Moths and butterflies (Lepidoptera) of the continental part of the Nenets Autonomous Okrug, Russia

Abstract

Until very recently, Nenets Autonomous Okrug (NAO), located in the northeastern part of European Russia, was the least studied region of Russia in terms of its moth fauna. Intensive sampling in the surroundings of Naryan-Mar, combined with critical revision of earlier publications and evaluation of museum collections, resulted in the discovery of a relatively rich fauna of Lepidoptera. The first regional checklist of moths and butterflies of the continental part of NAO includes 324 species (169 species of microlepidoptera and 155 species of macrolepidoptera), 178 of which are reported from NAO for the first time. We estimate that 40 to 180 species remain to be found in the study region. The recorded species mostly belong to residents of northern boreal forests and bogs. The fauna of moths and butterflies of NAO clearly differs from the fauna of Fennoscandia, due to the relatively higher proportion of East Palaearctic and Beringian species.