A new species of Odontelia Hampson, 1905 from Israel and its ecology (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae, Hadeninae)

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1 Günter C. Müller et al., A new species of Odontelia A new species of Odontelia Hampson, 1905 from Israel and its ecology (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae, Hadeninae) Günter C. Müller, Vasiliy D. Kravchenko, Laszlo Ronkay, Wolfgang Speidel, Thomas Witt, Josef Mooser, Amy Junnila & Alberto Zilli Abstract. Odontelia daphnadeparisae sp. nov. is described from Israel. The habitats and nature conservation value of the new species and of Thargelia gigantea (Rebel, 1909) are given. Introduction The genera Odontelia Hampson, 1905 and Thargelia Püngeler, 1900 represent a characteristic group of Noctuidae connected with the eremic biomes, which extends from the northern African deserts to eastern Mongolia. They appear more diverse in western and Central Asia. Only a single Thargelia species is known from the entire Saharan region (T. gigantea Rebel, 1909), while Odontelia has long been considered an Asian genus with the westernmost edge of its range in the Caspian area and NW Iran. The taxonomic revisions of the two genera were recently published by Varga & Ronkay (1991, 1998). Within the Israeli-German project for the study of the Israeli Lepidoptera fauna, intensive collecting was conducted from The project was a joint effort of the Tel Aviv University, The Hebrew University, the Nature Reserves and Park Authority of Israel, the Zoologische Staatssammlung Munich and the Museum Witt, Munich. As one of the many results of the project (summarized by Kravchenko et al. 2007), a new Odontelia species was discovered, putting the border of the area of the genus much further west. The description of the new species is given below, in comparison with the related taxa. Odontelia daphnadeparisae sp. nov. (1, 3 6, 9 11) Holotype. `, Israel, Arava, Gerofit, Janu- Zusammenfassung. Odontelia daphnadeparisae sp. nov. aus Israel wird beschrieben. Habitate und Bedrohungsgrad der neuen Art und von Thargelia gigantea (Rebel, 1909) werden angegeben. Key words. Odontelia, Thargelia, new species, Israel, Palaearctic Region. ary 2003, V. Kravchenko leg. (coll. Tel Aviv University, Israel). Paratypes. Israel. 13 ex., Arava, Gerofit, XI. XII. 2001; 9 ex., XII.2002; 5 ex., I.2003; 10 ex., Arava, Shezaf Natural Reserve; 3 ex., 7.II.2000; 5 ex., 2.I.2001; 9 ex., 26.II. 7.III.2001, leg. V. Kravchenko; 8 ex., Arava, Gerofit, I.2003, V. Kravchenko & G. Muller leg.; 7 ex., Arava, Gerofit, V. Kravchenko & G. Muller leg, II.2004; 10 ex., Arava, Gerofit, XII.2006, V. Kravchenko & G. Muller leg.; 12 ex., Arava, Gerofit, II.2006, V. Kravchenko & G. Muller leg. (coll. TAU, HNHM, G. Ronkay, W. Speidel, Josef Mooser); Slide Nos: RL8840, RL8841 (males); slide No V. Kravchenko (female). Etymology. The species is dedicated to Mrs. Daphna de Paris an Israeli nature lover and well known art curator from Jerusalem. She was one of the main initiators of the exhibition Volumen und Kontur Meeting Contrasts 2005, in the Zoological State Collection, Munich, Germany. As the curator of the art collection she exhibited sculptures of the Israeli artists Prof Y. Schlein and Prof Y. Dorchin while building a bridge to the nature of Israel with selected representatives of the Israeli-German Lepidoptera project (Schoenitzer 2005). Description. Wingspan mm (males: mm, females: mm). Body. Stout, grey, with strong patagiae which show a dark line along the dorsal margin. Forewing pale ash-grey, suffused with a few darker grey areas between the veins at termen and a few scattered pale brown scales. Ante- and postmedial lines absent. Subterminal line represented by a variable number of arrow-heads directed inwards. Orbicular stigma hardly traceable in females, in males elongate, pale grey, with dark grey ring outside, proximally open. Reniform stigma outlined partly with fine dark grey line, comma-shaped, often with dent-like projections in its lower part directed towards termen, and in some specimens also with such projections directed inwards. Inside of reniform stigma filled pale grey with a darker grey central shadow. Claviform stigma outlined dark grey, with more or less contrasting pale filling. Veins partly covered with dark grey scales, especially in marginal and basal area. Cilia grey-brown, spotted dark grey. Hindwing white, veins dark grey, with an interrupted dark grey terminal line, cilia white. Male genitalia (Figs 3 6). Genital capsula only slightly asymmetrical. Uncus relatively short, flattened, broadly lanceolate, with fine dorsal hump. Tegumen broad, with rather small penicular lobes; juxta more or less deltoidal, finely asymmetrical; vinculum short but strong, V- shaped. Valvae elongated, narrow, somewhat dilated below cucullus; cucullus small, angled ventrad, with apex rounded; corona weak. Sacculus short but strongly sclerotised; harpe long, heavily sclerotised, broadly cuneate or beakshaped, with apex pointed. Aedeagus cylindrical, medium-long, slightly arched; carina penis with sclerotised dorsal plate. Vesica short but rather ample, globular, with long, broadly tubular, apically tapering ventro-lateral diverticulum, armed with short but strong, acute cornutus (which may be duplicated in certain cases, similarly to the other taxa of the genera Odontelia and the related Thargelia Püngeler, 1900). Female genitalia (Fig. 1). Ovipositor short, broadly conical, papillae anales short, 243

2 Entomologische Zeitschrift Stuttgart 117(6)2007 Figs 1 6. Genital structures. 1, 2. females. 1. Odontelia daphnadeparisae sp. nov., slide No V. Kravchenko. 2. Odontelia fissilis (Christoph, 1884), slide No. RL Odontelia daphnadeparisae sp. nov., males, Israel. 3. Slide no. RL8840, aedeagus. 4. Slide no. RL8840, clasping apparatus. 5. Slide no. RL8841, aedeagus. 6. Slide no. RL8841 clasping apparatus. quadrangular, densely setose; apophyses posteriores relatively long, flattened, barlike. Penultimate segment very broad, strongly sclerotised, apophyses anteriores shert, relatively thick. Ostium bursae a narrow, sclerotised ring; ductus bursae short, flattened, heavily sclerotised, its lateral margins strengthened, anterior margin oblique, crispate. Appendix bursae small, rounded conical; corpus bursae long, sacculiform, weakly membranous. The female genitalia of the related O. fissilis (Christoph, 1884) are also shown (Fig. 2). Diagnosis. This species is superficially more similar to certain Thargelia Püngeler, 1900 species (especially the members of the T. distincta (Christoph, 1884) species-group) and Odontelia arenicola (Shchetkin, 1965) than to the closest related O. fissilis (Christoph, 1884) and O. lanceolata Varga & Ronkay, This is largely because of their remarkably larger size wingspan of O. daphnadeparisae sp. nov. is mm, those of O. fissilis and O. lanceolata are mm and mm, respectively broader forewings with more variegated colouration and more sharply defined pattern. The large or very large, often strongly blackishgrey of blackish-brown outlined, irregularly shaped reniform stigma, the long, whitish or ochreous filled claviform stigma and the large, elongate-cuneate orbicular stigma of the new species are shared features with most Thargelia species, as well as the ochreous-white hindwings with darkened veins, meanwhile, the taxa of the O. fissilis group have narrower, more uniformly grey or slate-grey forewings with less prominently encircled and usually much smaller stigmata of regular shape (rounded orbicular, and elliptical-lunulate reniform stigma). The hindwing veins are only partly covered with darker scales. The basic structure of the male genitalia clearly indicates the position of the new species within the genus Odontelia and displays the close relationships with the members of the O. fissilis species-group. The diagnostic character is the structure of the vesica (Figs 3, 5). The members of the O. fissilis-group have a rather long tubular ventro-lateral diverticulum terminated in an acute but short cornutus while the vesica of the taxa of the O. arenicola-group is more globular, without tubular diverticulum and cornutus. The male genitalia of O. daphnadeparisae sp. nov. are very similar to those of O. fissilis and O. lanceolata but the new species has broader and more robust uncus, somewhat more tapering cucullus and longer harpe, and the tubular diverticulum is thicker, armed with larger cornutus. The female genitalia of O. daphnadeparisae sp. nov. can be compared with O. fissilis (the female of O. lanceolata is still unknown). The ground plan of the two species is the same, displaying only little differences in the shape and size of the ostium and ductus bursae. The ostium of the new species is narrower, the ductus bursae is somewhat shorter and proximally more asymmetrical, and its junction to corpus bursae is more crispate. Distribution. So far the confirmed records of Odontelia daphnadeparisae sp. nov. are so far only from the Levant where this species is restricted to some sandy areas of the Arava Valley, in the border area between Israel and Jordan. Possibly the new species is much further distributed in the Arab Peninsula and Northern Africa where it was in the past probably confused with the Central Asian species Odontelia margiana Püngeler, Records of O. margiana by Hacker, Kravchenko & Yarom (2001) from Israel were confused with the new species. Furthermore not clear if western populations of Odontelia belong to O. daphnadeparisae sp. nov.; they may prove in the future to be new species. 244

3 Günter C. Müller et al., A new species of Odontelia The habitats of Thargelia gigantea and Odontelia daphnadeparisae sp. nov. (Figs 12 16) Thargelia gigantea, described from Ajun Mua Oasis, Sinai, Egypt by Rebel (1909), is found in Israel in the arid regions of the Negev from where it is only penetrating the Arava Valley. In Israel it is uncommon and localized to some canyons of the southern Negev. Most specimens were collected in Shaharut Nature Reserve, and elsewhere it was always rare and localized. This deserticolous species lives mainly in the hottest and driest areas of the Negev where it is often found along walls of deep stony canyons containing sparse contracted desert vegetation irrigated by nocturnal water condensate from the walls. Along seasonal water courses, it concentrates in areas with outcrops of flint, limestone, granite or other magmatic rocks often in impoverished semi-shrub communities. It is less common in xerotherm mountainous desert steppes dominated by Artemisia sieberi (Asterceae) associations. It is also less common in shallow rocky wadis with coarse rocky soils of the Central Negev which has contracted sparse vegetation, often dominated by Zygophyllum dumosum (Zygophyllaceae). In Israel is generally very rare or absent in wide, shallow inland valleys with soft alluvial and sandy soils. Thargelia gigantea is a univoltine, early spring species which flies in Israel from January to April with the highest rate of occurrence in March. Odontelia daphnadeparisae sp. nov. seems to be restricted to sandy habitats. In Israel and Jordan it is only known from the Arava Valley where it is restricted to the unconsolidated mobile sand dunes with Haloxylon persicum (Amaranthaceae) communities. The sands of the Arava Valley are derived mainly from weathering of Cretaceous and Tertiary sandstones. The coarse sands are mixed with alluvial materials of varying texture resulting in unstable formations with poor vegetation cover only sustaining plants adapted to the inferior moisture regime. The deep sands in the Arava are covered by sparse Haloxylon persicum woodland (2 4 m tall) with Haloxylon salicornicum and Calligonum comosum (Polygonaceae) bushes scattered among them with very few or no annual herbs and perennial grasses. This plant Figs Adults, dorsal side, right with corresponding underside of the left wing Thargelia gigantea (Rebel, 1909). Isreal, Arava Valley, Nahal Neqarot, II.2003, V. Kravchenko & I. Yarom leg Odontelia daphnadeparisae sp. nov. 9. Paratype,, Israel, Arava Valley, Gerofit, III.2002, V. Kravchenko & G. Müller leg. 10. Holotype, `, same data. 11. Paratype, `, same data but II community is mainly found in the Arava Valley, Edom in Jordan and to a much smaller extent, the southern Negev and the Sinai where it is typical for mobile and stable sand dunes, but only in natural habitats. A similar formation, dominated by related species of Haloxylon, occupies the fast sandy areas in Central Asia, where it is locally called saxaul, the vernacular name of the dominants. In this very similar plant community most of the Central Asian congeners of the new species are found. It is noteworthy that O. daphnadeparisae sp. nov. was never found on hard or rocky soils and it was not seen in any habitat together with the closely related T. gigantea. The host plants of O. daphnadeparisae sp. nov. are unknown but in Israel larvae were found living subterraneously (about 50 cm below the surface) in unconsolidated sand dunes in Haloxylon persicum communities (Kravchenko et al. 2006). Early stages of the larvae in captivity rejected the foliage of H. persicum, H. salcornium, C. comosum and Tamarix aphylla, the only plants growing in direct proximity. Odontelia daphnadeparisae sp. nov. is probably a root feeding species. The host plants of T. gigantea are unknown, but larvae of congeners in Central Asia (Thargelia sitiens) were found in summer on leaves of Haloxylon persicum 245

4 Entomologische Zeitschrift Stuttgart 117(6)2007 were operated for years (Müller et al. 2005). In the Sinai Peninsula there are numerous inland valleys with suitable sands but we were not able to find any Odontelia and there are also no records in the literature. It also seems to be absent from the eastern parts of Jordan where much collecting took place by the authors. Most of the areas in Israel, Jordan and Sinai, that were covered only a few decades ago by H. persicum woodlands are now intensively cultivated, heavily overgrazed or cut for firewood. In Israel and the neighbouring areas only a few small pockets of this plant community are protected (Dr. R. Ortal pers. com. and our own data). According to the IUCN Red List categories (IUCN 1996, 1998), the known O. daphnadeparisae sp. nov. populations must be considered regionally and world wide Critically Endangered. Though it is enough to meet only one of the threat criteria, the species fulfils several of them. The new species is facing in the near future an extremely high risk of extinction because of the following criteria: Drastic reduction of the total population (suspected); the extent of occurrence (suspected); the area of occupancy (suspected); the habitat quality (projected). Extent of occurrence estimated to be less then 100 km2 including further possible unknown populations in the Arava Valley. Area of occupancy estimated to be less then 10 km2. Figs Habitats of Odontelia daphnadeparisae sp. nov Sand dunes with bushes of Haloxylon persicum in Southern Arava near Shezafon. 15, 16. Southern Arava Valley south of Yotvata, about 50 m, early summer. and H. aphyllum (Falkovitch, 1968). It is probable that also the West-Eremic T. gigantea is feeding on foliage rather then on roots. Phenology Odontelia daphnadeparisae sp. nov. is a univoltine winter species. The adults are on the wing from December to March with the flight peak in February. The larvae of the early and late instars were observed to be subterraneous, burried in mobile sand dunes, in late April. 246 The threat to Odontelia daphnadeparisae sp. nov. and possible preservation measures The new species, is probably a relic of the Central Asia distributed genus Odontelia. Within the Israeli-German Lepidoptera Project all the suitable habitats in the main sandy areas of Israel (the Mediterranean Coastal sands, the Haluza and Agur sands, the sands of the Rotem-Yamin plain and the Mamshit Valley, the sand near Yerokham and Dimona, the sands of the Arava Valley) were extensively sampled with mobile light traps and in most areas additional permanent light traps Probably O. daphnadeparisae sp. nov. will only survive the next decades if proper conservation issues are started in the near future. The following actions seem appropriate and are suggested: Protecting all sites from which the species is known. Basic research on the ecology of this species and careful monitoring of the existing populations. Strengthening existing colonies by renaturalizing already destroyed areas nearby. Acknowledgements. We are thankful to all of our colleagues and to the many generous Israeli citizens who helped with this survey. Moreover, we are grateful to the Israeli Nature and Parks Authority (NPA), who supplied the collecting permits, especially to Dr. Rueben Ortal (Science and Conservation Division), Dr. Didi Kaplan (NPA Northern District Bio-

5 logist), to Mr. Yiftah Sinai (NRA Carmel District Biologist), Mr. Zeev Kuller (Central District Biologist), the staff of the NPA- regional rangers, Nature Reserves and National Parks directors of Israel, Prof. J. Kugler, Dr. A. Freidberg (Entomological collection, University of Tel Aviv), Prof. J. Fittkau (former Head of the Bayrische Zoologische Staatssammlung, Munich), Dr. Hedva Pener, Dr. Laor Orshan and Dr. Heather Bromly- Schnur (Entomological Laboratory, Ministry of Health), the late Dr. Shoshana Yatom (Volcani Center, Bet Dagan), Mr. Yossi Lev Ari, and Mr. Giora Gissis (Bet Ushishkin Museum, Qibbutz Dan), the late Mr. Zeev Shoam (Qibbutz Neot Mordachai), and particularly Benni & Aliza Ben David of Kefar Sabba. This study would not have been possible without the generous help of Prof. Y. Schlein, Hebrew University, Hadassah Medical School. References Danin, A. & Orshan, G. (eds) Vegetation of Israel. I. Desert and coastal vegetation. Buckhuys, Leiden, 341 pp. Hacker, H. Kravchenko, V. D. & Yarom, I List of Noctuoidea (Lepidoptera) collected in Arava (Israel) with faunistical and ecological comments. Esperiana 8: Falkovitch, M. I Food relationships of desert Lepidoptera in Central Asia. 21 th Annual Meeting dedicated to memory of N. A. Holodkovskiy. Nauka, Leningrad, pp (in Russian). Kravchenko V., Hausmann, A. & Muller G. C Deserticolous Noctuidae from Israel: New host-plant records and description of larval habitats (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae). Mitteilungen der Münchner Entomologischen Gesellschaft 96: Kravchenko, V., Fibiger, M., Hausmann A. & Müller G. C The Lepidoptera of Israel, vol. 2. Noctuidae. Pensoft, Moscow, Sofia. In press. Kravchenko, V., Fibiger, M., Mooser, J., Junnila, A. & Müller, G The Hadeninae of Israel. Shilap, Madrid. In press. Müller, G. C., Kravchenko, V. D. & Schlein, Y Die Erforschung der Israelischen Lepidopteren Fauna. In Schoenitzer, K. (ed.) Tiere und Kunst aus Israel. Berichte der Freunde der ZSM 2: Rudich, D. & Danin, A The vegetation of the Hazeva area, Israel. Israel Journal of Botany 27: Schoenitzer, K. (ed.) Tiere und Kunst aus Israel. Berichte der Freunde der ZSM 2: Sukhareva, I. L Novye i maloizvestnye vidy sovok rodov Thargelia Püng. i Odontelia Hmps. (Lepidoptera, Noctuidae) iz Srednej Azii. [New and little known species of noctuid moths of the genera Thargelia Püng. and Odontelia Hmps. (Lepidoptera, Noctuidae) from Middle Asia]. Entomologicheskoe Obozrenie 49: Varga, Z. & Ronkay, L Taxonomic studies on the Palaearctic Noctuidae (Lepidoptera) I. New taxa from Asia. Acta Zoologica Hungarica 37: Varga, Z. & Ronkay, L On the taxonomy of the genera Odontelia Hampson, 1905, and Thargelia Püngeler, 1900 (Lepidoptera, Noctuidae: Hadeninae). Annales Historico Naturales Musei Nationalis Hungarici 90: Zohary, M Geobotanical Foundations of the Middle East. 2 vols. Gustav Fischer, Stuttgart. Günter C. Müller et al., A new species of Odontelia Günter C. Müller, Department of Parasitology, Kuvin Centre for the Study of Infectious and Tropical Diseases, The Hebrew University Hadassah-Medical School, Jerusalem, Israel; guntercmuller@hotmail.com (Correspondig author) Vasiliy D. Kravchenko, Department of Zoology, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel; vasiliy@post.tau.ac.il Laszlo Ronkay, Department of Zoology, Hungarian Natural History Museum, Baross u, 13, 1088 Budapest, Hungary; E- Mail: ronkay@zoo.zoo.nhmus.hu Wolfgang Speidel & Thomas Witt, Museum Witt, Tengstr. 33, D Munich; speidel-wolfgang@web.de; thomas@witt-thomas.com Josef Mooser, Seilerbruecklstr. 23, D Freising; jomooser@aol.com Amy Junnila, Department of Parasitology, McGill University, Macdonald Campus, Ste-Anne-de-Bellevue, Quebec, Canada; amyj@sympatico.ca Alberto Zilli, Museo Civico di Zoologia, Roma, Italy; a.zilli@comune.roma.it Änderungen und Irrtümer vorbehalten. Einzigartige Fotos, Aufnahmen z.t. mit Computertomograph! Jetzt bestellen bei: Verlag Eugen Ulmer Wollgrasweg Stuttgart Bestell-Hotline 0711/ bestellen@ulmer.de Kaum ein Tier ist bei Förstern so verhasst wie der kleine Borkenkäfer. Die wirtschaftlichen Schäden können enorm sein. In diesem Buch sind die 17 wichtigsten Borkenkäfer beschrieben, ihre Lebensweise, ihre Bedeutung in der Forstwirtschaft, die am häufigsten von ihnen befallenen Baumarten, ihre natürlichen Feinde sowie Maßnahmen, um Holz vor Borkenkäferbefall zu schützen. Rund 170 Farbfotos zeigen die Borkenkäfer und ihre Schadbilder im Detail. Aus dem Inhalt: Vorstellung der verschiedenen Rinden- und Holzbrüter auf Doppelseiten Bedeutung der Borkenkäfer in der Forstwirtschaft Maßnahmen bei Borkenkäferbefall natürliche Feinde der Borkenkäfer Welche Baumarten werden am häufigsten befallen? Borkenkäfer. Alle forstlich wichtigen Rinden und Holzbrüter. B. Wermelinger, B. Forster, J. Godet Seiten, 154 Farbfotos. ISBN ,90 [D]. Ganz nah dran. 247