Species richness of noctuid moths (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) from the State of Guanajuato, Mexico

Abstract

The Noctuidae are a family with many species worldwide, but in Mexico, there is little information about their species richness despite noctuids being very important pests in agriculture. With data obtained from fieldwork and specimens from the Entomological Collection of Universidad de Guanajuato, a list of species found in Guanajuato was made, taking into account distribution and biogeographic affinity data. The results showed 77 species, of which 36.3% had a distribution of Megamexico I affinity, 33.7% had Nearctic affinity, and 16.8% were cosmopolitan, whereas the rest of the species had distributions that corresponded to Megamexico II and III. The high percentage of northern species suggests that the biogeographic affinity of the noctuids from Guanajuato is close to the southern USA and northern Mexico. This research reports 30 new species records for Mexico, and 1 species may be a potential agent for the biological control of reed canarygrass, a major weed species.