Boros István (szerk.): A Magyar Természettudományi Múzeum évkönyve 4. (Budapest 1952)

Kovács, L.: The Eupithecia communities and the problems of their evolution in our swamps and reeds (Lepid.)

were identical of 17 of the Kisbalaton and 12 of Ócsa. Regarding the numbers of the identical species therefore, the communities of the Kisbalaton and the marshy areas of Ócsa stand nearer to each other. If, however;- the deeper causes of agreements and disagreements are of any interest to us, also other reflections must be taken into consideration. In the differences of the faunas of different territories the most important consideration obviously is wheather the different species are able to find, and this in what degree, their conditions of living, that is, whether their optimum conditions are given. In researches of this kind, in the case of lepidoptera, we have to pay attention to especially two circumstances. One of these touches on the food plants of the different species, that is, their distribution in Hungary. We have sufficiently reliable data about the food plants, and their distribution, of Eupithecia species. Regarding these plants we have used the data of F. Wagner, of their distribution the recent work of S o ó and J á v o r k a. The other question relates to the oecological valence of the different lepidoptera species, that is to say, in what proportion are they able to adapt themselves to environmental factors. ín this connection we find much less data in literature, we were restricted therefore to use primarily our own data. These latter are valid of course in our inland relations only, we have, namely, to take into consideration the fact that some species live under climatic conditions different from ours in biotops, in which they never occur in our country. The food plants of the 25 species are rather generally spread in Hungary. Geographically, the food plants of E. v. pyreneata, Digitalis grandiflora (ambigua) and D. lanata, are rather limited in their range : they occur, besides the Nyírség, in the Középhegység, and the Dunántúl only. Besides the geographical distribution of the different food plants the fact plays also an important role that the occurrences of certain plants are restricted exclusively to some definite plant association. The natural consequence of this fact is, that the respective lepidoptera species .•can breed in such associations only which contain their food plant ; their breeding therefore will be more or less restricted also in a given territory. The proper food plant is an essentially important factor in the question of distribution, and its lack excludes even the oecologically less sensitive species from the various biotops. In our researches, regarding the oecological characteristics, we divided our Eupithecia species into hygrophilous, xerophilous and indifferent groups. When determining the characteristics we tried to proceed with the utmost circumspection not to draw conclusions from occurrences isolated in time and space. We commit ourselves in the cases of such species only which occur during longer time and in conforming places, if even in smaller numbers, and which were collected also in fresh specimens, or when they occur regularly in any biotop but are more seldom, •or are totally absent in its environment. The number of specimens of the 14 species collected in Bátorliget is 68 ; one specimen could not be identified. We had collected plumbeolata and valerianata in the greatest numbers, 12 from both species. Their percentage is 17,6% in each case. They are followed by exiguata and assimilata (8 specimens and 11,8% each) ; then linariata (7 specimens, 10,3%). The number of specimens of the other 9 species is between 1 and 5, with a total relation of 30%. We have collected 10 Eupithecia species in 41 specimens in the preeminently swampy places of the Reservation swamp. Valerianata with its 11 specimens (26,8%) was the first in their rank, followed'by plumbeolata (7 specimens, 17,1%), then absinthiata and assimilata (5 specimens, 12,2% each). Of the other 6 species 13 specimens were caught, relation : 31,7%. All absinthiata and valerianata (with one exception in the case of the