Zygaena (Zygaena) rhadamanthus grisea Oberthuer , 1909

Efetov, Konstantin A., Hofmann, Axel, Tarmann, Gerhard M. & Tremewan, Walter Gerald, 2014, Taxonomic comments on the treatment of the Zygaenidae (Lepidoptera) in volume 3 of Moths of Europe, Zygaenids, Pyralids 1 and Brachodids (2012), Nota Lepidopterologica 37 (2), pp. 123-133 : 126

Taxon classification Animalia Lepidoptera Zygaenidae

Zygaena (Zygaena) rhadamanthus grisea Oberthuer, 1909

Zygaena rhadamanthus grisea Oberthür, 1909, Etudes de Lépidoptérologie comparée 3: 414, pl. 29, fig. 187. Type-locality. France: Alpes-de-Haute-Provence (Basses-Alpes), Digne.

Zygaena rhadamanthus cleui Dujardin, 1956, Bulletin mensuel de la Société Linnéenne de Lyon 25: 261 ( Zygaena ). Type-locality. France: Ardèche, St-Privat. [Paratypes 1 ♂, 1 ♀ examined.] Syn. rev.

Distribution and taxonomic notes.

Zygaena rhadamanthus grisea has a wide distribution in south-eastern and southern-central France, ranging from Alpes-de-Haute-Provence and Hautes-Alpes to Isère, Drôme, Ardèche, Vaucluse, Aveyron, Lot and Lozère. Based on phenotype (and geography - Zygaena rhadamanthus cleui cannot be recognised as valid because its location is within the distributional range of Zygaena rhadamanthus grisea ), we see no justification for Leraut’s (2012: 98) reinstatement of Zygaena rhadamanthus cleui as a valid subspecies under which he placed Zygaena rhadamanthus aragonia and Zygaena rhadamanthus aurargentea as synonyms (see also below). Even in the original description, Dujardin compared Zygaena rhadamanthus cleui with Zygaena rhadamanthus grisea , stating that the forewing ground colour was similar. Consequently, it is here reinstated as a synonym (syn. rev.) of Zygaena rhadamanthus grisea , as placed by Hofmann and Tremewan (1996: 131).