Apocolotois smirnovi (Romanoff, 1885)

Japaridze, Lasha-Giorgi, Malkiewicz, Adam, Sanakoeva, Alisa, Tsulaia, Mariam, Bulbulashvili, Natalia & Õunap, Erki, 2021, Description of the female Apocolotois smirnovi (Romanoff, 1885) (Lepidoptera Geometridae, Ennominae), with comments on the biology and distribution of the species, Zootaxa 4996 (1), pp. 153-162 : 156

Biology of Apocolotois smirnovi

Habitat. Our study revealed that A. smirnovi inhabits dry hillsides poorly covered with xerophytic vegetation at 650–700 m a. s. l. Although Romanoff (1885) didn’t give precise location of the type specimen of A. smirnovi , but just noted that “the single specimen of this beautiful moth was captured by M. Smirnoff around Tiflis (modern Tbilisi)”, we have managed to find 3 locations with small populations: two within the limits of Tbilisi City and one at its surroundings—in Dighomi village ( Fig. 1 ).

Imago. First males ( Fig. 2 ) can be observed in mid-October and they are on the wing until early November. Males are active at night, but when disturbed during search with a portable lamp, they don’t fly long distances. They were also observed during the day, sitting on the host plant of the larvae or on other nearby vegetation. Emergence from pupae occurs at around 8.00 p.m., males climb up the nearest vegetation to spread and dry their wings. Wingless females ( Fig. 3 ) emerge a few days later. They were observed on the host plant around 10:00 p.m., sitting head downwards on the inner part of the branches of the plant.

Eggs. Fertlized females lay up to 300 cylindrical bright green eggs, which are positioned as tight clusters on the twigs of R. pallasii ( Fig. 3 ). Eggs overwinter, and larvae hatch approximately in mid-March when the buds of R. pallasii burst. Egg dimensions are: height 2–3 mm, diameter 1–1.5 mm. After hatching the larvae do not consume the egg shells, as empty A. smirnovi egg shells have been observed on the hostplant.

Larvae. First larvae (n = 5) were found on March 27, 2020 and when collected their body length didn’t exceed 8–10 mm. They were fed with fresh leaves of R. pallasii . Feeding takes place at night, while during the daytime larvae sit still, being stretched along the twigs ( Fig. 4 ). A day before each molting larvae stop eating. The ecdysis itself takes place at night. The old cuticle is consumed, since no leftovers were found after molting. The length of the last instar larvae is 35–45 mm. Before pupation they stop feeding, and the overall body coloration turns from grayish into somewhat pinkish.

Pupae. Pupation takes place in the uppermost layer of soil, usually under the host plant, in a 15–25 mm long oval cocoon consisting of a single layer of thin white thread. According to our observations, it takes about 3 weeks for the larvae to turn into the pupae ( Fig. 5 ) after spinning the cocoon (from 20.IV.2020 until 9.V.2020). The pupa is oval, dark brown, cranial part stouter than caudal part. The length of the pupa is 10–15 mm, its diameter in the widest part of the body is 5–10 mm. Cremaster bears two strong, horn-like, apically hooked thorns which are nearly touching each other in their caudal parts ( Fig. 5 ).

Figures

FIGURE 1. The habitat of Apocolotois smirnovi in Dighomi village, Georgia, 650–700 m a.s.l.

FIGURE 4. Full-grown larva of Apocolotois smirnovi (length 37 mm.). a. Dorsal view. b. Lateral view.

FIGURE 5. Male pupa of Apocolotois smirnovi. a. ventral view. b. abdominal end of the pupa, ventral view.

FIGURES 2–3. Adults of Apocolotois smirnovi. 2. Male. Dighomi village, Georgia, 20 X 2018. 3. Female with freshly laid eggs on Rhamnus pallasii. Dighomi village, Georgia, 25.X.2019.