NATURA SLOVENIAE 22(1): 33-34 Prejeto / Received: 23. 1. 2020 
FIELD NOTE Sprejeto / Accepted: 30. 3. 2020 
 
 
Biotehniška fakulteta Univerze v Ljubljani in Nacionalni inštitut za biologijo, Ljubljana, 2020 
First record of the species 
Mythimna andereggii 
(Boisduval, 1840) (Lepidoptera: 
Noctuidae) in Croatia 
 
Prva najdba vrste Mythimna andereggii 
(Boisduval, 1840) (Lepidoptera: 
Noctuidae) na Hrvaškem 
 
Toni KOREN*, Boris LAUŠ,  
Association Hyla, Lipovac I. no 7, HR-10000 
Zagreb, Croatia, E-mails: toni.koren@hhdhyla.hr, 
boris.laus@hhdhyla.hr 
*Corresponding author 
 
In Croatia, the genus Mythimna Ochsenheimer, 
1816, is represented by 15 species (Kučinić 1997, 
Karsholt & Nieukerken 2020). Members of this 
genus occurring in Europe are very similar in 
appearance, with yellow-brownish wings with more 
or less black dots and/or markings on the wing. 
Most species can be distinguished by external wing 
morphology, while for some the examination of 
genitalia is necessary (e.g. Mythimna 
alopecuri/Mythimna sicula, see Stojanović & 
Glavendekić 2005). 
 
While some species inhabit the whole country, some 
of them are related to a specific climate or habitat 
type (Macek et al. 2008, Leraut 2019). For example, 
Mythimna alopecuri (Boisduval, 1840) and 
Mythimna sicula (Treitschke, 1835) show a 
predominately Mediterranean distribution, 
Mythimna conigera (Denis & Schiffermüller, 1775) 
is usually found in the mountains, while Mythimna 
straminea (Treitschke, 1825) and Mythimna turca 
(Linnaeus, 1761) usually inhabit smaller or larger 
patches of wetlands. 
 
Here we present the first record of Mythimna 
andereggii (Boisduval, 1840) (Fig. 1). This species 
was found during our short visit to Mt. Troglav in 
the Dinara mountain chain. The data of these 
records are: Croatia, Mt. Troglav, Pume chalet, 
Velika Divjakuša and Rosića glavica; 43.935822N, 
16.572526E, 18.6.2016, 2 ex., leg. Boris Lauš. 
 
It is a Holo-Mediterranean-Central Asian species 
(Nowacki 1998), in Europe mostly confined to the 
mountain ranges of the Pyrenees, Apennines, Alps 
and the mountains in the Balkan peninsula (Macek 
et al. 2008, Leraut 2019). According to Nowacki 
(1998), it occurs in open montane habitats like 
meadows and steppes, between 1,200 to 2,500 m 
a.s.l. Adults are present between May and August in 
a single generation (Macek et al. 2008). Its 
caterpillars feed on different grasses (Hacker et al. 
2002). The Balkan populations belong to the 
subspecies Mythimna andereggi pseudocomma 
(Rebel, 1931).  
 
The screening of all the available literature for the 
Lepidoptera of Croatia revealed that no record of 
this species exists in the country. The closest 
records out from Mt. Troglav are the ones from 
Bosnia & Herzegovina, from Rilji (Stauder 1926). 
Recently, the species was also recorded for the first 
time for the fauna of Serbia (Stojanović et al. 2014). 
It is found also in Northern Macedonia (Thurner 
1964) and Slovenia (Carnelutti 1992). 
 
With further explorations of the mountain habitats 
in Croatia, additional records of new species or the 
expansion of the known ranges for other mountain 
species are expected. 
 
References 
 
Carnelutti J. (1992): Rdeči seznam ogroženih 
metuljev (Macrolepidoptera) v Sloveniji. Varst. 
Nar. 17: 61-104. 
Hacker H., Ronkay L., Hreblay M. (2002): Noctuidae 
Europaeae 4: Hadeninae 1. Entomological 
Press, Sorø, 419 pp. 
Karsholt O., van Nieukerken E.J. (2020): 
Lepidoptera. Fauna Europaea, version 
2017.06. https://fauna-eu.org [accessed on: 
11.5.2020]. 
Kučinić M. (1997): Faunistical, ecological and 
zoogeographycal characteristics of noctuids 
(Insecta, Lepidoptera) in Croatia. Master 
Thesis. University of Zagreb, Faculty of 
Science, 131 pp.  
Leraut P. (2019): Moths of Europe, vol. 6, Noctuids 
2. NAP Editions, Verrières le Buisson, 580 pp. 
 
34 Toni KOREN & Boris LAUŠ: First record of the species Mythimna andereggii in Croatia / FIELD NOTE 
NATURA SLOVENIAE 22(1): 33-34 
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Figure 1. Mythimna andereggii from Mt. Troglav, Croatia (photo T. Koren). 
Slika 1. Mythimna andereggii z gore Troglav, Hrvaška (foto T. Koren).