A blue underwing moth, a rare species listed in the regional Red Data Book, has been sighted in the Kronotsky Nature Reserve on the Kamchatka Peninsula. The insect was discovered at the Aerodrom cordon for the first time, indicating the ongoing expansion of the species’ habitat in the region.
The rare specimen was observed after a night patrol in the Kronotsky-Bogachevka tundra. The large moth, drawn to the light of a street lamp, had a wingspan reaching ten centimeters – a size atypical for the local fauna. Photographs of the specimen were transferred to the scientific department for precise identification.
The population of the blue underwing moth in Kamchatka remains extremely small compared to those in the European part of Russia and Siberia. The insect is capable of covering significant distances in the absence of strong winds and at optimal air temperatures. Its adaptation to the peninsula is facilitated by the high frost resistance of its eggs, which can withstand temperature drops to minus thirty degrees Celsius, as well as the versatile diet of its caterpillars, which feed on the foliage of trees and shrubs.
The species features a specific protective coloration. In a resting state, the forewings camouflage the insect against tree bark, but at the slightest sign of danger, it opens them to display bright blue stripes on the hindwings. This biological mechanism effectively deters birds and other insectivorous predators.
Systematic recording of the blue underwing moth in the region began relatively recently. The first documented case occurred in 2001 in the settlement of Yagodny. In subsequent years, isolated specimens were registered at the Travyanoy cordon in the South Kamchatka Sanctuary, the Valley of Geysers, the Uzon volcano caldera, as well as in Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky and Yelizovo. The accumulated data has officially established the peninsula as a permanent habitat for this rare lepidopteran species.