Comprehensive phylogeny of Pieridae butterflies reveals strong correlation between diversification and temperature.

Temperature is thought to be a key factor influencing global species richness patterns. We investigate the link between temperature and diversification in the butterfly family Pieridae by combining next generation DNA sequences and published molecular data with fine-grained distribution data. We sampled nearly 600 pierid butterfly species to infer the most comprehensive molecular phylogeny of the family and curated a distribution dataset of more than 800,000 occurrences. We found strong evidence that species in environments with more stable daily temperatures or cooler maximum temperatures in the warm seasons have higher speciation rates. Furthermore, speciation and extinction rates decreased in tandem with global temperatures through geological time, resulting in a constant net diversification.

Pluma, a new genus of slug moths (Lepidoptera: Limacodidae) from South China, with descriptions of two new species.

The genus Pluma, gen. nov. is established to accommodate two new species of limacodid moths, P. shuni sp. nov. and P. yuensis sp. nov., from South China. Based on morphological and molecular characters, the species cannot be placed in any existing genus and therefore they placed in the newly erected one. The new taxa are supported by morphological characters and DNA barcode data. Male adults, including wing venation and genitalia, are illustrated, along with a barcode-based tree.

A new species of Griseothosea (Lepidoptera, Limacodidae) from Wuyishan National Park, China.

A new species of Griseothosea nigrifasciata sp. nov. is described and illustrated from Wuyishan National Park, Fujian province, China. It differs from other members of Griseothosea by the male genitalia: uncus with strongly curved lateral margin, juxta with two finger-shaped protrusion apically, and aedeagus shorter and slenderer. The new species is supported molecularly by the analysis of a 658 bp fragment of the COI gene. A key to Griseothosea is provided.

Erratum: QUANHONG ZHANG, ALEXEY V. SOLOVYEV, JIAMIN LIANG, MIN WANG & HOUSHUAI WANG (2023) A new species of Griseothosea (Lepidoptera, Limacodidae) from Wuyishan National Park, China. Zootaxa, 5323 (3), 429434.

N/A.

Two new species of the genus Microleon (Lepidoptera: Limacodidae) from China.

Two new species of the genus Microleon Butler, 1885, Microleon dianensis sp. nov. from Yunnan Province, China and Microleon simingensis sp. nov. from Zhejiang and Sichuan Provinces, China are described. Photographs of adults and male genitalia of these new species are provided, with a key to all currently known species of Microleon. The validity of new species is well supported by the molecular analysis of the fragment of mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI).

A new species of the genus Ivela Swinhoe (Lepidoptera, Erebidae, Lymantriinae) from Guangdong, China.

Ivelayini sp. nov., is described from Guangdong, China based on morphological characters and molecular data. Adults, including genitalia and wing venation, and pupa are illustrated and compared to those of similar species. A key to Chinese Ivela species is provided. Assignment of the new species to Ivela Swinhoe is based primarily on a molecular phylogenetic analysis and is corroborated by morphology. Life histories of I.yini and Dendrophlepssemihyalina Hampson are discussed.

Review of the genus Leucoma Hbner, 1822 (Lepidoptera: Erebidae: Lymantriinae) from China, with description of two new species.

The genus Leucoma Hbner from China is reviewed. Based on morphological characters and DNA barcode data, fourteen species belonging to this genus are recognized, with descriptions of two new species: L. nyingchiensis sp. nov. and L. sichuana sp. nov.. Illustrations of adults and their genitalia are provided along with a key to all currently known species of Leucoma in China.

Complete mitochondrial genome of Papilio elwesi and its phylogenetic analyses with other swallowtail butterflies (Lepidoptera, Papilionidae).

The complete mitochondrial genome of Papilio elwesi was sequenced and annotated using high-throughput sequencing in the present study. The mitochondrial genome (mitogenome) is a circular molecule of 15,082 bp in length, containing 37 genes (13 protein-coding genes, 22 transfer RNA genes, and two ribosomal RNA genes) and a putative control region. We performed mitogenomic phylogenetic analyses of 34 swallowtail species employing methods of Bayesian inference and maximum-likelihood. Our results further confirm that P. elwesi is a member of the subgenus Pterourus in Papilio sensu lato.

A new species of the genus Daplasa Moore from China based on morphological and molecular evidence (Lepidoptera: Erebidae: Lymantriinae).

A new species, Daplasa medoga sp. nov., is described from Tibet, China. The new species can be distinguished morphologically from all other known Daplasa species by its male genitalia with a sagittate uncus and distally broadly crotched valvae. The validity of new species is well supported by the molecular phylogenetic analyses of one mitochondrial gene (COI) and two nuclear genes (EF-1α RPS5), with a total length of 2,324 bp.

A multilocus analysis of Epicopeiidae (Lepidoptera, Geometroidea) provides new insights into their relationships and the evolutionary history of mimicry.

The family Epicopeiidae is a small group of day-flying moths, known for mimicking many different groups of butterflies and moths. So far, there still lacks a reliable phylogenetic framework of Epicopeiidae that is necessary to our understanding of the evolutionary process of their mimicry. In this study, we sequenced 94 nuclear protein-coding markers for 56 epicopeiid samples and 11 outgroups, covering all ten genera of Epicopeiidae. We used homemade PCR-generated baits to capture target sequences, which allowed us to utilize old and dried specimens that were difficult to handle by conventional PCR + Sanger sequencing. Maximum likelihood and Bayesian analyses of the newly obtained dataset (86,388 bp) at both DNA and protein levels produced identical phylogenies with strong support. The non-mimicry genus Deuveia is the sister group of other epicopeiid genera. Epicopeia and Nossa are not monophyletic, and these two genera nest together to form a clade. We also estimated divergence times of Epicopeiidae and found that their initial diversification happened in Eocene about 41 million years ago. The ancestral state reconstruction of mimicry type for this family suggested that thelast common ancestor of epicopeiid moths is non-mimetic, and the Riodinidae-mimicry type evolved first. In summary, our work provides a comprehensive and robust time-calibrated phylogeny of Epicopeiidae that provides a sound framework for revising their classification and interpreting character evolution.

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.

Morphological and molecular evidence for a new species of the genus Panolis Hübner, [1821] (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae).

A new species of the genus Panolis Hübner, [1821], P. xundian sp. nov., is described and illustrated from southwestern China. It is well-defined morphologically by the male genitalia, with a well-developed pollex at the distal terminal of the sacculus and a broad, ventrally concave cucullus, the female corpus bursae with four long signum-stripes. Based on a 658 bp segment of the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I gene, we report the pairwise genetic distance of 2.5% from its allied species P. exquisita Draudt, 1950. Molecular phylogenetic analyses using three genes (2189 bp in total length) indicate that the new species belongs to the P. exquisita species group.

A new species of the genus Polyphena Solovyev, 2014 (Lepidoptera: Limacodidae) from China.

Polyphena chongzuoensis sp. nov. is described from China, as the twelfth species of Polyphena Solovyev, 2014. This new species is morphologically similar to P. bana (Cai, 1983), but differs in male genitalia from the latter by short spurs of anellus and aedeagus without obvious apical processes. Male adult and its genitalia are illustrated. The new species is supported molecularly by the analysis of pairwise genetic distances from a 658 bp of the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I gene, with the minimum distance value of 6.4% from its allied species P. annae.

Polyphagy and diversification in tussock moths: Support for the oscillation hypothesis from extreme generalists.

Theory on plasticity driving speciation, as applied to insect-plant interactions (the oscillation hypothesis), predicts more species in clades with higher diversity of host use, all else being equal. Previous support comes mainly from specialized herbivores such as butterflies, and plasticity theory suggests that there may be an upper host range limit where host diversity no longer promotes diversification. The tussock moths (Erebidae: Lymantriinae) are known for extreme levels of polyphagy. We demonstrate that this system is also very different from butterflies in terms of phylogenetic signal for polyphagy and for use of specific host orders. Yet we found support for the generality of the oscillation hypothesis, in that clades with higher diversity of host use were found to contain more species. These clades also consistently contained the most polyphagous single species. Comparing host use in Lymantriinae with related taxa shows that the taxon indeed stands out in terms of the frequency of polyphagous species. Comparative evidence suggests that this is most probably due to its nonfeeding adults, with polyphagy being part of a resulting life history syndrome. Our results indicate that even high levels of plasticity can drive diversification, at least when the levels oscillate over time.

Molecular phylogeny of Lymantriinae (Lepidoptera, Noctuoidea, Erebidae) inferred from eight gene regions.

To understand the evolutionary history of Lymantriinae and test the present higher-level classification, we performed the first broad-scale molecular phylogenetic analysis of the subfamily, based on 154 exemplars representing all recognized tribes and drawn from all major biogeographical regions. We used two mitochondrial genes (cytochrome c oxidase subunit I and 16S ribosomal RNA) and six nuclear genes (elongation factor-1α, carbamoylphosphate synthase domain protein, ribosomal protein S5, cytosolic malate dehydrogenase, glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase and wingless). Data matrices (in total 5424 bp) were analysed by parsimony and model-based evolutionary methods (maximum likelihood and Bayesian inference). Based on the results of the analyses, we present a new phylogenetic classification for Lymantriinae composed of seven well-supported tribes, two of which are proposed here as new: Arctornithini, Leucomini, Lymantriini, Orgyiini, Nygmiini, Daplasini trib. nov. and Locharnini trib. nov. We discuss the internal structure of each of these tribes and address some of the more complex problems with the genus-level classification, particularly within Orgyiini and Nygmiini.

Phylogeny, systematics and biogeography of the genus panolis (lepidoptera: noctuidae) based on morphological and molecular evidence.

The genus Panolis is a small group of noctuid moths with six recognized species distributed from Europe to East Asia, and best known for containing the widespread Palearctic pest species P. flammea, the pine beauty moth. However, a reliable classification and robust phylogenetic framework for this group of potentially economic importance are currently lacking. Here, we use morphological and molecular data (mitochondrial genes cytochrome c oxidase subunit I and 16S ribosomal RNA, nuclear gene elongation factor-1 alpha) to reconstruct the phylogeny of this genus, with a comprehensive systematic revision of all recognized species and a new one, P. ningshan sp. nov. The analysis results of maximum parsimony, maximum likelihood and Bayesian inferring methods for the combined morphological and molecular data sets are highly congruent, resulting in a robust phylogeny and identification of two clear species groups, i.e., the P. flammea species group and the P. exquisita species group. We also estimate the divergence times of Panolis moths using two conventional mutation rates for the arthropod mitochondrial COI gene with a comparison of two molecular clock models, as well as reconstruct their ancestral areas. Our results suggest that 1) Panolis is a young clade, originating from the Oriental region in China in the Late Miocene (6-10Mya), with an ancestral species in the P. flammea group extending northward to the Palearctic region some 3-6 Mya; 2) there is a clear possibility for a representative of the Palearctic clade to become established as an invasive species in the Nearctic taiga.