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.

The first home specimen of this montane species was captured in the Mts. Bükk in 1952. The other known localities lie also in the central range : Mts. Börzsöny (Pogányvár, leg. VOJNITS), Mts. Mátra (Mátraháza, leg. NATTÁN), Mts. Bükk (Hármaskút, leg. RESKOVITS; Szentlélek, leg. I. KOVÁCS; Bánkút, leg. JABLONKAY; Felsőtárkány, light trap; Répáshuta, light trap), and the North Borsod Karst (Jósvafő, leg. VARGA). The home populations are separated by a considerable distance from the Slovakian populations. This holds primarily for the Börzsöny population, removed by some 75 km from the nearest locality in Slovakia (Selmecbánya). There are literature data also for its occurrence in Sturovo (HRUBY, 1964), but the species is probably not indigenous to this locality, the capture may probably referto a specimen carried away by the wind. On the other hand, the pouplation in Jósvafő is contiguously extending to the Slovakian side of the karst area. G. pullata SCHIFF, is characteristic of rocky habitats. All known localities are rocky sites, cliffs, or their immediate vicinity. In Hungary, it inhabits both the andezité cliffs of volcanic mountains (Mts, Börzsöny, Mátra) and the limestone regions of the central range (Mts. Bükk, North Borsod Karst). According to WARNECKE, the basic colour of the wings of G. pullata SCHIFF, is greatly dependent on the colour of the basic substrate. This assumption is corroborated by the observation that the light-coloured greyish-white form flies on the light limestone rocks, whereas the animals inhabiting dark, rocky sites are dark grey. The former was described by GUENÉE as var. impectinata, the latter by FUCHS as var. nubilata. An intermediate form is also known, var. confertata STAUDINGER, in which the dark base of the wings is ornamented by a light suffusion and a wide, white band. The taxonomic validity of these forms seems to be impugned by STERNECK'S paper (1929), who reported the breeding of confertata-ty-pc imagos from the eggs of a nubilata-type female. There are both dark and light specimens among the home exemplars. Animals living on the andezité of the Mts. Börzsöny and Mátra are dark grey, those inhabiting the white limestone rocks are quite light whitish-grey ones (Plate, fig. 7). These latter rather resemble, within the Carpathian Basin, specimens originating from Herkulesfürdő (Plate, fig. 8). For a decision on the taxonomical position of both this latter and the Mátra population, further exemplars are needed. Gnophos pullata kovácsi ssp. n. During the detailed analysis of the morphological characteristics of the specimens collected in the Mts. Börzsöny, it was found that they differ in a number of constant features from both the Viennese and the other populations examined by me (Hungary: Mts. Bükk, Mts. Mátra, North Borsod Karst ; Slovakia: Trencsén, Szádelő ; Rumania: Herkulesfürdő, the Retyezát Massif; S. France: Venancon; Western Slovenia: the Juli Alps; Macedonia: Ochrid), The Börzsöny population can be characterized as follows : Dimensions. Alar expanse: 28.5+1.5 mm. Colour and pattern. Upperside of wings iron grey, with a very slight bluish suffusion. Discal spots dark, small, even smaller on hind wings, well discernible. Postmedian line decurrent relatively near termen on both wings. Wings of a rather uniform aspect: pattern elements, though distinct, not conspicuous against base. Dark scales black or dark grey under microscope, not brown. Underside of wings a paler grey, rather uniform ; postmedian stripe conspicuous, decurrent strikingly near