The moth fauna (Lepidoptera: Heterocera) of Medvednica Nature Park, Croatia

Abstract

The Vol. 29, No. The paper gives the first overview of the moth fauna of Medvednica Nature Park, one that is based on the literature data and recent surveys carried out in the period from 2015 to 2019. The literature overview confirms the presence of 69 moth species recorded within the borders of the Nature Park. The survey recorded a total of 437 moth species in the area, 388 of them for the first time. In all, 455 species are now confirmed for Medvednica Nature Park. One Tortricidae species, Phtheochroa annae , is new for the fauna of Croatia. The area of Medvednica Nature Park can be now considered as one of the best explored Nature parks in Croatia, with the first checklist of its moth fauna. In most of the visited sites across Medvednica, habitat conditions are still favorable for the short-term survival of most species, but the overgrowing of meadows and forest edges, as well as intensive mowing of meadows, may dramatically worsen this situation during the next decades. Further moth surveys in this protected area would therefore be advisable.