Two New Moth Species Found in Russian Far East

Posted on April 16, 2013

Two new species of Ypsolophid moths have been found in the Russian Far East. Ypsolopha straminella, one of the newly discovered moths, is pictured above.

Ypsolophid larvae live and feed in webs they make on leaves, buds and twigs. The scientists say Ypsolophid moths are a peculiar group of Lepidoptera because they like to sleep bottom up with antennae stretched forward. Adult Ypsolophid moths are also less attracted to light than most moths, which makes them much harder for scientists to catch.

Scientists use traps, made from a screen and a lamp, to catch moths. Here is a photo of one of the moth traps:

Dr. Ponomarenko, Institute of Biology and Soil Science, Far Eastern Branch of Russian Academy of Science, said in a statement, "Faunistic studies are not only a whim! Exploring species diversity is a task with ecological repercussions on a local, and global scales. Studying the species diversity in East Asia as a whole and in the Far East of Russia in particular is an important endeavour. Faunistic investigations are only the first step in a long row of scientific tasks towards forming a primary database for further theoretical reconstructions and conclusions for the benefit of biodiversity conservation and species preservation."

The research was published here in ZooKeys.


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