Taxonomy and origin of moths inhabiting in the Japanese warm temperate forests

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1 . The following worm temperate forests were investigated: central Honshu, the northern most border of the forests; San-in and Tsushima, for connection with the Korean Peninsula: the Ryukyu Islands. The moth collections of Kyushu University and University of Osaka Prefecture were checked.2. Members of so called "Himalayan Heterocera" are usually considered to be inhabitants of warm temperate forests. Their distribution patterns were analyzed, and the origin of some groups and the relationship to Japanese species were discussed.3. A new species of Amphipyra was discovered from Amami-oshima, the Ryukyus. The closest relative is A. livids, widely distributed from Europe to Japan, and the new spesiec was considered a relict. Lygephila lilacina was recently rediscovered from Japan and inhabit in broadleaved evergreen forests, on the other hand the related L. recta live in deciduous forests, though the two species were found mixed in some places of their distributional borders. Eterusia aedea is a typical Himalayan moth, distributed from Himalaya to central Japan, and many subspecies were known; the relationship among subspecies of the Ryuikyu Islands were reviewed and a new subspecies from Amami-oshima was distinguished from those of Okinawa and Yakushima.4. Two observations of migrant moths were reported. A large crowd of Macroglossum pyrrhostieta were attracted by lights at Naze, Amani-oshima, this is the second record of the swarming migration, the first was at the Ocean Weather Station "Tango", Lat. 29ﾟ N. Long. 135ﾟ E in 1968. Hypocala violacea is widely distributed in Southeast Asia, and immigrated several times into coasts of the Japan Sea. Those observations were made just after passage of a typhoon and a low pressure, respectively.