Occurrence of Novotinea reinhardella in Hungary
A new publication by Balázs Tóth and András Benyó titled 'Occurrence of Novotinea reinhardella Nel, 2014 in Hungary (Lepidoptera: Tineidae)' has been published in Folia Entomologica Hungarica.
The izeltlabuak.hu website primarily focuses on arthropods found in Hungary. This entry also deals with Hungarian fauna.
About the study
The genus Novotinea Amsel, 1938 and the species Novotinea reinhardella Nel, 2014 (Lepidoptera: Tineidae) are reported for the first time from Hungary.
Novotinea Amsel, 1938 (Lepidoptera: Tineidae) is a genus of Western Palaearctic moths, represented by nine species in Europe and one further species in Asia Minor. Most of them are distributed exclusively in the Mediterranean basin; the diversity hotspot of the genus is apparently the Western Mediterranean (Gaedike 2015). To date, the genus has not been reported from Central Europe (including Hungary).
Novotinea reinhardella Nel, 2014 was discovered quite recently in Southern France (Nel 2014). Subsequently, it was reported from Spain, the Canary Islands (Gaedike 2015), and Egypt (Gaedike 2019). Only a few adult specimens were observed, the immature stages have remained unknown, and, apart from the collecting dates and habitats, no information have been published on its bionomics. The aim of the article is to present the first records of the genus Novotinea and the species Novotinea reinhardella from Hungary.
Material examined - Hungary, Budapest, 14th district, Budapest Zoo and Botanical Garden, Biodome, on Phoenix canariensis H. Wildpret (Arecaceae), 28.III.2025, leg. A. Benyó, 44 specimens; all voucher specimens are deposited in the Lepidoptera Collection of the Hungarian National Museum Public Collection Centre - Hungarian Natural History Museum, Budapest (HNHM). The species was identified by external appearance supported by genitalia dissection. Reinhard Gaedike (Bonn), after whom this species was named, confirmed the identification.
The species was previously known from only a few specimens, collected in early April and early August (Gaedike 2015). The first large series of specimens reported here multiplies the number of known adults. The examined material did not exhibit significant intraspecific variability in respect of their body, size, external morphology, colouration and pattern. The authors speculate that this moth species was introduced to Hungary together with Phoenix canariensis palms in October 2021. If this assumption is true, Novotinea reinhardella would be the second moth species to be introduced to our country with palms, besides Paysandisia archon (Burmeister, 1879) (Castniidae) reported by Sáfián et al. (2023). Although they do not expect it to cause significant damage or reach pest status, the authors call the attention of zoo, botanical garden and horticulture centre staffs who deal with palm species, and encourage them to search for Novotinea reinhardella within their facilities.
Distribution - Novotinea reinhardella has been observed in the Canary Islands, Spain (mainland), southern France and Egypt (Gaedike 2019). The indoor occurrence reported here represents the northernmost record of the species, and the first documented occurrence outside the Mediterranean region.
Bionomy - The collecting site in Hungary, the "Biodome", is a huge building under construction, to be inhabited by several plants and animals, as it will be an attraction of the Budapest Zoo and Botanical Garden. Here, numerous adults were observed in the daytime, swarming around and crawling on trunks of Phoenix canariensis. Their flight was slow; the moths were easily caught with jars or vials. Despite the authors’ efforts no egg deposition was observed and no immature stages were recorded. They think that larvae of Novotinea reinhardella feed either in the bark of palm trees or in detritus deployed on their trunks or lichens or algae growing on the bark.
Identification - Fresh adult specimens can be distinguished by the greyish ground colour with bluish tinge and the broad black bands of the forewing (microscope or at least a good loupe is needed). Worn specimens are to be dissected. The diagnostic characters of the male genitalia are the truncated or slightly bilobed uncus and the elongated, sickle-shaped valvae; those of the female genitalia include the patch of spines at the anterior end of corpus bursae, and a longitudinal band of thin spines in corpus bursae.
The species has been added to the Hungarian species list on izeltlabuak.hu.