Species

BackEudonia interlinealis (Warren, 1905)

Eudonia interlinealis (Warren, 1905)

Moth (English); Traça (Portuguese)

  • Kingdom: Animalia
  • Phylum: Arthropoda
  • Class: Insecta
  • Order: Lepidoptera
  • Family: Crambidae
LC Least Concern
IUCN Red List Status:

Countries of Occurrence:
Portugal - Azores

Archipelago(s):
Azores

Reviewer/s:
Danielczak, A.

Contributor/s:
Nunes, R. & Lamelas-Lopez, L.

Facilitators / Compilers/s:


Assessment Rationale:

Eudonia interlinealis is an endemic species present in the islands of Corvo, Flores, Faial, Pico, Graciosa, S. Jorge, Terceira, S. Miguel and Santa Maria (Azores, Portugal) (Nuss et al. 1997; Borges et al. 2010). It has a relatively small area of ocupancy (AOO = 324 km²), but a large extent of ocurrence (EOO = ca 41,000  km²). It is usually associated with native forest, occurring in eleven Natural Forest Reserves of Azores. It is a specialist phytophagous species, closely associated with Azorean endemic trees and have possibly two generations per year. Based on Ferreira et al. (2016) the habitat will decline as a consequence of climate change (increasing number of droughts). The species is assessed as Least Concern (LC) due to the widespread distribution and high abundance in the canopies of endemic trees, having also a high range of altitude occupancy (0-2100 m).

Geographic Range:

Eudonia interlinealis is an endemic species present in the islands of the Corvo, Flores, Faial, Pico, Graciosa, S. Jorge, Terceira, S. Miguel and S. Maria (Azores, Portugal) (Nuss et al. 1997, Borges et al. 2010), known from eleven Natural Forest Reserves of Caldeiras Funda e Rasa (Flores); Caldeira do Faial and Cabeço do Fogo (Faial); Caveiro (Pico); Pico Pinheiro and Topo (S. Jorge); Biscoito da Ferraria, Caldeira Sta. Bárbara e Mistérios Negros and Terra Brava (Terceira); Pico da Vara (S. Miguel) and Pico Alto (Sta. Maria). The extent of occurrence (EOO) is ca 41,000 km² and the maximum estimated area of occupancy (AOO) is 324 km².

Regions:
Portugal - Azores
Extent of Occurrence (EOO):
41000 (km2)
Area of Occupancy (AOO):
324 (km2)
Elevation Lower Limit:
0 (m)
Elevation Upper Limit:
2000 (m)
Biogeographic Realms:
Palearctic
Presence:
Extant
Origin:
Endemic Azores
Seasonality:
Resident

Population:

Eudonia interlinealis is a widespread and relatively high abundant species in the native forest. The species currently presents a stable population and occurs in all islands.

Habitat and Ecology

The species occurs in native forests of the Corvo, Flores, Faial, Pico, Graciosa, S. Jorge, Terceira, S. Miguel and Santa Maria islands (Azores, Portugal). The larva is unknown, but considered to be a specialist herbivore, and the adult is frequently seen as pollinator. Known flight period: January, March to August, October to November  (Nuss et al. 1997), with probably two generations per year. Altitudinal range: 0-2100 m.

Major Threat(s):

In the past, the species has probably strongly declined due to changes in habitat size and quality, mostly the creation of pastures (Triantis et al. 2010). Currently invasive plants Pittosporum undulatum and Hedychium gardnerianum are changing some of the areas and decreasing the quality of the habitat. These changes are decreasing the relative cover of endemic plants and changing the soil cover (decreasing the cover of bryophytes and ferns) with the expansion of other plants and potential threats to the species. Based on Ferreira et al. 2016 the habitat will further decline as a consequence of climate change (increasing number of droughts and  habitat shifting & alteration).

Conservation Actions

The species is not protected by regional law. Its habitat is in regionally protected areas (Natural Parks of Corvo, Faial, Flores, Graciosa, Pico, S. Jorge, Terceira, S. Miguel and Sta. Maria). Degraded habitats should be restored and a strategy needs to be developed to address the future threat by climate change. A habitat management plan is needed and anticipated to be developed during the coming years. Further research is needed on its ecology and life history in order to learn about the ecological requirements of the species and the feeding substrate of the larva, and find extant specimens in additional natural forest areas in all islands of the Azores and to obtain information on population size, distribution and trends. It is also necessary a monitoring plan for the invertebrate community in the habitat in order to contribute to a species potential recovery plan. Monitoring every ten years using the BALA protocol will inform about habitat quality (see e.g. Gaspar et al. 2010).