Plume moths in the protected areas of KwaZulu Natal province, Republic of South Africa

The article gives 70 Pterophoridae species of nature reserves and national parks of KwaZulu Natal province, Republic of South Africa. New taxonomic combinations are revealed, new data on the distribution of Plume moths in the Republic of South Africa are indicated. New generic combinations were established for two species of Marasmarcha ammonias (Meyrick, 1909) and Sphenarches erythrodactylus (Fletcher, 1911). 7 species are recorded for the first time for the province of KwaZulu Natal.


Introduction
In 2010 we published a separate article on plume moths of KwaZulu-Natal province, South Africa, where we recorded 76 species, 8 of which were described as new to science (Ustjuzhanin & Kovtunovich, 2010). The present work describes the Pterophoridae fauna in some of the protected areas of this province. Using the specimens collected during our expeditions over the last 15 years and partially the published literature, we recorded 70 species of Pterophoridae in 4 subfamilies and 30 genera. Two species of plume moths, Platyptilia sochivkoi Kovtunovich & Ustjuzhanin, 2011, previously described from Lesotho (Kovtunovich, & Ustjuzhanin, 2011) and Procapperia insomnis Townsend, 1956, reported from Kenya and Yemen, are recorded for the first time for the Republic of South Africa. Seven species are recorded for the first time for Ecologica Montenegrina 27: 11-21 (2020) This journal is available online at: www.biotaxa.org/em the province of KwaZulu Natal (marked with an * in Table 1). New generic combinations are established for two species, Marasmarcha ammonias (Meyrick, 1909) and Sphenarches erythrodactylus (Fletcher, 1911).
There are a total of 130 terrestrial protected areas in KwaZulu-Natal covering 859 071 ha and including a wide variety of vegetation types and habitats. Seventy of these protected areas are managed by Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife, covering a total of 739 994 ha. The 11 protected areas (Figure 1) sampled for Pterophoridae (Table 1) cover a large range in climate, from subtropical to temperate, and in altitude, from near sea level in the north-east to high altitudes in the western mountainous region. The following are the protected areas sampled.

Cumberland Nature Reserve
The vegetation in the Cumberland Nature Reserve (313 ha; Figure 2) is grassland and savanna, comprising the Dry Coast Hinterland Grassland and the KwaZulu-Natal Hinterland Thornveld vegetation types (Mucina & Rutherford 2006).

Ithala Game Reserve
Ithala Game Reserve (ca. 29 000 ha; Figure 6) is a rugged area encompassing a wide range of topography and soil types. Altitude ranges from 400 m a.s.l. in the north to 1 400 m a.s.l. in the south, and the vegetation is varied and includes tall and short grassland, savanna, thicket, woodland, forest and wetland vegetation (Pooley & Player 1995). The vegetation types present in the reserve are Subtropical Alluvial Vegetation, Ithala Quartzite Sourveld, Northern Zululand Mistbelt Grassland, Paulpietersburg Moist Grassland, Swaziland Sour Bushveld, Northern Zululand Sourveld, Southern Mistbelt Forest and Zululand Lowveld (Mucina & Rutherford 2006).

Mhlopeni Nature Reserve
This reserve (807 ha) has varied and some rugged topography, from a relatively wide river valley and plateaux to ravines and precipitous cliffs (Pooley & Player 1995). Two vegetation types occur in this savanna nature reserve, Thukela Valley Bushveld and KwaZulu-Natal Highland Thornveld (Mucina & Rutherford 2006).

Ndumo Game Reserve
Ndumo Game Reserve (ca. 12 000 ha; Figure 8) is a low-lying reserve, its altitude ranging from 25 m on the Pongolo River floodplain to 160 m a.s.l. at its highest point on Ndumo Hill (Pooley & Player 1995). The climate is sub-tropical. About one third of this reserve consists of floodplains, and there are 13 semipermanent pans that derive their water from the Usutu and Pongolo Rivers (Pooley & Player 1995). There are 16 dominant soil types leading to a diversity of vegetation, from floodplain vegetation to thicket, woodland and forest (Pooley & Player 1995). The wide variety of vegetation types in Ndumo Game Reserve are as follows (Mucina & Rutherford 2006)

Discussion
The richness and diversity of the Pterophoridae in the protected areas of KwaZulu-Natal is undoubtedly great. The complete species composition of plume moths in each reserve is still unknown, since the studies were often superficial owing to limited sampling time. However, these data provide an overview of the faunal diversity, and further studies will no doubt significantly increase the species richness of the Pterophoridae in KwaZulu-Natal by least 10-15 species.