A nearly complete database on the records and ecology of the rarest boreal tiger moth from 1840s to 2020

• Published in: Scientific data Vol. 9; no. 1; p. 107
• Main Authors: Bolotov, Ivan N., Gofarov, Mikhail Yu, Koshkin, Evgeny S., Gorbach, Vyacheslav V., Bakhaev, Yury I., Berlov, Oleg E., Gordeev, Sergey Yu, Kolosova, Yulia S., Kondakov, Alexander V., Korshunov, Alexey V., Potapov, Grigory S., Sinev, Sergey Yu, Sleptsov, Spiridon S., Spitsyn, Vitaly M., Strelnikov, Evgeny G., Timchenko, Andrey V., Haverinen, Risto, Nupponen, Kari, Saarenmaa, Hannu
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Nature Publishing Group UK 25.03.2022; Nature Publishing Group; Nature Portfolio
• Subjects: 631/158/1745; 631/158/2165/2457; 631/601/1466; Altitude; Animals; Arctia menetriesii; Climate Change; Data Descriptor; Databases, Factual; Digital curation; Environmental changes; High-altitude environments; Humanities and Social Sciences; Moths; multidisciplinary; Science; Science (multidisciplinary); Taiga; Eurasia
• ISSN: 2052-4463; 2052-4463
• DOI: 10.1038/s41597-022-01230-8

Global environmental changes may cause dramatic insect declines but over century-long time series of certain species’ records are rarely available for scientific research. The Menetries’ Tiger Moth ( Arctia menetriesii ) appears to be the most enigmatic example among boreal insects. Although it occurs throughout the entire Eurasian taiga biome, it is so rare that less than 100 specimens were recorded since its original description in 1846. Here, we present the database, which contains nearly all available information on the species’ records collected from 1840s to 2020. The data on A. menetriesii records ( N  = 78) through geographic regions, environments, and different timeframes are compiled and unified. The database may serve as the basis for a wide array of future research such as the distribution modeling and predictions of range shifts under climate changes. It represents a unique example of a more than century-long dataset of distributional, ecological, and phenological data designed for an exceptionally rare but widespread boreal insect, which primarily occurs in hard-to-reach, uninhabited areas of Eurasia. Measurement(s) specimen record • biological parameters of specimen • environmental characteristics • sampling date • habitat image • specimen image Technology Type(s) digital curation Factor Type(s) year • month • ten-day period • day • geographic location • altitude • habitat • landscape type • presence of waterbody • ecoregion • developmental stage • sex • individual condition Sample Characteristic - Organism Menetries’ Tiger Moth Arctia menetriesii (Insecta: Lepidoptera: Erebidae) Sample Characteristic - Environment taiga biome • high-altitude environment Sample Characteristic - Location Northern Eurasia