A barcode-based outlook on the Western European Setina Schrank, 1802 (Lepidoptera, Erebidae, Arctiinae)

The European representatives of the erebid genus Setina Schrank, 1802 exhibit considerable intraspecific and interpopulation variability. In this study, their taxonomic status is reassesed using an integrative approach that combines a review of the existing literature, morphological examination, and analysis of mitochondrial DNA sequences from the protein-coding cytochrome c oxidase subunit I gene (COI5P). The major European lineages of Setina appear to form three species complexes: Setina irrorella (Linnaeus, 1758), including the subspecies flavicans (Geyer, 1836), distributed from Spain to European Russia; Setina roscida (Denis & Schiffermüller, 1775), including the subspecies cantabrica de Freina & Witt, 1985 and kuhlweini (Hübner, 1824), ranging from the Iberian Peninsula to central Siberia; and Setina aurita (Esper, 1787) which is currently regarded as restricted to the Alps.