Loxostege clathralis (Hübner, 1813)

Yepishin, Viktor, Bidzilya, Oleksiy, Budashkin, Yuriy, Zhakov, Oleksandr, Mushynskyi, Vadym & Novytskyi, Sergiy, 2020, New records of little known pyraloid moths (Lepidoptera: Pyraloidea) from Ukraine, Zootaxa 4808 (1), pp. 101-120 : 105-108

Loxostege clathralis (Hübner, 1813)

Material examined: 1 ex., Odesa reg., Tatarbunary distr. , 6 km SE Prymorske, spit, 45°40’31.4”N 29°52’08.7”E, 22.vi.2019 (S. Novytskyi)( SN) . 1 ex., Odesa reg., Tatarbunary distr. , 4 km S Bazarianka, 45°51’12.4”N 30°08’25.3”E, 30.ix.2019 (S. Novytskyi) ( SN) . 1 ex., Zaporizhzhia reg., Pryazovske distr., Hirsivka , 19.v.2013 (V. Mushynskyi) ( VM) . 4 ex., Zaporizhzhia reg., Pryazovske distr., Stepanivska spit, 1–2.viii.2017, 15.vi.2019 (V. Mushynskyi) ( VM) . 5 ex., Zaporizhzhia reg., Yakymivka distr., Fedotova spit, 10.vii.2018 (V. Mushynskyi) ( VM) .

Distribution. SE Europe, Kazakhstan, Afghanistan ( Slamka 2013); Turkey ( Koçak & Kemal 2009); Russia: Middle and Lower Volga, W Caucasus and S Urals (Sinev & Streltsov 2019); Ukraine: Mykolaiv region ( Obraztsov 1935b) and Crimea ( Budashkin 2004), first records for Odesa and Zaporizhzhia regions.

Biology. Dozens of larvae have been observed on salt marshes, associated with scattered halophilic plants, on the coast of Syvash on Arabatska strilka in Crimea during the last several years. Mature and immature larvae were observed on Artemisia marschalliana Spreng in September and October. This host plant was earlier incorrectly identified as Artemisia lercheana (Weber ex Stechmann, 1775) ( Budashkin 2014a) . Larvae live on the upper parts of the host plant within tight, grey, silken tubes densely spun with leaves and small branches. Larvae leave their shelter to feed on leaves, buds, flowers, fruits and unripe seeds. In late autumn, the larvae go underground where they produce long silken tubes and hibernate inside them ( Savchuk 2020). Adults fly from May to September, probably in two generations. Pupation of the second generation occurs with diapause from late September. Another population of this species was discovered in the vicinity of Mysove village on Kerch Peninsula 8.ix.2012. Numerous last instar larvae were observed living within silken tubes and feeding in the day time on green parts of Artemisia santonica L. In the laboratory these larvae constructed long silken tubes in the ground and pupated inside them after short period of rest. Adults emerged from 11.x to 25.xi.2012 ( Budashkin & Savchuk 2013; Budashkin 2014a).