M., 2012.– On the distribution of Idaea gelbrechti Hausmann, 2003 in the Ibero-Maghrebian region (Geometridae: Sterrhinae).– Nota lepidopterologica, 35: 193-196.

HAUSMANN, A., 1994.– Notes on morphology of some little known species of the genus Idaea Treitschke, 1825 in the Middle East (Lepidoptera: Geometridae, Sterrhinae).– Bonner Zoologische Beiträge, 45: 67-78.

HAUSMANN, A., 2001.– Introduction. Archiearinae, Orthostixinae, Desmobathrinae, Alsophilinae, Geometrinae.– In A. HAUSMANN (Ed.). The Geometrid moths of Europe, 1: 282 pp. Apollo Books, Stenstrup,

HAUSMANN, A., 2004.– Sterrhinae.– In A. HAUSMANN (Ed.). The Geometrid Moths of Europe, 2: 600 pp. Apollo Books, Stenstrup.

MÜLLER, B., 2010.– Idaea gelbrechti Hausmann, 2003 new for Spain and Europe (Lepidoptera: Geometridae).– SHILAP Revista de lepidopterología, 38(150): 159-163.

SERRANO, J., LENCINA, J. L. & ANDÚJAR, A., 2003.– Distribution patterns of Iberian Carabidae (Insecta,Coleoptera).– Graellsia, 59: 129-153.

Anexo

Figures 1-2.
1. Female adult of Idaea lobaria Chrétien. 2. Female genitalia.

Notes

Notas de autor

aortiz@um.es