Revision of the genus Hoplodrina Boursin, 1937 (Lepidoptera, Noctuidae, Xyleninae). I. Hoplodrina octogenaria (Goeze, 1781) and its sister species H. alsinides (Costantini, 1922) sp. rev. in Europe

The first large-scale All Taxa Biodiversity Inventory in Europe: description of the Mercantour National Park ATBI datasets

Background

An All Taxa Biodiversity Inventory (ATBI) is a comprehensive inventory of all species in a given territory. In 2007, the French Parc national du Mercantour and the Italian Parco Naturale Alpi Marittime started the first and most ambitious ATBI in Europe with more than 350 specialists and dozens of technicians and data managers involved.

New information

The ATBI datasets from the Parc national du Mercantour in France are now publicly available. Between 2007 and 2020, 247,674 occurrences were recorded, checked and published in the INPN information system. All this information is available in open access in the GBIF web site. With 12,640 species registered, the ATBI is the most important inventory in France. This data paper provides an overview of main results and its contribution to the French National Inventory of Natural Heritage. It includes a list of 52 taxa new to science and 53 species new to France, discovered thanks to the ATBI.

A georeferenced dataset of nocturnal macrolepidoptera: A tool for forest management and biodiversity conservation

In this paper we provide a georeferenced dataset of raw data concerning occurrence and abundance of nocturnal macrolepidoptera, an insect group largely recognized as a good ecological indicator of forest ecosystems. Data have been collected by using light traps located in 15 beech and 20 Calabrian black pine forest lots, 20 of which included in Natura 2000 sites. The sampling was carried out monthly lasting from May to late October 2019 and 2020 in order to cover the entire period during which favourable conditions for adult monitoring occurred, and to encompass phenological changes occurring across seasons in moth diversity. The dataset is composed by a total of 42,834 individuals belonging to 363 species. Due to the relatively small attractive radius of used light traps (about 25 m), georeferenced lepidopteran data can be easily correlated to any kind of spatial environmental variables and forest attributes and to their temporal variations being useful to quantify also the effects of long-term ecological drivers.

Monopis jussii, a new species (Lepidoptera, Tineidae) inhabiting nests of the Boreal owl (Aegolius funereus)

Monopis jussii Kaila, Mutanen, Huemer, Karsholt & Autto, sp. nov. (Lepidoptera, Tineidae) is described as a new species. It is closely related to the widespread and common M. laevigella ([Denis & Schiffermüller], 1775), but differs in its distinct COI DNA barcode sequences, four examined nuclear loci as well as details in forewing coloration and pattern. Most reared specimens of M. jussii have emerged from the nest remnants of the Boreal owl (Aegolius funereus (Linnaeus, 1758)), but also nests of the Ural owl (Strix uralensis Pallas, 1771) and the Great tit (Parus major Linnaeus, 1758) have been observed as suitable habitats. Based on the present knowledge, the new species has a boreo-montane distribution as it is recorded only from northern Europe and the Alps. Several extensive rearing experiments from Strix spp. nest remnants from southern Finland did not produce any M. jussii, but thousands of M. laevigella, suggesting that the species is lacking in the area or, more unlikely, that the nest of these owl species do not serve as good habitat for the new species. This unexpected species discovery highlights, once again, the usefulness of DNA barcoding in revealing the cryptic layers of biodiversity. To serve stability we select a neotype for Tinea laevigella [Denis & Schiffermüller], 1775, and discuss the complicated synonymy and nomenclature of this species.