Observations on the Isturgia limbaria (Fabricius, 1775) / roraria (Fabricius, 1776) complex (Lepidoptera, Geometridae, Ennominae) Author Flamigni, Claudio via delle Belle Arti 21, I- 40126 Bologna, Italy; claudio. flamigni @ alice. it claudio.flamigni@alice.it Author Fiumi, Gabriele via Decio Raggi 167, I- 47121 Forli, Italy; gabfium @ tiscali. it text Nota Lepidopterologica 2020 43 227 251 http://dx.doi.org/10.3897/nl.43.46559 journal article http://dx.doi.org/10.3897/nl.43.46559 2367-5365-43-227 C4B0EDAA39825B5B813C21095A655A80 88BBA56C-CEFF-42DA-A452-0DBF104A3DA2 Isturgia limbaria delimbaria (Staudinger, 1892) Fidonia limbaria var. delimbaria Staudinger, 1892, Dt. ent. Z. Iris 5: 198, [France]: Basses Alpes [Alpes-de-Haute-Provence], near Castellane and Digne. Fidonia limbaria var. pedemontaria Staudinger, 1892, Dt. ent. Z. Iris 5: 198, [France]: Alpes-Maritimes, [Italy]: Piedmont. Synonymy according to Flamigni et al. (2007 , 2016 ). Fidonia limbaria var. ligurica Fuchs, 1899, Jb. nassau. Ver. Naturk. 52: 151, [Italy]: Liguria. Synonym of pedemontaria according to Wehrli (1940). Material examined. France : 1 ♂, Vaucluse: Gignac, 21.iv.1979, F. Coenen leg. (RCCM); 1 ♂, Alpes-Maritimes: Greolieres 950 m, 21.iv.1997, G. Govi leg. (RCGG); 1 ♀, Alpes-Maritimes: Grasse above Gourdon, 750 m, 4.v.1998, G. Govi leg. (RCGG); 1 ♂, 1 ♀, Alpes-de-Haute-Provence: St-Etienne-les-Orgues , Montagne de Lure, 1620 m, 24.v.2014, E. Friedrich and P. Peuker leg. (RCEF) (digital images of both sides on Lepiforum). Italy : 1 ♂, Piedmont: Maritime Alps, Limonetto, 1000 m, 24.v.1998, G. Fiumi leg. (RCGF); 1 ♂, Piedmont: Ligurian Alps, Piaggia, 1300 m, 29.vi.1986, G. Bastia leg. (RCCF); 1 ♂, Liguria: Ligurian Alps, le Salse, 1800 m, 17.vii.1974, M. Guidi leg. (RCGF); 1 ♂, Liguria: Ligurian Alps, Ventimiglia, Villatella, Monte Grammondo, 1150 m, 9.v.2015, M. Guaschino leg. (RCCM); 1 ♂, Liguria: Ligurian Alps, Ventimiglia, 600 m, 27.v.2001, E.O. Bonora leg. (RCCM); 4 ♂, 2 ♀, Liguria: Ligurian Alps, Rocchetta Nervina, Passo del Cane, 600 m, 23.v.1998, G. Fiumi leg. (RCGF); 1 ♀, Liguria: Ligurian Alps, Cosio di Arroscia, 1000 m, E.O. Bonora leg., 4.v.2006 (RCCM); 1 ♂, Piedmont: Ligurian Apennines, Capanne Superiori di Marcarolo, 900 m, 21.vii.2003, L. Baldizzone leg. (RCGF); 3 ♀, Liguria: Ligurian Apennines, Maissana, road to Passo del Bocco di Bargone, 635-960 m, 18.v.2015, M. Guaschino leg. (RCCM); 1 ♂, Emilia-Romagna: Tuscan-Emilian Apennines, Bologna, Monte Pizzo, 1000 m, 5.vii.1970, A. Bastia leg. (RCCF); 1 ♂, 3 ♀ Emilia-Romagna: Tuscan-Emilian Apennines, Bologna, Monte Grande, 1530 m, 8.vii.1987, C. Flamigni leg. (RCCF); 2 ♂, 2 ♀, Emilia-Romagna: Tuscan-Emilian Apennines, Bologna, Corno alle Scale, Passo del Vallone, 1650-1750 m, 31.vii.1986, C. Flamigni leg. (RCCF); 2 ♂, 2 ♀, Emilia-Romagna: Tuscan-Emilian Apennines, Bologna, Corno alle Scale, 1650 m, 4.vii.1984, 10.vii.1986, 1945 m, 10.vii.1986, C. Flamigni leg. (RCCF); 1 ♂, Tuscany: Apuan Alps, under Monte Corchia, Passo Croce, 18.vi.1999, L. Dapporto leg. (ZSM). Diagnosis (Figs 4 , 9 , 14 , 19 ): Forewing almost free of dark scales (except the costa and the terminal fascia). Hindwing with more dark scales than forewing, but lighter than in most specimens of the nominate subspecies. The dark terminal fascia is generally narrow in the forewing (wide in the form pedemontaria ), absent or very reduced in the hindwing (also in the form pedemontaria ). The underside is variable, but less contrasted and less sprinkled with black than in most specimens of the nominate subspecies. The taxon pedemontaria (Figs 4b , 14b ) is an individual form, sometimes prevalent in some places: it shows a wide, dark terminal fascia on the forewing and a weakly marked underside on the hindwing, which is orange-yellow, scattered with dark vertical stripes, with barely perceptible lighter radiating streaks. In the female genitalia signum small (0.8-0.9 mm, exceptionally 1.2 mm in a female from the Apennines near Bologna: see Table 3 ). Bullae tympani with a roundish lobe (absent in a female from the same locality: see Table 3 ). The specimens from northern Piedmont (Graian and Pennine Alps) were not dissected. Distribution. France SE, Italy (Piedmont, Liguria, Tuscany, Emilia-Romagna: see Fig. 2 ). According to Leraut (2009) its distribution in France is limited to the southern Alps; we have confirmation for the following departments: Drome : Montagne de Chamouse ( Skou and Sihvonen 2015 : pl. 2, fig. 18c, e), Vaucluse, Alpes-de-Haute-Provence, Alpes-Maritimes, Var. In Piedmont it occurs mainly in the south, from the Maritime Alps to the Apennines; according to Flamigni et al. (2007) it occurs also further north, up to the Graian Alps and the surroundings of Biella (Pennine Alps); the specimens from the Biella area were examined (without dissection of the genitalia) by the first author during the preparatory work on the first volume on the Italian Ennominae . The geographic position would suggest that specimens from Corsica also belong to this subspecies: this will need to be verified through the examination of the collected material. Molecular data. The two barcoded specimens (both from Italy) diverge from those of the taxon limbaria s. str. (from Germany and Upper Normandy) respectively by 1.2% (Ligurian Alps) and 1.6% (northern Apennines); however, they diverge from one another by 1.6% and cannot be regarded as a "common separate cluster". Remarks. The distribution of the taxa delimbaria and rablensis in the northern Piedmont is similar to that of Crocota pseudotinctaria Leraut, 1999 and C. tinctaria ( Huebner , 1799): delimbaria and pseudotinctaria occur in the surroundings of Biella, while rablensis and both pseudotinctaria and tinctaria occur further to the north-east, in Campello Monti ( tinctaria also occurs in Lombardy, like rablensis ). The analysis of the DNA of the northern Piedmontese populations could help to better understand the relationship between the three taxa present in this area ( delimbaria , anzascaria , rablensis ); the barcoding of a specimen from Campello Monti was unfortunately not successful.