Scientists 22 years, I thought the name of the moth from Portugal
22 years it took scientists to understand what sort of belong rare Portuguese moths.
22 years it took scientists to understand what sort of belong rare Portuguese moths. The got the Ekboarmia miniaria, about the study, the researchers reported in the journal Nota Lepidopterologica.
The first individual was found in 1995 in Portugal, South of Lisbon. Then the scientists were unable to identify enough common features with the known European species of moths that made the classification impossible. By 2009 managed to catch three more. The first moth was a male and the rest females. The pattern on their wings differed from the color of the male that was talking about sexual dimorphism and further complicated work. In 2015, the researchers studied their DNA, making it possible finally to identify moths in the genus Ekboarmia of the family Geometridae.
Another difficulty was caused by a small number of caught individuals total scientists managed to find only 11 moths of this species.
Now scientists hope that further studies will help to know more about its origin and way of life.