Molecular identification of newly recorded Lepidoptera for Cyprus and Europe (Insecta: Lepidoptera)

As part of a comprehensive molecular inventory of Lepidoptera in Northern Cyprus, 8 species have been identified as new records for the island of Cyprus through genetic comparisons of DNA barcodes with reference sequences. The following species are formally reported for the first time in Europe: Coleophora bivittella Staudinger, 1879 (Coleophoridae) and Teliphasa lophotalis (Hampson, 1900) (Pyralidae), whereas the agriculturally significant species Spodoptera frugiperda (Smith, 1797) (Noctuidae) was only published from the Canary Islands (Spain) and from Malta so far. The possibilities and limitations of molecular-based determinations are briefly discussed using the example of the fauna of north Cyprus.