SHILAP Revista de Lepidopterología ISSN: 0300-5267 [email protected] Sociedad Hispano-Luso-Americana de Lepidopterología España Seguna, A. Nymphalis antiopa (Linnaeus, 1758) in the Maltese Islands (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae) SHILAP Revista de Lepidopterología, vol. 41, núm. 164, octubre-diciembre, 2013, pp. 569-570 Sociedad Hispano-Luso-Americana de Lepidopterología Madrid, España Available in: http://www.redalyc.org/articulo.oa?id=45530406014 How to cite Complete issue Scientific Information System More information about this article Network of Scientific Journals from Latin America, the Caribbean, Spain and Portugal Journal's homepage in redalyc.org Non-profit academic project, developed under the open access initiative 569-570 Nymphalis antiopa (Linn 2/12/13 16:57 Página 569 SHILAP Revta. lepid., 41 (164), diciembre 2013: 569-570 eISSN: 2340-4078 ISSN: 0300-5267 Nymphalis antiopa (Linnaeus, 1758) in the Maltese Islands (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae) A. Seguna Abstract An account is given of this first record of Nymphalis antiopa (Linnaeus, 1758) from the Maltese Islands. KEY WORDS: Lepidoptera, Nymphalidae, Nymphalis antiopa, new record, Malta Islands. Nymphalis antiopa (Linnaeus, 1758) en Malta (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae) Resumen Se indica a Nymphalis antiopa (Linnaeus, 1758) por primera vez para Malta. PALABRAS CLAVE: Lepidoptera, Nymphalidae, Nymphalis antiopa, nueva cita, Malta. Introduction The Nymphalidae is a large family well represented in Europe. A few of them are strong migrants, capable of extending their range during the summer months. The discovery of Nymphalis antiopa (Linnaeus, 1758) in Malta is most interesting as it a species associated more with colder climates, and its presence in Malta is best regarded as an accidental human important, more so because the place where it was collected is very near the Free Port [where container ships load and unload containers coming from all parts of the world], Bir¿ebbugia. The specimen, a female in perfect condition except from some loss of scales on the left forewing, was found resting in a shaded front porch of a house. It is very probable that the specimen reached our shores in the form of a pupa, although the place of its origin, which could be from nearby mainland Italy or as far away as Japan, will remain a mystery. SAMMUT (2000) lists 9 species of Nymphalidae recorded for Malta. Two of these, Vanessa atalanta (Linnaeus, 1758) and Vanessa cardui (Linnaeus, 1758) are migrants and breed in Malta. The others, namely Nymphalis polychloros (Linnaeus, 1758) (SCHEMBRI, 1986), Polygonia egea (Cramer, 1775) (VALLETTA, 1948) are recorded as rare migrants. Inachis io (Linnaeus, 1758) (SAMMUT, 2000) and Aglais urticae (Linnaeus, 1758) (SCIBERRAS & SCIBERRAS, 2006) are recorded as an accidental importation. The remaining three, Polygonia c-album (Linnaeus, 1758), Melitaea cinxia (Linnaeus, 1758) and Melitaea didyma (Esper, 1778) (BORG, 1932) have always been regarded as doubtful records or misidentifications. Material examined: MALTA, Bir¿ebbugia, Tal-Brolli Area, 21-VI-2013, 1 0, leg. A. Abela (in coll. Seguna ). Range: Europe as an occasional migrant in N. Portugal, N. Spain and eastwards through most of Europe to north of Fennoscandia, south of Greece and European Turkey; throughout temperate Asia and most of North America (TOLMAN, 1997). Generally it flies from 0-2000 m: occasional as migrants / vagrants in barren terrain above 2600 m. 569 569-570 Nymphalis antiopa (Linn 2/12/13 16:57 Página 570 A. SEGUNA Flight period in Europe: Univoltine. South Europe, mid-June - July; Scandinavia, August - September. Hibernated specimens appear March - June according to locality. Acknowledgements I would like to thank Mr. Alexander Abela and his sister Mrs. Josephine Ishmael both of Bir¿ebbugia, for the capture and donation of the specimen and to Dr. Antonio Vives for preparing the Spanish text. Also to my colleague Mr. P. Sammut of Rabat (Malta) for his useful comments. BIBLIOGRAPHY BORG, P., 1932.– The Lepidoptera of the Maltese Islands: v + 25pp. Government Printing Press, Malta. SAMMUT, P., 2000.– Il-Lepidoptera: X + 246 pp. Kullana Kulturali 12. Pubblikazzjonijiet Indipendenza, Malta. SCHEMBRI, S., 1986b.– Nymphalis polychloros L. (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae) in the Maltese Islands.– Central Mediterranean Naturalist, 1(4): 84. SCIBERRAS, A. & SCHEMBRI, E., 2006.– Short Communications. The presence of Aglais urticae (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae) in the Maltese Islands.– The Central Mediterranean Naturalist, 4(2): 136. TOLMAN, T., 1997.– The Butterflies of Britain and Europe: 320 pp. Collins, London. VALLETTA, A., 1948.– Polygonia egea Cramer, in Malta.– The Entomologist, 81: 150-151. A. S. ‘Redeemer’, Triq l-Emigrant MT-Naxxar NXR 3200 MALTA / MALTA E-mail: [email protected] (Recibiudo para publicación / Received for publication 31-VII-2013) (Revisado y aceptado / Revised and accepted 30-VIII-2013) (Publicado / Published 30-XII-2013) 570 SHILAP Revta. lepid., 41 (164), diciembre 2013.