An annotated checklist of the noctuoidea of jordan with remarks on ecology, phenology and zoogeography. Part III: Xyleninae (lepidoptera: Noctuidae)

A complete list of the presently known Xyleninae species of Jordan is presented, and the biogeography, phenology and distribution of the same are discussed. Within a German - Israeli project to monitor the Lepidoptera Fauna of the Levant we record from 1986 to 2010 a total of 84 species, 33 of which (39%) are new records for the country. In Jordan the Xyleninae are represented by eight tribes, most species belonging to the Xylenini (32) and Caradrini (25).The majority of the species are of an Eremic (27), Mediterranean (24) and Irano-Turanian (16) distribution pattern. The Xylenini typically concentrate within one vegetation zone, while the three tropical Spodoptera species (ubiquitous, polyphagous) are distributed all over the country. In Jordan practically all the Eremic species known from the Levant are found (27 of 31), whereas the Irano-Turanian, Mediterranean, Tropical and Palearctic elements of the same region are represented only by about half, or even less, of the known species. Sixty-four species are uni-voltine with the highest rate of occurrence in spring from March to April, or in autumn from October to November; the other species are multi-voltine, flying at least twice in spring and again later in autumn. During the summer only multi-voltine species are found.