Temporal Variation in Macro-Moth Abundance and Species

Richness in a Lowland Fijian Forest

Author(s): Siteri Tikoca, Simon Hodge, Sarah Pene, John Clayton, Marika
Tuiwawa, and Gilianne Brodie
Source: Pacific Science, 70(4):447-461.
Published By: University of Hawai'i Press
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.2984/70.4.5
URL: http://www.bioone.org/doi/full/10.2984/70.4.5

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 Temporal Variation in Macro-Moth Abundance and Species Richness
in a Lowland Fijian Forest1
Siteri Tikoca,2,6 Simon Hodge,3,4 Sarah Pene,2 John Clayton,5 Marika Tuiwawa,2
and Gilianne Brodie 3

Abstract: In this study we investigated temporal patterns in activity of adult

macro-moths in Colo-i-Suva mixed lowland tropical forest on Fiji’s largest
­island, Viti Levu. Moths were collected for 2 or 3 nights per month over a
12-month period using a mercury-vapor light as an attractant and collecting
moths that had settled onto a white sheet for 4 hr after dusk. In total 1,397
specimens were captured, belonging to 116 species in 10 families. There were no
significant relationships between total abundance and species richness with any
of the climatic factors measured: average minimum and maximum daily tem­
perature, average daily rainfall, and relative humidity. There were no obvious
trends in total abundance and species richness over the 12-month monitoring
period, although multivariate analysis suggested that moth assemblages in the
wet and dry seasons were distinct in terms of their composition. These differ­
ences appear to be caused by some of the more-common species exhibiting clear
peaks in abundance at certain times of the year, whereas other less-common spe­
cies were restricted to only dry-season or only wet-season samples. We believe
that this study is the first to obtain detailed information on flight periods of adult
macro-moths in Fiji. Further research is required to ascertain whether patterns
we have observed at this location repeat themselves in subsequent years, and to
compare seasonal patterns of moths in other forests, other habitats, and other
Fijian islands.

Seasonal patterns in the presence, abun­
dance, and activity of Lepidoptera have been
explained as a function of both climatic and
biotic factors, such as temperature, precipi­
tation, seasonality of vegetation, larval host
1
  This work was funded with grants from The Uni­
versity of the South Pacific ( Institute of Applied Sciences
and School of Biological and Chemical Sciences). Manu­
script accepted 1 June 2016.
2
  Institute of Applied Sciences, The University of the
South Pacific, Suva, Fiji Islands.
3
  Faculty of Science, Technology, and Environment,
The University of the South Pacific, Suva, Fiji Islands.
4
  Faculty of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Lincoln
University, Canterbury, New Zealand.
5
  15 Whinny Brae, Broughty Ferry, Dundee DD5
2HU, Scotland.
6
  Corresponding author (e-mail: stikoca@gmail.com).
Pacific Science (2016), vol. 70, no. 4:447 – 461
doi:10.2984/70.4.5
© 2016 by University of Hawai‘i Press
All rights reserved
plant abundance, and accessibility of nectar
( Intachat et al. 2001, Pozo et al. 2008). In
temperate regions, the timing and duration of
flight periods of adult moths often display
well-defined seasonal sequences due to the ar­
rival of different species by emergence and /or
migration, differences in life history traits,
overwintering, voltinism, adult life span, and
growth rates of immature stages (  Wolda
1988, Highland et al. 2013, Jonason et al.
2014). However, in the tropics the effects of
climate and plant phenology on lepidopteran
seasonality may not be as prominent because
many regions have relatively stable weather
conditions (temperature and rainfall) and
many plant species are present all year round
( Wolda 1988, Barlow and Woiwood 1989).
A number of previous studies have focused
on seasonal occurrences, fluctuations in abun­
dance, and species composition of tropical
moth assemblages (e.g., Barlow and Woiwood
1989, Kitching et al. 2000, Intachat et al.
2001, Duarte and Schlindwein 2005, Beck

447
448
and Linsenmair 2006). Assemblages of noc­
turnal moths have long been considered valu­
able biological indicators for monitoring the
effects of habitat degradation or conservation
success (e.g., Kitching et al. 2000, Beck et al.
2002, Hawes et al. 2009), and many projec­
tions of climate change effects on ecological
communities predict substantial local extinc­
tions of moth species, changes in geographic
distribution, or modification of seasonality
(e.g., Conrad et al. 2006, Altermatt 2010,
Maclean and Wilson 2011). Therefore, to
­ ­celtidifolia (Cannabaceae), Dillenia biflora
monitor long-term changes in lepidopteran
assemblages in tropical forests, and thus eval­
uate any potential effects of climate change,
detailed baseline data are required, which
must account for the variation in the insect
communities that occurs seasonally as well as
spatially (Basset et al. 2015).
The Fiji Islands undergo a distinct wet
season ( 
­ November  – April) and dry season
(May – October) that is mainly regulated by
the north and south movement of the South
Pacific Convergence Zone (SPCZ). Through­
out the year, the predominant winds are east
to southeasterly trade winds that blow slightly
stronger during the cool dry season compared
with the warmer wet season. On the main is­
land of Viti Levu, the large central mountain­
ous ranges cause wet climatic zones on the
windward side and dry climatic zones on the
leeward side (Mueller-Dombois and Fosberg
1998).
Although Chandra et al. (2013) provided
some observations on the seasonality of the
Fijian swallowtail butterfly, Papilio schmeltzi,
in Fijian forests, we could find no previous
­reports of studies specifically examining the
seasonality or phenology of a Fijian moth
assemblage. The current investigation was
­ calendar month and then divided into four
carried out over a 12-month period to exam­
ine how the abundance, species richness, and
composition of adult macro-moths in a
mixed-lowland forest varied over time. At­
tempts were made to relate temporal variation
in moth abundance and richness to climatic
factors such as rainfall and temperature.
materials and methods
Moths were sampled along the ridge of a low­
land mixed forest, Colo-i-Suva, which is lo­
PACIFIC SCIENCE  ·   October 2016
cated in the province of Naitasiri, 7 km from
Suva, Fiji Islands (18.058° S, 178.467° E).
The vegetation at Colo-i-Suva contains a
mixture of both exotic timber species and
­native species at various growth stages in the
understory. In a recent survey, Tuiwawa and
Keppel (2013) reported that Meliaceae and
Myrtaceae were the most diverse families at
the site, and noticeable species included
­mahogany (Swietenia macrophylla, Meliaceae)
that has naturally regenerated, Gironniera
­(Dilleniaceae), Barringtonia edulis (Lecy­
thidaceae), and Endospermum macrophyllum
(Euphorbiaceae).
Hand collecting specimens attracted to a
mercury-vapor (MV  ) lamp has proved to be a
successful method for obtaining nocturnal
moths in Fijian forests (Tikoca, Hodge, et al.
2016). Therefore sampling was performed
­using a manual light-trap system consisting of
a 125W MV lamp powered by a portable gen­
erator and a 2 by 2 m white sheet, which was
spread out and secured onto nearby trees or
branches and positioned in front of the light
source. All macro-moths that flew toward the
light and onto the white sheet were collected
and placed into glass jars charged with ethyl
acetate as a killing agent. Each sample of
moths consisted of the individuals collected
for 4 hr from dusk.
Sampling was carried out for 12 months
from December 2011 to November 2012 on
2 or 3 nights during the last week of each cal­
endar month when weather was forecast to
be fine (i.e., low wind, no rain). Moths were
sampled on 30 nights in total (see Appendix
for actual sampling dates). The catches
were averaged over the samples taken in each
seasonal periods: four “wet months”
(December 
­ – 
March), four “dry months”
( June – September), and the two bi-monthly
periods on either side of the dry season identi­
fied as “transitional” periods (i.e., April – May,
trans wet – dry; October – November, trans
dry – wet). The families of macro-moths in­
cluded in the survey are those covered by
Robinson (1975) in his treatise of Fijian
moths. Robinson included the Limacodidae
(which are not often thought of as macro-
moths these days) but excluded all the Pyra­
Temporal Patterns in Fijian Forest Moths  ·  Tikoca et al.449
loidea. Specimens were assigned to species
level by reference to keys, images, and no­
menclature provided by Robinson (1975),
Clayton (2004), CSIRO (2011), and Evenhuis
(2013), and we have used the family designa­
tion given by Zahiri et al. (2011). Individuals
of the large genus Cleora were not identified
to species level and “Cleora spp.” was there­
fore treated as a single taxon. Voucher speci­
mens have been retained in the entomology
section of the South Pacific Regional Her­
barium, The University of the South Pacific,
Suva.
Data were obtained for average maximum
and minimum daily temperatures, average
daily rainfall, and average daily relative hu­
midity over the course of each month of the
study from the Fiji Meteorological Services
(www.met.gov.fj) recording station at Nau­
sori, which is approximately 10 km from the
sampling site.
For the sampling nights for each calendar
month, the mean macro-moth abundance
( N  
), mean species richness (S  ), and mean
abundances of the 12 most common species
were calculated and related to each of the
­climatic factors using Spearman’s rank corre­
lation. Because the data set on species assem­
blages during the four seasonal periods was
very sparse (68% of the cells in the species ×
month matrix were zero), standard ordination
procedures such as principle components
analysis were considered inappropriate.
Therefore, the compositions of the assem­
blages collected in the four seasonal periods
were compared by nonmetric multidimen­
sional scaling (  NMDS) after square-root
transformation of the raw count data and us­
ing a Bray-Curtis distance measure. All statis­
tical analyses were performed using Minitab
(v. 17, Minitab Inc., USA) or Community
Analysis Package (v. 4.1.3, Pisces Conserva­
tion Ltd., UK).
results
Temporal Patterns
In total 1,397 macro-moth specimens were
captured, belonging to 116 species in 10 fam­
ilies, predominantly Erebidae (493 individu­
als, 42 species), Geometridae (353 individuals,
Figure 1. Temporal variation in total abundance and
species richness (mean moths per sample night) for
­macro-moths captured using an MV light for 4 hr from
dusk in Colo-i-Suva forest, Fiji Islands (from December
2011 to November 2012).
32 species), and Noctuidae (342 individuals,
20 species) (see Appendix). For the monthly
samples, total abundance and species richness
were highly correlated (rp = 0.791, P = .002,
N = 12 months). On average 22.6 species were
caught per trapping night, ranging from 13.7
per night in August to 34 per night in May
(Figure 1). Total abundance ranged from a
low of 22.3 per night in August to 83 per night
in May, with an overall mean of 47.3 speci­
mens per sample (Figure 1).
There were no obvious trends in species
richness over the 12-month monitoring peri­
od, with the number of species caught oscil­
lating around the overall mean (Figure 1).
Similarly, there were no clear phases of high
and low overall abundance over the course of
the year, although a period from the end of
the wet season (March), through the wet-dry
transition months of April and May, and into
the first months of the dry period ( June and
July) produced abundances that were slightly
higher (>49 per night) than the average catch.
To complement this, a period from August
through November had catches that were
slightly (<43), but consistently, lower than the
overall average catch.
The 12 most abundant taxa were Cleora
spp. (Geometridae, 117 individuals, recorded
in 12 months), Oeonistis delia (Erebidae, 103,
11 months), Condica illecta ( Noctuidae, 90, 11
months), Spodoptera mauritia (87, 11 months),
Hydrillodes surata (Erebidae, 61, 11 months),
450
Chrysodeixis eriosoma (  Noctuidae, 57, 11
months), Bulonga philipsi (Geometridae, 51,
10 months), Urapteroides anerces ( Uranidae,
46, 11 months), Calliteara fidjiensis (Erebidae,
41, 9 months), Oxyodes scrobiculata (Erebidae,
39, 8 mo.), Polydesma boarmoides (Erebidae, 32,
11 mo.), and Ericaea leichardtii (Erebidae, 31,
9 months). In general, consistency of occur­
rence (number of months observed) and over­
all abundance were highly related (rs = 0.936,
P < .001, N = 116 species), and all of these
common species were recorded in at least
eight of the 12 surveyed months (although
only the combined Cleora spp. group was re­
corded in all 12). Conversely, some species
were found over most of the year, but in rela­
tively low numbers. For example, Agathia
­pisina (Geometridae) was recorded in 11
months, but only 22 specimens were recorded
in total. Similarly, Thyas miniacea (Erebidae)
and Stictoptera stygia (  Noctuidae) were re­
corded in nine months, with 22 and 17 speci­
mens, respectively.
Although the 12 most common species
(>30 specimens recorded) were present over
most of the year, there appeared to be distinct
peaks in abundance for many of these species.
For example, Spodoptera mauritia peaked in
abundance in February, followed by Urapteroi­
des amerces, which peaked in March (Figure 2).
Bulonga philipsi, Chrysodeixis eriosoma, Oxyodes
scrobiculata, and Condica illecta subsequently
peaked in abundance around April  – 
May
­(Figure 2). Cleora sp., Oeonistis delia, Polydesma
boarmoides, and Ericaea leichardtii appeared to
have no distinct periods of high and low abun­
dance, whereas Hydrillodes surata and Calli­
teara fidjiensis were most abundant toward
the end of the year (Figure 3).
Although there were no obvious trends in
species richness over the course of the year,
the composition of the faunas found within
each of the seasonal periods showed some
­distinctiveness, as illustrated by the results of
the NMDS (Figure 4). The monthly samples
from the wet and dry seasons formed distinct
groups on the basis of their positions on the
first NMDS axis, with the wet  – dry and
dry – wet transition periods taking up interme­
diate positions (Figure 4). The four monthly
samples taken in the wet season were more
PACIFIC SCIENCE  ·   October 2016
tightly grouped than those taken in the dry
season (Figure 4), suggesting that the compo­
sition of the moth fauna was more consistent
in the wet months than in the dry months.
The abundance of no individual species ex­
hibited very strong (rs > |0.75|) rank correla­
tions with the NMDS axis scores, although
species showing some association (rs > |0.5|)
with the wet-season samples were Spodoptera
litura ( Noctuidae), Maceda mansueta ( Noli­
dae), and Gymnoscelis sara (Geometridae).
Species associated with the dry-season sam­
ples were Simplicia cornicalis (Erebidae), Tira­
cola plagiata ( Noctuidae), and Hydrillodes
­surata (Erebidae).
Climatic Factors
The average maximum daily temperature
ranged from 26.2°C in July to 30.6°C in
­December, and the average minimum daily
temperature ranged from 19.9°C in June to
23.4°C in January. Average daily rainfall
peaked at 15.5 mm in March and was lowest
in August with 3.3 mm. Relative humidity was
always high, ranging from 79.7% in October
to 87.0% in March.
There were no significant relationships be­
tween total abundance and species richness
with any of the climatic factors measured
­(Table 1, Figure 5). When considering the
abundance of the twelve common species in­
dividually, only two exhibited relationships
with any of the climatic variables measured
(Table 1). Hydrillodes surata exhibited signifi­
cant negative relationships with minimum
and maximum daily temperature and with
mean daily rainfall, whereas Bulonga philipsi
exhibited positive relationships with mini­
mum and maximum daily temperature (Table
1, Figure 6).
discussion
The macro-moth assemblage of Colo-i-Suva
did not show major fluctuations in abun­
dance and species richness over the course
of 12 months, and we found no evidence that
total abundance and diversity were related
to climatic factors. The lack of strong tem­
poral trends in these features of the adult
Temporal Patterns in Fijian Forest Moths  ·  Tikoca et al.451

Figure 2. Fluctuations in abundance (mean moths per sample night) for common macro-moths captured in Colo-i-
Suva forest, Fiji, exhibiting peaks in abundance in the wet season and wet – dry transition period.

moth assemblage may initially appear unusual
because some form of synchrony with the
presence of larval host plants, emergence of
young foliage, and the presence of flowers
to provide nectar might be expected ( Wolda
1978, van Schaik et al. 1993). Barlow and
Woiwood (1989) reported similar findings
for moths in tropical Malaysia, suggesting
that although diversity and biomass were
much higher in the tropical forest than in
similarly trapped moths in the United King­
dom, the seasonal patterns in the tropics were
much less pronounced than those in the tem­
perate location. It is possible that the cli­
mate within the forest is stable enough, and
the required plant species present in suffi­
cient quantities and in a suitable develop­
mental stage, to allow the moth assemblage
to remain relatively stable over the whole
12-month cycle.
452 PACIFIC SCIENCE  ·   October 2016

Figure 3. Fluctuations in abundance (mean moths per sample night) for common macro-moths captured in Colo-i-
Suva forest, Fiji, exhibiting no obvious periods of high or low abundance or peaking in abundance toward the end of
the year.

All of the most common species in our
study occurred as adults over most of the year,
although a few of these species did exhibit dis­
tinct peaks in abundance, a finding similar to
that described by Hilt et al. (2007) for moths
in a montane forest in southern Ecuador.
Some previous studies conducted in tropical
areas have indicated an increase in insect
abundance in the wet season, because the
­ nset of heavy rainfall in tropical forests can
o
trigger “bud-break” and flowering in many
plants (e.g., DeVries and Walla 2001, Pinhei­
ro et al. 2002, Hilt et al. 2007). However, the
correlation between moth abundance and
­climatic factors may not always be straight­
forward. For example, Intachat et al. (2001)
found that abundance and richness of geome­
trid moths in a Malaysian tropical forest were
Temporal Patterns in Fijian Forest Moths  ·  Tikoca et al.453

Figure 4. Plot of axis 2 versus axis 1 scores obtained from nonmetric multidimensional scaling based on captures of all
macro-moth species (mean per month) obtained in Colo-i-Suva Forest over the 12-month period (stress = 13.7%).
Points on the graph are based on composition of moth assemblage obtained in each of 12 months, assigned to dry
season, wet season, and wet – dry ( WD) or dry – wet (DW  ) transition periods (see Materials and Methods section for
details). The named moth species were strongly correlated with the axis indicated.

actually negatively related to rainfall and rela­
tive humidity, but were positively correlated
to the incidence of tree flowering the previous
month. Our data set was of insufficient dura­
tion to properly examine for the occurrence
of time lags relating moth abundance to cli­
matic conditions that occurred some months
earlier; however this possibility cannot be
ruled out.
Although the number of species and abun­
dance of moths remained fairly constant over
the monitoring period, the multivariate anal­
ysis suggested that the compositions of the
­assemblages within the dry and wet seasons
were actually quite distinct. This separation
of the moth samples into distinct seasons us­
ing NMDS appears to contradict the lack
of relationships with the climatic factors that
are typical of these seasons. However, there
was at least one case where some consistency
was seen across the different analytical
approaches. The erebid Hydrillodes surata
­
showed a general increase in abundance in the
dry-season months (Figure 3), and this was
also seen in the NMDS analysis, where H.
­surata was correlated with the axis 1 scores
­associated with dry-season samples (Figure 4).
Hydrillodes surata abundance was negatively
correlated with temperature and rainfall (Fig­
ure 6), indicating that it was most numerous
when temperature and rainfall were relatively
low, both characteristics of the dry-season cli­
mate in this part of Fiji.
It is possible that more species do show
some relationship with the climatic fac­
tors that we investigated, but by using a
454 PACIFIC SCIENCE  ·   October 2016

TABLE 1
Values of Spearman’s Rank Correlation Coefficient Illustrating Strengths of Relationships between Climatic Factors
with Total Moth Abundance and Species Richness, and with Abundance of the 12 Most Common Species

Max. Temp. Min. Temp. Rainfall

Parameter/Species (°C) (°C) (mm) RH (%)

Total abundance 0.095 0.098 0.165 0.270

Species richness 0.119 0.172 0.063 −0.021
Cleora sp. 0.189 0.074 0.239 0.126
Oeonistis delia −0.565 −0.351 −0.239 0.214
Condica illecta 0.107 −0.036 0.185 0.367
Spodoptera mauritia 0.421 0.288 0.484 0.119
Hydrillodes surata −0.610* −0.716** −0.575* −0.243
Chrysodeixis eriosoma 0.035 0.112 0.018 0.130
Bulonga philipsi 0.595* 0.607* 0.302 −0.326
Calliteara fidjiensis 0.251 0.291 0.248 −0.377
Urapteroides anerces 0.413 0.315 0.548 0.516
Oxyodes scrobiculata −0.110 −0.221 −0.352 −0.242
Polydesma boarmoides 0.127 0.134 −0.165 −0.239
Ericaea leichardtii −0.025 0.108 −0.172 −0.416

N = 12 months.
*P < .05; **P < .01).

­onparametric rank correlation method in

n tended to be those for which only one or two
conjunction with a relatively small sample
size ( N = 12 months), the power of detection
for weak r­elationships would be low. Also,
­adequate numbers and frequency of occur­
rence among the monthly samples were only
available for a few common moth species,
and thus most species collected were not as­
sessed for potential relationships with tem­
perature, humidity, and rainfall. Further sam­
pling would likely assist in this process in two
ways: (1) increasing the sample size used in
the correlation procedures in terms of more
monthly catches, and (2) increasing the num­
ber of species with sufficient numbers to be
investigated.
If some species do actually exhibit a high
level of temporal specificity to a certain peri­
od of the year, we might have expected to find
some species that had relatively high abun­
dance but were only found in a few (consecu­
tive) months. For example, 27 specimens of
Tiracola plagiolata ( Noctuidae) were collected
in total, 23 of which were recorded in the dry-
season months from June to September. No
other strong examples of a distinct “seasonal­
ity” were recorded in the current study, and
species that were limited to a single month
specimens were recorded overall (39 cases out
of 116 species). It is possible that other species
found only rarely in this survey do exhibit
narrow periods of activity as adults in Fiji, but
this will only be confirmed if further research
is performed and more records obtained.
We concede that our study has many weak­
nesses regarding sampling effort and protocol
that make it difficult to arrive at sound con­
clusions on some aspects. Only two or three
samples were collected in each month of the
survey, which may have been inadequate
to collect the majority of species present
­(Tikoca, Hodge, et al. 2016), and means that
the monthly averages for abundance and spe­
cies richness could be strongly influenced by
any unusual catches and outlying values. The
resolution of our temporal data can be consid­
ered coarse when compared with other ­studies
where sampling has been performed weekly
or even continuously (Conrad et al. 2006,
Jonason et al. 2014), and, although our sam­
pling design was systematic in that it sampled
at regular intervals, the sampling did not ac­
count for shifts in the lunar cycle between col­
lecting events, which is known to influence
moth catches (e.g., Yela and Holyoak 1997).
Figure 5. Relations of total moth abundance and species richness (mean moths per sample night) with climatic factors
(monthly means) for macro-moths captured using an MV light for 4 hr from dusk in Colo-i-Suva forest, Fiji Islands
(from December 2011 to November 2012).
456 PACIFIC SCIENCE  ·   October 2016

Figure 6. Scatterplots illustrating relationships between abundances of Hydrillodes surata and Bulonga philipsi with
climatic factors for which statistically significant relationships occurred (Spearman’s rank correlation, P < .05; see
Table 1).

With data based on only a single year of reoccur in subsequent years ( Wolda 1988).
observations we cannot make conclusions Although seasonal patterns were indicated for
­regarding whether the phenomena we have a few Fijian moth species by Robinson (1975),
observed are true seasonal patterns that will we believe that ours is the first study that has
Temporal Patterns in Fijian Forest Moths  ·  Tikoca et al.457
explicitly investigated temporal patterns in
Fijian moths over a full calendar year. The
study has also created a valuable species in­
ventory for this particular site, including a
new species record for Fiji (Dactyloplusia
­impulse) ( Noctuidae) (Tikoca, Clayton, et al.
2016). In conclusion, the study has provided
essential baseline data for future monitoring
events that will help determine whether the
temporal patterns and species composition
of the moth assemblage we have observed at
Colo-i-Suva also occur at different forests, in
different habitats, and on different islands in
the Fijian archipelago.
acknowledgments
Site access and collection permission for the
work in Colo-i-Suva was granted by The De­
partment of Fisheries and Forestry and the
Water Authority of Fiji. We gratefully ac­
knowledge the staff of the South Pacific Re­
gional Herbarium for their logistical and
fieldwork assistance, in particular Alifereti
Naikatini, Hilda Waqa Sakiti, Tokasaya
Cakacaka, Apaitia Liga, Manoa Maiwaqa, and
Ratu Filimoni Rokotunaceva.
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Temporal Patterns in Fijian Forest Moths  ·  Tikoca et al.459

Appendix
Macro-Moths Captured at Colo-i-Suva Forest Reserve, Fiji, by Mercury-Vapor Light Trapping from December
2011 to November 2012 (*, captured;  — , not captured; N, number of specimens collected in total)
Sampling dates (day-month-year): 29-12-11, 30-12-11, 25-01-12, 26-01-12, 27-01-12, 22-02-12, 23-02-12, 24-02-12,
23-03-12, 24-03-12, 28-04-12, 29-04-12, 30-04-12, 30-05-12, 31-05-12, 28-06-12, 29-06-12, 26-07-12, 27-07-12,
28-07-12, 27-08-12, 28-08-12, 29-08-12, 28-09-12, 30-09-12, 20-10-12, 30-10-12, 31-10-12, 27-11-12, 28-11-12.

Family Species N D J F M A M J J A S O N

Cossidae Acritocera negligens 2  —   —   —   —   —   —  *  —   —   —   —   — 
Erebidae Achaea robinsoni 6 *  —   —  *  —  *  —  *  —   —   —   — 
Erebidae Adetoneura lentiginosa 3  —   —   —  * *  —   —   —   —   —   —   — 
Erebidae Aedia sericea 2  —   —   —   —   —   —   —   —   —   —  *  — 
Erebidae Anomis samoana 1  —   —   —   —   —   —   —   —   —  *  —   — 
Erebidae Argina astraea 3  —   —   —   —   —   —   —   —   —   —  *  — 
Erebidae Asota woodfordi 2  —   —   —  *  —   —   —   —   —   —  *  — 
Erebidae Bocana manifestalis 11 * * *  —   —  *  —  *  —   —   —   — 
Erebidae Caliteara flavobrunnea 1  —   —   —   —  *  —   —   —   —   —   —   — 
Erebidae Calliteara fidjiensis 41 * * * * *  —   —  *  —  * * *
Erebidae Cosmophila flava 2  —   —   —   —  * *  —   —   —   —   —   — 
Erebidae Dysgonia duplicata 1  —   —   —   —   —   —   —   —   —   —  *  — 
Erebidae Dysgonia hicanora 1  —   —   —   —   —  *  —   —   —   —   —   — 
Erebidae Dysgonia prisca 12 *  —   —   —  * *  —  * * * * *
Erebidae Ericaea inangulata 11  —   —  *  —  * *  —   —   —   —  *  — 
Erebidae Ericaea leichardtii 31 * * *  —  * *  —  *  —  * * *
Erebidae Eudocima fullonia 1  —   —   —   —  *  —   —   —   —   —   —   — 
Erebidae Gonitis involuta 1  —   —   —   —   —  *  —   —   —   —   —   — 
Erebidae Hydrillodes surata 61 * * * *  —  * * * * * * *
Erebidae Hypena cornicalis 2  —   —   —   —   —  *  —   —   —   —   —   — 
Erebidae Hypena rubrescens 12  —   —   —   —   —  *  —  * * *  —   — 
Erebidae Hypenagonnia barbara 3  —   —  *  —   —   —  *  —   —   —   —   — 
Erebidae Hypenagonnia diana 2  —   —  * *  —   —   —   —   —   —   —   — 
Erebidae Hypenagonnia emma 3 * * *  —   —   —   —   —   —   —   —   — 
Erebidae Hypospila similis 9  —   —   —   —  * *  —  * * *  —   — 
Erebidae Lophocoleus rubrescens 1  —   —   —   —   —   —   —   —   —  *  —   — 
Erebidae Mecodina variata 5  —   —   —   —   —   —   —  * * *  —   — 
Erebidae Mocis frugalis 22 *  —  * * * * * *  —   —   —   — 
Erebidae Mocis trifasciata 1  —   —   —   —   —   —   —  *  —   —   —   — 
Erebidae Neogabara plagiola 4  —  *  —  *  —   —   —   —   —   —  *  — 
Erebidae Oeonistis delia 103  —  * * * * * * * * * * *
Erebidae Ophiusa disjungens 1  —   —   —   —  *  —   —   —   —   —   —   — 
Erebidae Oruza cariosa 1  —   —   —   —   —   —   —  *  —   —   —   — 
Erebidae Oxyodes scrobiculata 39 * *  —   —  * * * * *  —  *  — 
Erebidae Palaeocoleus sypnoides 14 * * *  —   —  *  —  *  —   —  * *
Erebidae Polydesma boarmoides 32 * * * * * *  —  * * * * *
Erebidae Rhesalides curvata 2  —   —   —   —   —   —   —   —   —   —  *  — 
Erebidae Rusicada vulpina 3 *  —   —   —   —   —  *  —   —   —  *  — 
Erebidae Serodes mediopallens 3  —   —   —   —   —  * *  —   —   —  *  — 
Erebidae Serrodes campana 3  —   —  *  —  *  —   —   —   —   —   —   — 
Erebidae Simplicia cornicalis 12  —   —   —   —   —   —   —  * * * * *
Erebidae Thyas miniacea 22 *  —  * * * * * * *  —  *  — 
Erebidae Trigonodes cephisa 3  —   —   —   —   —  *  —   —   —   —   —   — 
Geometridae Agathia pisina 22 * * * * * * * * * *  —  *
Geometridae Anisodes gloria 1  —   —   —   —   —   —   —   —   —   —  *  — 
Geometridae Anisodes monetara 27  —  *  —  *  —  * * * * * * *
Geometridae Anisodes oblivaria 5 * *  —   —  * *  —   —   —   —   —   — 
Geometridae Anisodes prionodes 1  —   —   —   —   —   —  *  —   —   —   —   — 
Geometridae Anisodes samoana 2  —   —   —   —   —  *  —   —   —   —   —   — 
Geometridae Brabira apatopleura 1  —   —   —  *  —   —   —   —   —   —   —   — 
Geometridae Bulonga philipsi 51 * * * * * *  —  *  —  * * *
460 PACIFIC SCIENCE  ·   October 2016

Appendix (continued)
 
Family Species N D J F M A M J J A S O N

Geometridae Chlorochaeta cheromata 4 * * *  —   —   —   —   —   —   —   —   — 
Geometridae Chloroclystis encteta 2  —   —   —   —   —   —   —   —   —   —  *  — 
Geometridae Chloroclystis nina 1  —   —   —   —   —   —   —   —   —  *  —   — 
Geometridae Chloroclystis rubicunda 2  —   —   —   —   —   —   —  *  —   —   —   — 
Geometridae Cleora spp. 117 * * * * * * * * * * * *
Geometridae Eoasthena gnophobathra 1  —   —   —   —   —   —   —  *  —   —   —   — 
Geometridae Episteira nigrilinearia 1  —   —  *  —   —   —   —   —   —   —   —   — 
Geometridae Gelasma stuhlmanii 8 * * * * *  —   —   —   —   —   —   — 
Geometridae Gymnoscelis sara 2  —   —   —   —   —  *  —   —   —   —  *  — 
Geometridae Horisme chlorodesma 19  —   —  * *  —  *  —  *  —  * * *
Geometridae Luxiaria sesquilinea 8 * * * *  —   —   —  *  —   —   —   — 
Geometridae Mnesiloba eupitheciata 11 *  —   —   —   —   —   —  * *  —   —   — 
Geometridae Nadagara irretracta 1  —   —   —   —   —   —   —   —   —   —  *  — 
Geometridae Petelia aesyla 4  —   —  * *  —  *  —   —   —   —   —   — 
Geometridae Polyclysta gonycrota 3  —   —   —   —   —   —   —  *  —   —   —   — 
Geometridae Pseuderythrolopus 2  —   —   —   —   —   —   —   —   —   —  * *
bipunctatus
Geometridae Pyrrhorachis pyrrhogona 13  —  * * * * * * *  —   —   —   — 
Geometridae Scardamia eucampta 3 *  —   —   —   —   —  * *  —   —   —   — 
Geometridae Scotocyma miscix 1  —   —   —   —   —  *  —   —   —   —   —   — 
Geometridae Thalasodes pilaria 6  —   —   —   —  *  —   —  *  —   —   —   — 
Geometridae Thalassodes chloropis 4 * *  —   —   —   —   —   —   —   —   —   — 
Geometridae Thalassodes figurata 2  —   —   —  *  —   —   —  *  —   —   —   — 
Geometridae Thalassodes fiona 26  —  * * * * * * * * *  —  *
Geometridae Thalassodes liquescens 2 *  —   —   —   —   —   —   —   —   —   —   — 
Limacodidae Beggina albafascia 3  —   —   —   —  *  —  *  —   —   —  *  — 
Limacodidae Beggina bicornis 2  —   —   —   —   —   —   —  *  —   —  *  — 
Limacodidae Beggina mediopunctata 3  —   —   —  * *  —  *  —   —   —   —   — 
Limacodidae Beggina minima 16 * * * * *  —   —   —   —  * * *
Limacodidae Beggina sp. 6  —   —  * *  —   —   —  *  —   —   —  *
Limacodidae Beggina unicornis 7  —   —  *  —  * *  —  *  —   —   —   — 
Limacodidae Beggina zena 12  —   —  *  —  * * *  —  *  —  *  — 
Noctuidae Aegilia vitiscribens 5 *  —   —   —   —   —   —  *  —   —  * *
Noctuidae Agrotis ipsilon 1  —   —   —   —   —   —   —   —   —   —  *  — 
Noctuidae Callopistria maillardi 3  —   —   —   —   —   —   —   —   —  *  —   — 
Noctuidae Chasmania tibialis 1  —   —   —   —   —   —   —   —   —   —  *  — 
Noctuidae Chrysodeixis eriosoma 57 * * * * * * * *  —  * * *
Noctuidae Condica conducta 2  —   —   —   —   —   —   —   —   —  * *  — 
Noctuidae Condica illecta 90 * * * * * * * *  —  * * *
Noctuidae Dactyloplusia impulsa 1  —   —   —   —   —   —   —   —   —   —  *  — 
Noctuidae Gyrtonia purpurea 1  —   —   —   —   —   —   —   —   —   —  *  — 
Noctuidae Leucania venalba 1  —   —  *  —   —   —   —   —   —   —   —   — 
Noctuidae Leucania yu 4  —   —   —   —  *  —  *  —   —  * *  — 
Noctuidae Penicillaria jocosatrix 1  —   —   —   —   —   —   —   —   —   —  *  — 
Noctuidae Rusicada nigritasis 2  —   —   —   —   —   —  *  —   —   —   —   — 
Noctuidae Sasunaga oenistis 1  —   —   —   —   —   —   —   —   —  *  —   — 
Noctuidae Sasunaga tomaniiviensis 1  —   —   —   —   —   —  *  —   —   —   —   — 
Noctuidae Spodoptera litura 29 * * * * * * * *  —   —  *  — 
Noctuidae Spodoptera mauritia 87 * * * * * * * * *  —  * *
Noctuidae Stictoptera stygia 17 * * * * * *  —  * *  —  *  — 
Noctuidae Stictoptera vitiensis 11  —   —  *  —  *  —   —  *  —   —  *  — 
Noctuidae Tiracola plagiata 27  —   —   —   —  *  —  * * * * *  — 
Nolidae Austrocarea albipicta 1  —   —   —   —   —   —   —   —   —  *  —   — 
Nolidae Barasa triangularis 2  —   —   —   —   —   —   —   —   —   —  *  — 
Nolidae Earias flavida 9  —   —   —  * *  —   —   —   —   —  *  — 
Nolidae Maceda mansueta 22 * * * * * *  —  *  —  *  —   — 
Nolidae Maceda savura 8 *  —   —   —  *  —   —   —   —   —  *  — 
Temporal Patterns in Fijian Forest Moths  ·  Tikoca et al.461

Appendix (continued)
 
Family Species N D J F M A M J J A S O N

Sphingidae Daphnis placida 1 *  —   —   —   —   —   —   —   —   —   —   — 
Sphingidae Macroglossum godeffroyi 2  —   —   —   —   —   —   —  *  —   —  *  — 
Sphingidae Macroglossum hirundo 1  —   —   —  *  —   —   —   —   —   —   —   — 
Thyrididae Banisia anthina 27 * *  —   —  * * * *  —  *  —  *
Thyrididae Banisia messoria 4 *  —   —   —   —   —  * *  —  *  —   — 
Thyrididae Striglina navigatorum 13 * *  —  * *  —  * *  —  * *  — 
Uranidae Epiplema simmondsi 3  —   —   —  *  —   —   —   —  *  —   —   — 
Uranidae Urapteroides anerces 46 * * * * *  —  * * * * * *
Yponomeutiidae Atteva aleatrix 19 *  —  *  —   —   —  * * * *  —   —