Apamea sphagnicola Wagner, 2014

Host plants:
The larvae feed on Festuca francoi, an endemic grass of higher altitudes in the Azores.

Habitat:
Apamea sphagnicola inhabits wet to humid, shady or semi-shady, steep areas with Sphagnum mosses and Festuca francoi in altitudes from about 500 to 1100m asl in the fog zone. These are most often embankments, steep north-facing slopes or inner slopes of volcanic craters.

Life cycle:
In November, the larvae are in antepenultimate and penultimate instar. They are mature between December and March. They are night-active in these instars and rest in the Sphagnum mosses about 1-5 cm under the surface during daytime. Pupation also occurs in the mosses in a weak cocoon that is somewhat denser than the webbing during moult rests.

The moths are supposed to fly mainly in April and May, perhaps still in early June.

Endangerment factors:
The nominate subspecies is locally endangered by afforestation with allochthonous coniferous forests, invasive plant species and especially by transforming its habitats into EU-funded cattle pastures. The ssp. centralazorensis, however, is severely endangered by the last factor.

Remarks:
Apamea sphagnicola is endemic to the Azores and so far known from San Miguel Island (ssp. sphagnicola) and Pico and Terceira (ssp. centralazorensis).

Literature:
Wagner, W. (2014): Apamea sphagnicola sp. n. — a surprising new species from the Azores in
westernmost Europe (Lepidoptera, Noctuidae, Xyleninae, Apameini).- Nachr. entomol. Ver. Apollo, N. F. 35 (4): 177–184.

Wagner (2015): Apamea ramonae n. sp. and Apamea sphagnicola centralazorensis n. ssp. — two new noctuid taxa (Lepidoptera, Noctuidae, Xyleninae, Apameini) from the Azores (Portugal) in westernmost Europe. — Nachrichten des Entomologischen Vereins Apollo, Neue Folge 36 (1): 21-29.

Wagner (2016): First record of Apamea sphagnicola centralazorensis Wagner, 2015 (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) in the Island of Terceira (Azores, Portugal).- Nachr. entomol. Ver. Apollo, N. F. 37 (2/3): 139–140.