Merulempista Roesler, 1967 is a small genus of fifteen described species distributed in the Palaearctic, Indomalayan and the Australasian ecozones with 10 species found within Europe (Slamka, 2019). Merulempista turturella (Zeller, 1848) is known from the Canary Islands, Spain, Mallorca, France, mainland Italy, Sicily, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Egypt and Israel. The genus is characterized by the male gnathos distally hooked, the sclerotized costa often produced to a distal process, and the female antrum deeply concave at middle and greatly extending backward posterolaterally (Yingdang, 2011).

The species has been recorded from several coastal locations across the Maltese islands. MALTA, Gh- adira Nature Reserve 9-IX-2021, 4-X-2021, 28-II-2022, 16-V-2022, 1-VI-2022, 10- X-2023; Simar Nature Reserve 14-IX-2021, 11-X-2021, 28-II-2022, 22-III-2022, 06-III-2023; Salina Nature Reserve 31-VIII-2022, 05-X-2022; Gozo, San Blas 26-VIII-2022.

In the Canary Islands, the larvae of M. turturella (Zeller, 1848) have been observed feeding on the flower buds and the delicate flower parts of Tamarix canariensis Willd (Slamka, 2019). They typically inhabit saline open environments and similar biotopes where their host plants grow. Interestingly, all the specimens found in both Malta and Gozo were in such habitats. While, so far, there is no documented evidence of these larvae in Malta, it’s important to highlight that Tamarix africana Poir, is one of the most prevalent tree species in the areas where these specimens were discovered. However, it is worth mentioning that even though they are less common, Tamarix gallica L. and Tamarix parviflora DC., can be found on the Maltese Islands. T. gallica L. is present in all the three nature reserves maintained by BirdLife Malta, albeit in much smaller numbers that T. africana Poir. Consequently, it is highly probable that Tamarix africana Poir, serves as the primary food source for the larvae of M. turturella (Zeller, 1848).

Figure 1.

The species is new to the Maltese lepidopterofauna. I propose the Maltese name “Merulempista tal-faxxi skuri”, after the ante-medial vertical lines crossing the forewings.