New distributional records of non-troglobiotic Lepidoptera, Scoliopteryx libatrix (Linnaeus, ۱۷۵۸) in hypogean habitat of western Hyrcanian Forests

Cave-dweller animals are categorized in three groups depending on the degree of their cave association. troglobionts are true cave-dweller, whereas, troglophiles and trogloxenes use caves temporarily. Not all cave-user organisms have troglomorphic characteristics. Occasional cavernicolous species are more than obligate subterranean taxa. Cave arthropods are diverse and all three categories mentioned above, are found in its members. Erebidae is one of the six families in the superfamily Noctuoidea which is one of the most speciose groups in Lepidoptera. Scoliopteryx libatrix (Linnaeus, ۱۷۵۸) is a troglophile species of this family which has distributed throughout the North America; and is also found in Eurasia and northern Africa. In Iran this species has been reported from Arasbaran Forest, northwest of the country. New distribution records of Herald moth, S. libatrix, is presented in this study. The Hyrcanian or Caspian Forest is a narrow and continuous vegetation belt extending along the northern slopes of Alborz mountain ranges. It poses humid climate, dense and diverse vegetation and great variety of habitats including subterranean environments. Therefore, occurrence of a considerable arthropod species is expectable in this area. Here, we report S. libatrix from three caves in western Hyrcanian Forests. Liyarud, Divrash, and Eqbal caves with ۵۰۲, ۱۸۰۹, and ۵۲۷ meters height, respectively, are three new localities for this species. In each cave, a few individuals were observed on the walls and roof of the caves, in the dark zone. One specimen was collected for further identification according the available keys. During cold seasons, Herald moth hibernates in dark and cool places; so, the observation of this moth in the caves of this region is expectable.

کلیدواژه ها:

cave ، hibernation ، herald moth