Szekessy Vilmos (szerk.): A Magyar Természettudományi Múzeum évkönyve 59. (Budapest 1967)
Vojnits, A.: The distribution and forms of the Gnophos-group (Lepidoptera, Geometridae) in Hungary. I.
Poland (BLESZYNSKI, 1966). The authenticity of the single Bohemian datum (Prague), from 1865, was repeatedly disputed (STERNECK, 1929). In Hungary, the species is one of the best distributed member of the group, occurring, however, in rather low individual numbers. Most of the localities lie in the Central Range. It was collected here from the Mts. Bakony to the Eperjes—Tokaj range (Mts. Zemplén); the majority of sites are in the Dunazug range. South of the Balaton, it is known from Vörs and the Mts. Mecsek; the richest populations are between the Danube and the Tisza; and a specimen was recently captured in the area beyond the Tisza (Gerla). It can be established from the above data that most of the localities lie in the central section of the country, or rather that these more densely located populations are widely separated from the southeastern population. Thus, Gerla is removed by 130—140 km from the nearest localities (Kunfehértó, Agasegyháza) in the Great Plains between the Danube and the Tisza, and even further away from the montane sites. Contrarily to the majority of its allies, O. dumetata TR. is rather independent of the rocky, montane habitats. It occurs chiefly on the clearings of karst woods and shrubberies (in general, of dry oakwoods) (Fót, Hársbokorhegy), on slopes of dolomite rubble and sparsely grassy rocky inclines (Mts. Csiki) and on meadows of loose sand substrate (the Plains between the Danube and the Tisza). With respect to the time of flight, it is probably our latest Gnophos species. More than 90 per cent of the respective data derive from the period 25 August— 15 September. Individual numbers culminate in the beginning of September. Its activity graph reaches acme very steeply, descending in almost the same manner. From the periods 15—25 August and 15—25 September, we have but few data. The earliest authentic datum is 20 July (Budaörs, Mts. Csiki, leg. UHRIK), the latest 2 October (light trap, Gerla). 0. dumetata TR. shows a strong tendency toward producing local races; this was pointed out already by WEHRLI. The Hungarian population was described by FUCHS in 1902 under the name var. saturata. According to him, the nominate form flies in Vienna, of which our home specimens rather strongly differ. While the former one is a violet or bluish grey, with a brownish marginal area, in the latter "all wings have a definite chocolate brown suffusion from the base outwards." He also mentions that there extends a continuous, dark shadow, indicated by the postmedian line of dots, almost to the costa of the fore wing. WEHRLI refused FUCHS 'S statements (1953). He substantiated his own by contending that TREITSCHKE described the species based not on Viennese but on Dalmatian specimens. TREITSCHKE'S account of the basic colour of the species runs as follows: "The entire upper side is a light chocolate brown. The head and the back has the same hue, the body is more grey". No mention was anywhere made, as WEHRLI had also pointed out, of a violet or bluish grey tinge. The shadow decurrent on the wings, characteristic of saturata according to FUCHS, is not constant as stated by WEHRLI ; he found specimens which are transitional towards the shadowless exemplars. WEHRLI did not close the question: for a final solution further investigations were needed. The fact that the Hungarian Natural History Museum possesses TREITSCHKE's original type-specimens, and the circumstance that we have a great number of home specimens and also a smaller series from Austria at our disposal, allowed a thorough, systematical examination of the populations concerned.
