Research Article |
Corresponding author: Attila Takács ( molyirto@gmail.com ) Academic editor: Erik J. van Nieukerken
© 2018 Attila Takács, Csaba Szabóky.
This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY 4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
Citation:
Takács A, Szabóky C (2018) Discovery of the biology of Glyphipterix loricatella (Treitschke, 1833) (Lepidoptera, Glyphipterigidae), a borer in Iris (Iridaceae). Nota Lepidopterologica 41(1): 181-187. https://doi.org/10.3897/nl.41.24892
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The biology and larva of Glyphipterix loricatella (Treitschke, 1833) are described for the first time on the basis of material from two localities in Hungary, in the vicinity of Budapest. We reared larvae from Iris × germanica L. (Iridaceae), representing a new hostplant family for Glyphipterix. The larvae develop over a year in the leaves, later in the rhizome, where they spend the winter as mature larvae. The larvae eat themselves out of the rhizome in spring and pupate outside the rhizome in the soil in a cocoon, covered with soil particles. The pupal stage lasts 30–35 days. All developmental stages are illustrated.
The genus Glyphipterix Hübner, 1825 contains globally 283 named species (
Species | Host plants | Plant Family | Attacked plant parts | Pupation site | References |
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G. argyroguttella Ragonot, 1885 | unknown | unknown | unknown | unknown | |
G. bergstraesserella (Fabricius, 1781) | Luzula luzuloides Dandy et Wilmott | Juncaceae | mines in stem | in stem |
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G. danilevskii Diakonoff, 1978 | unknown | unknown | unknown | unknown | |
G. diaphora Walsingham, 1894 | unknown | unknown | unknown | unknown | |
G. equitella (Scopoli, 1763) |
Sedum album L. S. acre L., S. anglicum Huds.(?), Aeonium arboreum (L.) Webb & Berthel. |
Crassulaceae | mines in leaf and stem | in leaf and stem |
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G. forsterella (Fabricius, 1781) |
Carex remota L. C. vulpina L. |
Cyperaceae | seed | in seed |
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G. fortunatella Walsingham, 1908 | unknown | unknown | unknown | unknown | |
G. fuscoviridella (Haworth, 1828) | Luzula campestris DC. | Juncaceae | stem | stem |
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G. gianelliella Ragonot, 1885 | unknown | unknown | unknown | unknown | |
G. haworthana (Stephens, 1834) | Eriophorum angustifolium Honck. E. vaginatum L., E. latifolium Hoppe. | Cyperaceae | seed | in seed |
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G. heptaglyphella Le Marchand, 1925 | unknown | unknown | unknown | unknown | |
G. loricatella (Treitschke, 1833) | Iris × germanica, Iris pumila L. | Iridaceae | leaf, rhizome | in soil, in cocoon | this paper |
G. nicaeella Möschler, 1866 | unknown | unknown | unknown | unknown | |
G. pygmaeella Rebel, 1896 | unknown | unknown | unknown | unknown | |
G. schoenicolella Boyd, 1859 |
Schoenus nigricans L. Cladium mariscus Pohl. |
Cyperaceae | seed | in seed-head |
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G. simpliciella (Stephens, 1834) | Dactylis glomerata L., Festuca arundinacea Schreb. | Poaceae | seed | in stem |
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G. sulcosa Diakonoff, 1978 | unknown | unknown | unknown | unknown | |
G. thrasonella (Scopoli, 1763) | Juncus spp. | Juncaceae | mines in stem | in stem |
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G. umbilici Hering, 1927 | Umbilicus rupestris Dandy | Crassulaceae | leaf | unknown |
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Due to its overall rarity, Glyphipterix loricatella is listed in the Habitats Directive Annex II and Annex IV (
Recently two local populations were discovered in Hungary: one in Törökbálint where the population size is estimated between 50 and 100 specimens, and one in Biatorbágy where only a handful of specimens has been found; the size of the last population is likely below 50 adults flying at any one time (
1. Adult, 18.iv.2014, Budapest. 2. Detail of head, showing labial palpi, 18.iv.2014, Budapest. 3. Egg, 18.v.2013, Budapest 4. L4 Larva before pupation, 24.iii.2014, Budapest. 5. Pupa, 01.iv.2014, Budapest 6. Cocoon with pupa inside, 01.iv.2014, Budapest.Photos by Attila Takács, Fig.
Interestingly, Abafi-Aigner (1898) also neglected the species in his book; he only hinted that Kindermann sold specimens to Treitschke, who described some new species from Kindermann’s material. At the end of the 19th century, the species was found again in the calcareous habitats of the Buda Hills and had been continuously collected there until 1971 (
The species was rediscovered by Csaba Szabóky in 16 May 1996 in Fenyőgyöngye, Buda Hills (
The species was recorded also from Romania (Transsylvania, Tordai-hasadék) (
The species was found, surprisingly, in a cottage garden in Törökbálint by Gergely Szövényi, a professional entomologist who recognised this species. Following his information, we found more specimens in his garden, 90% of which were sitting on the leaves of cultivated garden Iris, Iris × germanica L., so we supposed that this plant could be among its host plants. Our assumption was supported by another observation in Csepel (Budapest), where a moth was also found sitting on Iris × germanica.
We collected a female specimen in Törökbálint on 17 May, 2013, as soon as it finished copulating. We planted three stock plants of Iris × germanica in an insectarium (80×80×100 cm) and placed the moth therein. The insectarium was kept at room temperature (ca 20 °C). The moth laid ten eggs in total, each singly on a leaf of Iris × germanica. After oviposition, the imago was taken back to its original habitat, as for the ten reared moths that emerged in 2014.
Glyphipterix loricatella is the largest species of the genus occurring in Hungary with its wingspan 17–19 mm (
Based on observations of the behaviour of the G. loricatella specimens examined in their habitat in Törökbálint, we can infer the natural hostplant.
Iris pumila L grows on limestone substrate in the natural habitat of the moth. However, we observed egg laying on Iris × germanica. This is a garden cultivar, which does not occur in nature, so we presume the native hostplant of G. loricatella is I. pumila. This assumption is supported by the fact that in the habitat of the species at the Hármashatár-hegy (Buda Hills), where the species was re-discovered in 1996, I. pumila is the sole Iris species. Surprisingly however, we have not yet observed larvae nor damage on this plant species, but perhaps natural damage is at low density.
Ovum. Elliptical, yellow; width 0.2 mm, length 0.6 mm (Fig.
Larva. There are four larval instars. L1–L4 larvae are white, with head black, length of instar L4 is 40 mm (Fig.
Pupa. Brown, length 10 mm (Fig.
The typical habitats of G. loricatella are clearings in shrubby karstic oakwoods and xerothermic rocky grasslands on calcareous ground, where its hostplant presumably is the sub-Mediterranean Iris pumila. The adults are on the wing from the beginning of May to the beginning of June. According to our field monitoring data, the male specimens emerge 7–10 days earlier than the females. Males are likely to wander, while females tend to sit on the leaves of the hostplant or some other plant in the vicinity. The adults do not feed. Females start to release sex pheromones (Fig.
Fertilized females climb on the hostplant, and only very rarely fly from one plant to another during oviposition behaviour (Fig.
Due to unknown reasons, not every larva reaches the rhizome through the leaf, but some vacate the leaf instead and descend to the rhizome by means of silken threads and thence burrow into the rhizome. The larva spends the winter inside the rhizome.
The larva leaves the rhizome in April and, not far from it, spins a cocoon in the soil, covered with soil particles, 50–100 mm under the surface, where it will eventually pupate. Moths emerge 30–35 days after cocoon-making.
The rearing experiment ended with 100% success, every egg (10) developing into an adult.
It was very fortuitous that a viable population of the species could be found in an urban environment. The rhizomes of Iris pumila in Fenyőgyöngye (the natural habitat of the moth discovered in 1996) were eaten by boars (Sus scrofa scrofa L.) in the winter of 1998–99, and therefore the species can be considered as probably extinct from that locality.
Our aim with this article has been to present the biology and developmental stages of the species G. loricatella, to assist further research and discovery of new habitats, and, using the new information, to allow more effective protection of the moth in the future. Our future work is to find new habitats, so that we can map the moth’s range in detail, primarily in Hungary.
We thank László Ronkay, Zsolt Bálint and Balázs Tóth (Hungarian Natural History Museum, Budapest) for their advice in preparation of the manuscript, Gergely Szövényi (Eötvös Loránd University) and Sándor Bérces (Duna-Ipoly National Park) for helping us to find and monitor the species. Colin W. Plant (Bishops Stortford, England) and a Nota Lepidopterologica editor provided linguistic improvements to the text.