New records of six moth (Lepidoptera: Erebidae, Lasiocampidae) species in south African countries, with comments on their distribution

Abstract Background Southern Africa hosts a high diversity of ecosystems and habitats with a tremendous diversity of Lepidoptera. Although it is one of the most studied parts of the Afrotropics, the knowledge on diversity and distribution of south African moth fauna remains insufficient. To partly fill this gap, we surveyed macromoths by automatic light traps in five localities in two relatively less sampled south African countries. New information We reported six species and one genus (Remigioides) of moths which had not yet been recorded in Namibia or Zimbabwe. Although none of these records broadened the known distribution of individual species to a new biogeographical region, they still fill important gaps in their distributions. The known distributional ranges of two species have been substantially extended, although they are still within the same biogeographical regions: ca. 800 km southwards for Remigioides remigina (Mabille, 1884) and ca. 600 km westwards for Haplopacha cinerea Aurivillius, 1905.


Introduction
The south African countries offer a wide variety of biomes, from deserts and grasslands to woodland savannahs. Some of them are considered to be biodiversity hotspots, such as the Succulent Karoo, the Cape Floristic Province and the Maputaland-Pondoland-Albany (Myers et al. 2000, Mittermeier et al. 2004. Besides these unique ecosystems, most of southern Africa is covered by open and woodland savannahs belonging to two distinct bioregions: the Southern African region and the Zambezian region (Linder et al. 2012). For some taxa (including many groups of plants, mammals and birds), parts of these savannahs are known to harbour a species richness similar to Afrotropical rainforests (Murphy et al. 2016).
However, knowledge on the diversity and distribution of macromoths (Lepidoptera: Macroheterocera, hereinafter referred as moths) in these regions is uneven. Due to the long tradition of entomological research, the moth fauna of South Africa is relatively well known, with ca. 7,300 taxa identified in De Prins and De Prins (2020). In comparison, the neighbouring countries of Namibia and Zimbabwe are only represented by ca. 1,500 and 3,000 moth taxa, respectively, in the same database.
Our recent sampling of moths in savannahs of Namibia and Zimbabwe resulted in more than 12,000 trapped individuals. Amongst these, we identified six moth species recorded for the first time in one or the other of the two countries. Here, we present the sampled material of these six species, with remarks on their general distribution and their reported expansion.

Materials and methods
All reported moth specimens were collected in five localities in Namibia and Zimbabwe (Figs 1, 2, Table 1) in 2016 and 2017. The nomenclature for biogeographical region follows Linder et al. (2012). Vegetation units are based on Burgess et al. (2004), Sayre et al. 2013, Heppner (1991 and Hacker (2019)  List of the localities and habitats where the moth specimens have been collected.

Figure 1.
Map of the biogeographical regions and subregions in outhern Africa (modified after Linder et al. 2012), with positions of the study localities.
All moths were attracted by light. The traps consisted of a two-sided strip of 48 LEDs emitting UV light and powered by 12V batteries placed at the intersection of three plexiglass panels placed on top of a plastic bucket. Attracted specimens were anaesthetised by ammonium hydrogen carbonate. More than 12,000 individuals were trapped. Nine families were focused on (i.e. Erebidae, Eutellidae, Noctuidae, Notodontidae, Eupterotidae, Lasiocampidae, Saturniidae, Sphingidae and Limacodidae) and, after removing non-focused groups (mainly Geometridae), our dataset comprised 9,048 specimens belonging to 488 species or morphospecies, based mostly on external morphology using various available literature, including numerous online resources. Genitalia dissection was done when needed and the exhaustive collection in the Nature Education Centre (Krakow, Poland) was consulted for confirmation of some species identification. From this material, six reliably identified species appeared to be new country records; these are included in this report. Selected sampled habitats.

Description
The identification was based on Hampson (1910).

Distribution
This species is recorded for the first time in Namibia. All reported specimens were collected in the Bwabwata National Park belonging to the Zambezian biogeographical region. In this region, the species was already known from Zimbabwe and Zambia and it was also already recorded in the neighbouring Southern African region. Therefore, its distribution in north-eastern Namibia could be expected (Fig. 3).

Description
The identification of this species was based on photograph of the type specimen in De Prins and De Prins (2020) and comparison with the original description in Kirby (1896).

Distribution
Our records expand the known distribituion of the species to Zimbabwe. Hypopyra africana was previously reported from the Somalian (Kenya), Zambezian and Southern African regions, including countries bordering with Zimbabwe (Botswana, Namibia, South Africa, Zambia). All six reported specimens were found near Victoria Falls and partially fill the gap in our knowledge of the distribution of this species (Fig. 4).

Description
The detailed diagnosis made by Hacker (2016) enabled identification of this species.

Distribution
Our four captured individuals represent the first record of R. remigina in Zimbabwe. It is also the first record of Remigiodes in the country. This widespread species was already known from the Guinean (Togo, Nigeria), Congolian (Democratic Republic of Congo), Somalian (Ethiopia, Somalia and Kenya) and Zambezian (Tanzania) biogeographic regions and from Madagascar. Our record extended its known continental distribution range by ca. 800 km southwards (Fig. 5).

Description
The identification of this species was based on Pinhey (1975).

Distribution
We report this species for the first time in Namibia. It was already known from several countries in the Congolian (Democratic Republic of Congo), Somalian (Kenya), Zambezian and Southern African biogeographic regions, including South Africa, Zimbabwe and Zambia, all bordering with Namibia (Pinhey 1975). All three specimens were collected in the Bwabwata National Park, in the Zambezian region (Fig. 6).

Description
The genitalia dissection and the diagnosis of this species made by Dupont et al. (2016) enabled identification of our specimens.

Distribution
Our specimens represented the first record of this species in Namibia. We collected them in the Zambezian (Bwabwata National Park) and Southern African (Namibgrens, Grootfontein) regions. This species was previously reported from these two biogeographical regions only, with records from numerous countries from Tanzania to South Africa. In South Africa, the species was known only from the north-eastern parts of the country (Dupont et al. 2016). Hence, our records substantially extended its known distribution range westwards (Fig. 7).

Description
The identification of this species was based on Pinhey (1975).

Distribution
Our single specimen is the first record of this species in Namibia. It was collected in the Bwabwata National Park, belonging to the Zambezian biogeographical region. The species was previously known from only this region, including from Zambia and Zimbabwe bordering with Namibia. Therefore, extension of its distribution into the Caprivi Strip in north-eastern Namibia is not surprising (Fig. 8).

Discussion
We presented records of six species of moths (Plecoptera sarcistis, Hypopyra africana, Remigiodes remigina, Taviodes subjecta, Haplopacha cinerea and Laeliopsis punctuligera) newly reported to occur in one or the other of the two sampled countries. Altogether, we reported four species so far not recorded in Namibia and two species so far not recorded in Zimbabwe. Additionally, the genus Remigiodes was reported for the first time in Zimbabwe.
All of these species could have been expected in the reported countries because they were previously known to occur in either the Southern African or Zambezian region, whilst four species (except R. remigina and L. punctuligera) occur in both. All but R. remigina were already reported from one or several adjacent countries.
Even though most of the presented new country records could have been expected, at least two of our findings substantially extend the species' known distribution. The nearest known distribution of R. remigina prior to our study was from the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Therefore, our records extend its known distribution by ca. 800 km southwards, although still within the Zambezian geographic region. Haplopacha cinerea was previously known from both studied regions. Still, our records from central Namibia extended its known distribution by ca. 600 km westwards.
We consider the presented new country reports as additional evidence of the insufficient knowledge of moth diversity in the Afrotropics. Although the result of a relatively nonintensive sampling effort, our records did increase the number of moth taxa recorded in both countries. Since those records either extend the known distribution of particular species or fill gaps in their continuous distribution, we consider reporting of moth records even from such non-intensive sampling as interesting and highly important for improving our knowledge of diversity and distribution of south African moths.