SCIENTIFIC EDUCATIONAL CENTER science idea

Professor Roman Yakovlev From the Institute of biology and biotechnology of the Altai state University and Natalia Snegovaya From the Institute of Zoology of the Academy of Sciences of Azerbaijan described a new species of butterfly from the family of woodworms (Cossidae) that lives in the Shirvan steppe in Central Azerbaijan.

The family of woodworms is widely distributed around the world. It has more than 110 genera and almost 700 species. These are moths, with the exception of day-active members of the subfamily Ratardinae, found in Southeast Asia. The wings of these butterflies are often grayish in color, and when folded, many of them have wings that look like tree bark or leaves. Woodworm caterpillars develop in the stems and trunks of woody or herbaceous plants, and in a number of species they are harmful to agriculture. The development of caterpillars in some woodworms lasts up to three years.

The genus Phragmataecia, to which the new species belongs, now has forty species. In Russian literature, this genus is sometimes referred to as "drill" because of the caterpillars that make passages in plants. Representatives of drills live mainly in Asia (from Turkey to Japan and Sumatra) and Africa. Only a few species are found in Europe. There are at least four species of these butterflies in the fauna of Russia: Phragmataecia albida is found in the Lower Volga region, Phragmataecia castaneae — in the southern and middle zone of European Russia and in the South-West of the West Siberian plain, Phragmataecia pacifica-in the North Caucasus, Phragmataecia pygmaea-in the Primorsky territory. Roman Yakovlev has previously discovered several species of woodworms from this genus. In addition to the above-mentioned Phragmataecia pacifica, these are Phragmataecia anikini from Mongolia, Phragmataecia annapurna and Phragmataecia laszloi from Nepal, Phragmataecia geisha from Japan, Phragmataecia gurkoi from Pakistan, Phragmataecia monika from China and Phragmataecia turkmenbashi from Turkmenistan. Roman Yakovlev has described many of the Longhorn beetles of other genera.

Butterfly Phragmataecia effendii mainly lives in Agdash in Central Azerbaijan, the species is distributed in North-East Shirvan plain and the southern foothills of Aginor, on the banks of the rivers Kura and Türyançay, in the juniper forests Tulancingo National Park. The length of the front wing of the butterfly is 19-22 millimeters. The period of departure of these butterflies is from June to August. Samples of the new species are kept in the collections of the Zoological Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences in St. Petersburg and the Institute of Zoology of Azerbaijan.

According to Roman Yakovlev, the new species was named after Rustam Mamed-Emin-oglu Effendi (1934-1991), a famous Soviet entomologist who devoted his career to the study of the entomofauna of Transcaucasia. As a result of his long-term research, 213 species of diurnal butterflies were discovered in Azerbaijan.

The description of the new species is published in the journal Zoology in the Middle East
Source: polit.ru, sci-dig.ru