First record of Utetheisa pulchella (Linnaeus, 1758) (Lepidoptera: Erebidae: Arctiinae) in Brazilian Amazon: implications for conservation

Abstract

The crimson speckled moth, Utetheisa pulchella (linnaeus, 1758), is recorded in Brazilian Amazon for the first time. A moth (male) was collected with light trap in a multiple cropping area, in Mojuí dos Campos municipality, Pará State, Brazil. This record expands the area of occurrence and distribution of this rare species in the Neotropical Region. In addition, the occurrence of U. pulchella in the Amazon was unexpected, since this species is generally associated with open ecosystems and drier climates.

Arctiini Leach, [1815] (Lepidoptera, Erebidae, Arctiinae) of the Brazilian Amazon. V - Subtribes Arctiina Leach, [1815], Callimorphina Walker, [1865] and Spilosomina Seitz, 1910

“…We consider low the total number of records for these three subtribes for the Brazilian Amazon (35). This value corresponds to only 10.3% of the Neotropical fauna (340, Vincent & Laguerre 2014, Teston et al 2019b and are slightly larger than the southest Brazilian State (Rio Grande do Sul, 29, Ferro & Teston 2009), which has an area approximately 18 times smaller and a latitude about 6 times larger than the Brazilian Amazon. Considering the subtribes separately, the proportion of Brazilian Amazon Callimorphina (28.6%) and Arctiina (19.1%) in relation to Neotropical fauna were nearly to those found for other subtribes in the Brazilian Amazon (between 17 and 31%, Teston & Ferro 2016ab, Teston & Ferro 2019, Teston et al 2019a, Vincent & Laguerre 2014.…”

“…The caterpillars of some species present in these three sub-tribes are polyphagic and feed on plants of economic importance, but they are not pests of any importance (Schmidt 2009;Weller et al 2009 andTeston et al 2019b).…”