Chersotis elegans (Eversmann, 1837)

Koren, Toni, Podnar, Martina, Vojvoda, Ana Mrnjavčić, Beshkov, Stoyan, Mihoci, Iva & Kučinić, Mladen, 2021, Genus Chersotis Boisduval, 1840 (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) in Croatia with some notes on the other Balkan countries: DNA barcoding, distribution and new records, Ecologica Montenegrina 48, pp. 86-108 : 91

Chersotis elegans (Eversmann, 1837)

New records: Mt. Biokovo , mountain hut above Sv. Jure peak, 30.7.2018, 1 ex., leg Koren ; Mt. Biokovo, Ravna Vlaška, 07.08.2007, 1 ex., leg. Mihoci.

Genetic data: no specimen of Ch. elegans existed in the BOLD database. In order to confirm the correct identification of the specimens from Mt. Biokovo , male genitalia were checked in accordance to Fibiger (1997). During this research we barcoded one specimen from Croatia and one from Albania. Two COI haplotypes (p-distance = 0.5%) were obtained within three analyzed specimens of Ch. elegans . Those sequences form a well-supported clade and represent the first published Ch. elegans DNA barcodes. For its closest species, Ch. anatolica , analyzed samples from Albania have identical COI haplotypes and clustered within well supported monophyletic Ch. anatolica clade together with Italian (PHLAB1175-10) and North Macedonian (PHLAF399-11) samples of the same species. It should be noted that even though these two species have great morphological similarity, they are not sister species ( Dufay & Varga, 1995). The overall intraspecific distance in this species is low and ranged between 0.2 and 0.3 % ( Tab. 2 ). Both female and male genitalia, including everted vesicas are however quite different ( Fig. 3 . a-e), the difference are much bigger than between Ch. fimbriola and Ch. laeta and between the subspecies of Ch. laeta .

Figures

Figure 3. a) Ch. anatolica, male. Albania, Tomorr Mts, Abaz Ali Top, 2379m, N40.6361, E020.1615, 14.VII.2018, S. Beshkov & A. Nahirnić leg.; b) Ch. elegans, male. AL, Korca County, west from Pepellash Village, 1318m, N40°28'55"; E020°41'27", 22.VIII. 2017, S. Beshkov & A. Nahirnić leg.; c) Ch. anatolica, male genitalia with everted vesica. Gen. prep. 1./04.III.2019, S. Beshkov. AL, Tomorr Mts, Abaz Ali Top, 2379m, N40.6361, E020.1615, 11.VIII.2018, S. Beshkov, A. Nahirnić & C. Plant leg.; d) Ch. elegans, male genitalia with everted vesica. Gen. prep. 1./03.III.2019, S. Beshkov. AL, Mt. Tomorr, Abaz Aliu Top below to south, 2026 m, N40°37'19", E020°10'42", 10.VIII.2018, S. Beshkov, A. Nahirnić & C. Plant leg., e) Ch. elegans, female genitalia. Gen. prep. 9./14.II.2018, S. Beshkov. AL, Mali i Thatë (=Galičica Mts), above Bregas Village, 1485m, N40°48'34"; E020°50'05", 20.VIII.2017, S. Beshkov & A. Nahirnić leg., f) & g) Ch. elegans, everted vesica, Gen. prep. 2./22.III.2017, S. Beshkov. Serbia, Slivovicki Vis, N43°08'29", E022°23'12”, 03.IX.2016, S. Beshkov, A. Nahirnić leg.