The spongy moth, Lymantria dispar.

Rindos and Leibhold introduce the invasive pest, the spongy moth.

Using the multi-omics approach to reveal the silk composition in Plectrocnemia conspersa.

Similar to Lepidoptera, the larvae of Trichoptera are also capable of producing silk. Plectrocnemia conspersa, a predatory species belonging to the suborder Annulipalpia, builds massive silken retreats with preycapturing nets. In this study, we describe the silk glands of P. conspersa and use the multi-omics methods to obtain a complete picture of the fiber composition. A combination of silk gland-specific transcriptome and proteomic analyses of the spun-out fibers yielded 27 significant candidates whose full-length sequences and gene structures were retrieved from the publicly available genome database. About one-third of the candidates were completely novel proteins for which there are no described homologs, including a group of five pseudofibroins, proteins with a composition similar to fibroin heavy chain. The rest were homologs of lepidopteran silk proteins, although some had a larger number of paralogs. On the other hand, P. conspersa fibers lacked some proteins that are regular components in moth silk. In summary, the multi-omics approach provides an opportunity to compare the overall composition of silk with other insect species. A sufficient number of such studies will make it possible to distinguish between the basic components of all silks and the proteins that represent the adaptation of the fibers for specific purposes or environments.

Molecular phylogeny and biogeography of the genus Symbrenthia (Lepidoptera, Nymphalidae) correlates with the past geography of the Oriental region.

Jesters, butterflies in the genus Symbrenthia Hübner, 1819, comprise 14 species mainly distributed in the Oriental region. Although this genus has attracted the attention of many researchers in the past, its taxonomy and biogeographic history remain unclear. In this study, we investigate phylogenetic and biogeographic relationships inferred from one mitochondrial (COI) and two nuclear genes (ArgKin, wingless), using both likelihood and Bayesian approaches. With the exception of S. hippalus, which we find to be either sister to Mynes Boisduval, 1832 or sister to Symbrenthia + Mynes + Araschnia, all species of Symbrenthia form a single monophyletic group. We describe a new genus Mynbrenthia Fric & Rindos gen. nov. to accommodate the taxon hippalus. The genus Symbrenthia splits into four sub-groups, "Brensymthia" (with S. niphanda and S. sinoides), "hypselis" (with S. hypselis, S. brabira, S. leoparda and S. doni), "intricata" (with S. intricata and S. hypatia) and "hippoclus" group (including S. platena and a complex of S. hippoclus and S. lilaea). The genus probably originated in Sundaland or continental Asia during the Eocene. The history of the genus Symbrenthia was more influenced by dispersal events and then by subsequent vicariances. Whereas the "hypselis" group colonised the Indo-Australian Archipelago from the Asian continent, the "hippoclus" group dispersed to continental Asia from the Indo-Australian Archipelago.

Comparison of Silks from Pseudoips prasinana and Bombyx mori Shows Molecular Convergence in Fibroin Heavy Chains but Large Differences in Other Silk Components.

Many lepidopteran larvae produce silk feeding shelters and cocoons to protect themselves and the developing pupa. As caterpillars evolved, the quality of the silk, shape of the cocoon, and techniques in forming and leaving the cocoon underwent a number of changes. The silk of Pseudoips prasinana has previously been studied using X-ray analysis and classified in the same category as that of Bombyx mori, suggesting that silks of both species have similar properties despite their considerable phylogenetic distance. In the present study, we examined P. prasinana silk using 'omics' technology, including silk gland RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) and a mass spectrometry-based proteomic analysis of cocoon proteins. We found that although the central repetitive amino acid sequences encoding crystalline domains of fibroin heavy chain molecules are almost identical in both species, the resulting fibers exhibit quite different mechanical properties. Our results suggest that these differences are most probably due to the higher content of fibrohexamerin and fibrohexamerin-like molecules in P. prasinana silk. Furthermore, we show that whilst P. prasinana cocoons are predominantly made of silk similar to that of other Lepidoptera, they also contain a second, minor silk type, which is present only at the escape valve.

Radical pruning of distribution data may result in loss of knowledge (Response to Larsen & Shirey).

Larsen & Shirey (2020) criticised our analysis of latitudinal changes in butterfly phenology on the grounds of improper data management. We admit some imprecisions, but show that stringent reanalyses did not change the overall results. We also show that unreasonable treatment of data may result in critical information loss.

Phenology responses of temperate butterflies to latitude depend on ecological traits.

Global change influences species' seasonal occurrence, or phenology. In cold-adapted insects, the activity is expected to start earlier with a warming climate, but contradictory evidence exists, and the reactions may be linked to species-specific traits. Using data from the GBIF database, we selected 105 single-brooded Holarctic butterflies inhabiting broad latitudinal ranges. We regressed patterns of an adult flight against latitudes of the records, controlling for altitude and year effects. Species with delayed flight periods towards the high latitudes, or stable flight periods across latitudes, prevailed over those that advanced their flight towards the high latitudes. The responses corresponded with the species' seasonality (flight of early season species was delayed and flight of summer species was advanced at high latitudes) and oceanic vs. continental climatic niches (delays in oceanic, stability in continental species). Future restructuring of butterfly seasonal patterns in high latitudes will reflect climatic niches, and hence the evolutionary history of participating species.

Review of the genus Daplasa Moore (Lepidoptera, Erebidae, Lymantriinae) from China, with description of new species.

The tussock moth genus Daplasa Moore, 1879 is reviewed from China. Hitherto four species are recognized, where one new species, D. nivisala sp. n., is described and one new combination D. melanoma (Collenette, 1938) comb. n. is proposed. Adults and their genital structures are provided, together with a key to the species of Daplasa with the occurrence in China.

Global phylogeography reveals the origin and the evolutionary history of the gypsy moth (Lepidoptera, Erebidae).

We examined the global phylogeography of gypsy moth (Lymantria dispar L.) using molecular data based on mitochondrial and nuclear genes. Populations from all biogeographic regions of the native and introduced range of L. dispar, were sampled to fully document intraspecific and subspecies variation, identify potential cryptic species, and to clarify the relationships among major phylogeographic lineages. We recovered three major mtDNA lineages of L. dispar: Transcaucasia; East Asia + Japan; and Europe + Central Asia. The circumscription of these lineages is only partially consistent with the current taxonomic concept (i.e., L. dispar dispar; L. dispar asiatica; L. dispar japonica), with the following important discrepancies: (1) north-central Asian populations, including topotypical populations of L. dispar asiatica, may be more closely related to European rather than Asian segregates, which would require the synonymization of the taxon asiatica and establishment of a new name; (2) the Japanese populations (L. d. japonica) are not distinct from east Asian populations; (3) the presence of a distinct, unnamed mitogenomic lineage endemic to the Trancaucasus region. We demonstrated that the population from Transcaucasia contains the highest mitochondrial haplotype diversity among L. dispar, potentially indicative of an ancestral area for the entire dispar-group. Our study corroborates the endemic Hokkaido, Japan taxon Lymantria umbrosa (Butler) as the sister group to all other L. dispar populations, but the applicability of the names umbrosa versus hokkaidoensis Goldschmidt needs to be re-evaluated. The ancestral area analysis suggest that Japan was likely colonized via Sakhalin ∼1 Mya, in contrast to previous studies which have suggested colonization of the Japanese archipelago via the Korean Peninsula. Lastly, mitogenomic variation within L. dispar is incongruent with phylogenies based on nuclear DNA, as nDNA gene phylogenies did not recover the three major mtDNA lineages, and also failed to recover L. dispar and L. umbrosa as reciprocally monophyletic.

Description of a new species from the genus Eugoa Walker, 1858 (Lepidoptera: Erebidae: Arctiinae) from the Solomon Islands.

The genus Eugoa Walker, 1858 belongs to the tribe Lithosiini and occurs across the Old World, excluding the Western Palearctic Region. Currently, it contains around 120 species, most of them distributed across Asia (Bucsek 2016a, b; Dubatolov Bucsek 2016; Schaus 1922). Ten additional species have been described from Australasia (Bethune-Baker 1904; Rothschild 1915). Since the 19th century, several authors have addressed the taxonomy of the genus Eugoa (Buscek 2008, 2012, 2016a, b; Cerný Bucsek 2014; Hampson 1891, 1898, 1900; Rothschild 1915; Seitz 1914; Van Eecke 1930), but only a few described their habitat preferences (e.g. Holloway 2001). These small to medium sized moths with brown, or brown-cream coloured forewings inhabit a wide range of forest types (e.g. alluvial, dipterocarp, heath, kerangas, etc.) from mangroves and lowland-coastal forests (about 300m asl) up to upper montane forests (about 1500 m asl). Unfortunately, life history data for species in the genus Eugoa still remain unavailable.

Distribution of Ultraviolet Ornaments in Colias Butterflies (Lepidoptera: Pieridae).

Ultraviolet patterns in butterflies have been recognized and studied for many years. They are frequently involved in both intraspecific and interspecific interactions. Only a handful of studies, however, have investigated possible links between ultraviolet (UV) reflectance and ecological properties in some genera of the Lepidoptera as a whole. This study examines the impact of habitat and distribution on UV reflectance patterns on the wings of 106 species and subspecies of Colias butterflies. Based on standardized digital photographs, we performed a multivariate analysis of relations between UV reflectance, preferred habitat (alpine, arctic, dry grasslands, humid, forest, and ubiquitous), and distribution area (Afrotropical, Nearctic, Neotropical, European, Caucaso-Anatolian, boreal Eurasian, Central Asian mountains, northern China and Japan, and northern Oriental region). UV patterns occur more frequently in the male (60 taxa) than in female (25 taxa) Coliads. This difference in presence of UV patterns is used for differentiating between the males and females of a given species or subspecies. Further possible explanations of this phenomenon are also discussed. This study also shows that particular configurations of UV patterns are significantly associated with particular distribution areas. This relation is relatively strong but overall trends remain unclear. Based on the results of this study, it can be concluded that there exists a significant difference in the configuration of UV reflectance between the sexes, and that the configuration of UV reflectance significantly interacts with the geographical distribution of Colias species and subspecies.