#Holcocerus

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New Distribution Records: Holcocerus gloriosus and Bagrada amoenula in Al Ain, UAE

Abstract

We present here the first distribution records of two insect species for Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (UAE) namely the Carpenter Moth (Holcocerus gloriosus laudabilis) and the Stink Bug (Bagrada (Nitilia) amoenula). These species were collected in a light trap from two different sites in Al Ain, Ain Al Fayda and a wadi on the western side of Jabal Hafit Mountain in Al Ain during regular seasonal wildlife trapping carried out by the Wildlife Assessment and Monitoring (WAM) invertebrate team of the Environment Agency – Abu Dhabi (EAD). We report a new Stink Bug species from UAE for the first time. The record represents the western limit of the distribution of the species in the Palearctic Region. The determining range expansion of insect species is vital to evaluate their impact on new ecosystems and communities.

Introduction

The Carpenter Moth (Holcocerus gloriosus laudabilis) is a re-find for UAE and a first record for Abu Dhabi Emirate, from a site at Ain Al Fayda in Al Ain. For the sub-species laudabilis of Holcocerus gloriosus, the UAE and Oman represent the southwestern extent of distribution. The only record for the UAE dates back to 1998 (Legrain and Wiltshire, 1998), with sampling areas outside of Abu Dhabi Emirate. The nominotypical subspecies gloriosus (Ershov, 1874) occurs in Central Asia (Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, North Afghanistan, North Iran), being replaced further south by spp. mesopotamicus Watkins & Buxton (Iraq, South Iran, South Afghanistan) and ssp. laudabilis (Jordan, Israel, Egypt (Sinai), Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Oman and UAE) (Hacker, 2016). This fascinating moth species was collected in a light trap. The moth is approximately 20 mm long with white wings having multiple light brownish spots scattered all over on the forewings. Also a few spots scattered on the apical area. Yakovlev, 2015 gives the variation of the forewing length with 12–20 mm for males and 16– 21 mm for females and describes the forewings as white with small brown points at the veins and the hindwings as white. Cossidae moths usually lay large numbers of eggs on trees or shrubs into crevices or under the bark through an extensible ovipositor and the larvae live in the roots, trunks or branches and require from 1 to 4 years to emerge as imago. Wiltshire reported its “Larvae in roots of desert plants” (Hacker, 2016). Adults have been recorded on wing from February to May in Israel (Yakovlev, 2015), which is towards the end of the cold season, just after the months of main precipitation. In UAE, adults have been recorded in the mid of June 2021, whereas all other Cossidae species in UAE are usually on the wing from end of October to beginning of March, peaking in December and January, after the main winter rains. The unusual pattern of heavy rain in Al Ain from mid-April to beginning of June 2021, which might have increased the soil moisture, could have effects on pupal development which could influence the dynamics of the emergence of these moths and populations.

Source : New Distribution Records: Holcocerus gloriosus and Bagrada amoenula in Al Ain, UAE | InformativeBD