A very rare Noctuidae moth Macapta lurida.

Macapta lurida was first described by Schaus 1894 as Fagitana lurida (https://archive.org/details/transactionsofam211894amer/page/236/mode/1up?view=theater). Later, Hampson 1910 transfered the species to Macapta, made a description and picture (https://archive.org/details/catalogueoflepid09brituoft/page/99/mode/1up?view=theater, https://archive.org/details/catalogueoflepid410brit/page/n397/mode/2up?view=theater).

To improve the knowledge of the species distribution I compared Inaturalist photos with Hampson picture. The search was made in the brazilian states of Rio Grande do Sul, Santa Catarina, Paraná, Mato Grosso do Sul, São Paulo, Minas Gerais and Rio de Janeiro and in the countries of Uruguay, Argentina and Paraguay. Photos of adults previously identified at least in the family Noctuidae was checked.

Three observations was found matching Hampson picture, two of them in Rio Grande do Sul and one in Uruguay: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/113102306 ; https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/127750581 ; https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/146735884. This identifications are the first for the species in the site and is the first known photographs of living specimens of Macapta lurida.

The species was previously known from the states of Paraná (Schaus, 1894), São Paulo (Hampson, 1910) and Rio Grande do Sul (Silva, Specht & Link, 2004). No previous known papers cite Macapta lurida occuring in Uruguay and can be the first evidence of the species for this country.

Bibliography:

Silva, E. J. E., Specht, A. & Link, D. 2004. Noctuídeos (Lepidoptera, Noctuidae) do museu entomológico Ceslau Biezanko, departamento de fotossanidade, faculdade de agronomia "Eliseu Maciel", Universidade Federal de Pelotas. Current Agricultural Science and Technology 10 (4): 389-409.

Posted on 28 de agosto de 2023, 05:49 PM by regisrafael