Antheraea pernyi (Guérin-Méneville, 1855)

Japaridze, Lasha-Giorgi & Seropian, Armen, 2025, Unwanted guests: The first records of two established non-native moth species in the Caucasus, with notes on non-native fauna of Georgia, Caucasiana 4, pp. 137-151 : 137-151

Antheraea pernyi (Guérin-Méneville, 1855)

Fig. 3

Antheraea pernyi : Pinya et al. 2013: 377, fig. 1 ( ♂)

Material examined.

GEORGIA • 2 ♂; Imereti, Baghdati ; 6 May 2021; leg: G. Gorgodze; JLGT • 1 ♂ ( CaBOL -ID 1021655 ); Ilemi ; leg: T. Lomidze; 16 June 2021; JLGT • 1 ♂; Vartsikhe ; leg: A. Babunashvili; 5 April 2024; JLGT • 1 ♂; Ajameti ; leg: A. Bubunashvili; 29 April 2024; JLGT .

Diagnosis.

For diagnosis, see Wu (2017).

Barcoding.

We obtained a single sequence from the specimen CaBOL - ID 1021655 ( BOLD: ABY 5349), identical to those of A. pernyi from Russia (Siberia), India, North Korea, South Korea, and China ( BOLD: ABY 5349).

Remarks.

Originally native to China, where it was domesticated for silk production, A. pernyi is also distributed across Mongolia, northern China, India, and Japan. The main food source for its larvae are Quercus species ( Wang et al. 2023). In Europe, it was first introduced to France in the 19 th century for its potential in silk production, following an epidemic that affected Bombyx mori (Linnaeus, 1758) in 1855. The species was subsequently introduced to Spain, initially in Navarra and Guipúzcoa (northern Spain) in 1875, and later in Barcelona and Castellón de la Plana (eastern Spain). It reached the Balearic Islands (Mallorca and Menorca) by the end of the 19 th century. Today, its distribution in Europe is limited to the Balearic Islands and the province of Barcelona ( Pinya et al. 2013). Specimens in our study collected in 2021 and 2024 confirm a stable, locally established population in Imereti, western Georgia; although so far, no substantial harm to local Quercus spp. has been documented. These are the first verified records of the genus Antheraea in the Caucasus. As with S. cynthia , A. pernyi was probably introduced to the South Caucasus for silk production purposes, most likely during the 1930 s under Soviet agricultural initiatives. Although the original introduction site is unknown, the A. pernyi population in Imereti probably originated from individuals that escaped silk farming facilities established in the past.

Figures

Figure 2-3. General habitus of (2: Micromelalopha sieversi, male, Tbilisi (Sanzona); 2: Antheraea pernyi (CaBOL - ID 1021655), male. Baghdati). Scale bars: 5 mm (2); 35 mm (3).