Ábrahám Levente (szerk.): Válogatott tanulmányok III. - Natura Somogyiensis 12. (Kaposvár, 2008)

Fazekas Imre: The species of the genus Aethes Billberg, 1821 of Hungary (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae)

the root, where it hollows out a pupal chamber, pupating by early May. Habitat: Sand steppes, lowland dry degraded grasslands (Great Hungarian Plain), slope steppes (Mátra Mts.), dry and semi-dry closed grasslands (example Bakony and Mecsek Mts.). Altitude from 100 m to 400 m. Comments: Sporadic on the plains and hills, and uncharacteristically in the mountains of medium height. Not recorded from Eastern Hungary (Tiszántúl). 4. Aethes williana (Brahm, 1791) (Fig. 8, 9) References: FARKAS 1969, FAZEKAS 1994, 1995, GOZMÁNY 1968, PETRICH 2001, SZABÓKY 1982A, 1994, 1999. Distribution in Palaearctic: from Mongolia to North-West Africa and Western Europe. Chorotype; centralasiatic-europeo-mediterranean. The distribution area in Hungary: Agárd, Ágasegyháza, Budapest, DömsödApajpuszta, Eger-Almár, Fülöpháza, Gyöngyös, Győr-Bácsa, Hortobágy, Izsák, Kecskemét (Nagynyír, Nyír), Komjáti, Miskolc (Garadna-völgy), Nagytétény, Nadap (Csúcsos-hegy), Pécs (Árpád-tető), Pusztapeszér, Sárkeresztúr, Sukoró, Újszentmargita. Phenology: The moth flies in two generations from April to mid September. September specimens are known on the Transdanubia only. The third generation is not known in Hungary. The species flies actively in the evening and at sunset and during the day if the weather is warm and dry. The peak periods of swarming are April and July. Biology: larva polyphagous, on Daucus carota, Eryngium campestre, Gnaphalium sylvaticum and Helichrysium arenarium; full-grown larva 9-10 mm long, body yellowish; pupa straw coloured, 6-7 mm long, the cocoon light brown. In Hungary, the larva is injurious to cultivated carrots (FARKAS 1969). Not uncommonly, a quarter of the crop can be destroyed. Two years are sometimes spent in the pupal stage. Habitat: xerofherphilous species, found mainly in the closed loess and sand steppes, saline pasture, edge of agricultural land. Altitude from 90 m to 350 m. Comments: very local in the Great Hungarian Plain, and sporadically in some habitats of the mountains at medium altitude (example Bükk and Mátra Mts). Ae. williana is often a pest in plantations of carrots, especially in certain years when it becomes abundant. 5. Aethes moribundana (Staudinger, 1859) (Fig. 10) References: BUDASHKIN 1993, PETRICH 2001. Distribution in Palaearctic: widespread from the Mongolian desert to Europe. Unknown in Scandinavia and British Isles. Chorotype: Centralasiatic-European. The distribution area in Hungary: Pákozd (PETRICH 2001). Said to have been collected on the Great Hungarian Plain. The exact localities are not known. Phenology: Bivoltine, flying in late May to mid-June and from July to August. Biology: According to BUDASHKIN (1993) the larvae feed in generative parts of flowers of Sideritis tautrica; each larva utilises 4 or 5 flowers. Sideritis tautrica does not occur in the Pannonian region, and in Hungary the larval host-plant is unknown. Sideritis montana does, however, occur in this area. Habitat: riverine ash-alder woodlands (Pákozd: Kanca-hegy). CORJNE code: 44.31). Presumably, the moth is to be found in the drier areas. Similar species: on the whole, Ae. moribundana is an easily recognised species, but could occasionally be confused with some of its relatives. Ae. cnicana is very similar, and the markings on the fore wing are variable, therefore in cases of doubt it is important to examine the genitalia. Comments: Ae. moribundana is apparently very rare and local in Hungary, but could be overlooked and therefore careful search is required.