New Tiger Moth Record for Alberta and the Waterton Lakes NP Species List.

A recent discovery by Spencer Quayle of a mating pair of Leptarctia californiae is not only new for the park but a new record for the Alberta checklist. To view this exciting record visit: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/80995000.

To date, survey work has led to the documentation of 793 species in the park, making it the most diverse place for Lepidoptera in Alberta. Of these, 94 are butterflies, 415 are macro-moths and 284 are micro-moths. Of those collected, 207 were ranked as ‘rare’ and 110 as ‘uncommon’. A total of 106 species discovered in the park are found nowhere else in Alberta, with 3 being a new record for Canada. This works out to about 30% of the Lepidopera species known in Alberta including 48 families of Lepidopterans. Though I suspect we have likely found the lion’s share of species that reside here, there are likely at least another 200 species or so that remain undiscovered as we try and explore some of the harder to reach habitats in the alpine and more isolated regions of the park.

To view the updated species list and follow the project visit: https://www.researchgate.net/project/Survey-of-the-Lepidoptera-of-Waterton-Lakes-National-Park

Publicado el 20 de junio de 2021 por mothmaniac