cold enough in HK for a short moth list!

[Roger C. KENDRICK]

Hi all,

This note will come as a relief to those of you who think there are lots of
moths all the year round in Hong Kong and subsequently wish you were here -
don't bother between December and February!!
Last night was the coldest night here at KARC so far this winter, the
thermometer dipped to 10°C (50°F) for the first time - just a week ago the
minimum was nearly 10°C higher! The moths have almost stopped all activity; the
following list is from 2 x 125W mv traps and "sugar" (c.f. 110 spp. a week
ago), run from 17:45 until 06:20.

at sugar:
Paradiopa postfusca (Noctuidae; Catocalinae) - 1

at light:
Pseudocollix ghosha (Geometridae: Larentiinae) - 1
Plutodes costatus (Geo.; Ennominae) - 2
P. exquisita - 1
Ocinara albicollis (Bombycidae) - 1
Euthrix isocyma (Lasiocampidae) - 1
Perina nuda (Lymantriidae) - 1
Agylla divisa (Arctiidae; Lithosiinae) - 1 [third record for Hong Kong]
Agrotis ipsilon (Noctuidae: Noctuinae) - 2
Oxyodes scrobiculata (Noc.: Catocalinae) - 1
Hypocala subsaturata - 1
Ericiea subcinerea - 1
Platyja ciacula - 1

All these species, except A. divisa, are common in Hong Kong. P. costatus and
E. isocyma are recorded virtually everywhere throughout the territory and are
on the wing almost throughout the year. For those of you sugaring at the
moment, you'll notice no Cuculliinae noctuids on the list: indeed, Hong Kong
has a dearth of this subfamily, with only two species recorded so far, both
during the winter months at light (one of those only once!), so winter
recording is necessary to see just how many more await discovery (there must be
some, the local literature is not too short of Cuculliinae spp.).

This was one of those rare nights when there wasn't one moth I couldn't
identify! Also unusual was the complete lack of any "micros".

all the best,

Roger.
________________________________________________
Roger C. KENDRICK   B.Sc.(Hons.)
PhD student & Demonstrator, Dept of Ecology & Biodiversity
The University of Hong Kong
mailto:kendrick at hkusua.hku.hk
http://web.hku.hk/~kendrick/hkmoth.htm   « Hong Kong Moths »
http://www.geocities.com/RainForest/Canopy/1085/   « H.K. Lepidoptera Group »
mail: Kadoorie Agricultural Research Centre
      The University of Hong Kong
      Lam Kam Road, Shek Kong,
      Yuen Long, New Territories
      Hong Kong
fax: (852) 24885285
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