Search

In this paper we reported the list of nocturnal macromoth collected during one year of sampling in a territory delimited by Alli and Simeri rivers, on the south-eastern slope of the Sila Massif, Calabria. Ten sites representative of the main forest types, mainly thermophilous oaks and riparian forests, were investigated at an altitude between 90 and 650 m a.s.l. One UV LED light trap was positioned in each site, activated monthly during the same night, from June 2019 to April 2021. Altogether we collected 20,366 specimens belonging to 429 species. Most abundant species were those linked to the forest cover by the feeding habit of larvae (Eupithecia dodoneata, Cyclophora puppillaria, Watsonalla uncinula, and Catocala sp.pl.) or those without strict ecological preferences (Peribatodes rhomboidaria, Idaea filicata, I. degeneraria, Eilema caniola). The finding of the following species has great biogeographical interest: Cryphia receptricula, found for the first time in Calabria, Aegle agatha, known in Italy for three localities so far, Horisme exoletata, so far reported in peninsular Italy in this area only, Denticucullus pygmina and Orectis cfr. proboscidata, so far collected in Calabria in only one locality. Furthermore, 44 species were collected for the first time in the Sila Massif and 7 for the first time along the Ionian Coast. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]