Noctua tertia found in Sweden

Abstract

Noctu tertia was introduced as a new species for Northern Europe in the annual review of Macrolepidoptera records from Sweden 2017 (Palmqvist 2018). The current article describes the observations and studies underlying this report. An immigration of presumed Noctua janthina females with non-typical characteristics reaching Gotland during late September 2015 aroused our interest and triggered a more thorough investigation. Examination of their genitalia revealed that several of the captured specimens exhibited characteristics that were identical to those of Noctua tertia. We then extended our studies to a larger material including females with a wide range of variations in wing pattern and coloration and of males with typical janthina/tertia appearance. In total we have identified eleven Noctua tertia four males and seven females, most of them from Gotland but also three from Skåne. The oldest specimen was from 1988 and the newest from 2017. Available information of the geographical distribution of N. tertia is reviewed and the characteristics and biological information of the species in the Noctua janthe/janthina/tertia complex is further developed and discussed.