Critical re-examination of known purported fossil Bombycoidea (Lepidoptera).

We critically re-examine 17 records of fossils currently assigned to the lepidopteran superfamily Bombycoidea, which includes the silk moths, emperor moths and hawk moths. These records include subfossils, compression and impression fossils, permineralizations and ichnofossils. We assess whether observable morphological features warrant their confident assignment to the superfamily. None of the examined fossils displays characters that allow unequivocal identification as Sphingidae, but three fossils and a subfossil (Mioclanis shanwangiana Zhang, Sun and Zhang, 1994, two fossil larvae, and a proboscis in asphaltum) have combinations of diagnostic features that support placement in the family. The identification of a fossil pupa as Bunaeini (Saturniidae) is well supported. The other fossils that we evaluate lack definitive bombycoid and, in several cases, even lepidopteran characters. Some of these dubious fossils have been used as calibration points in earlier studies casting doubt on the resulting age estimates. All fossil specimens reliably assigned to Bombycoidea are relatively young, the earliest fossil evidence of the superfamily dating to the middle Miocene.

Lecithoceridae (Lepidoptera) of Madagascar: I. Descriptions of eighteen new species of Torodora Meyrick, 1894.

The present study is aimed at describing lecithocerid specimens from Madagascar collected by Pierre Viette and his colleagues during the 1950's and preserved in the Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle (MNHN, Paris). Eighteen new species of Torodora Meyrick, 1894 are described, namely: T. hana Park & Koo, sp. nov., T. larseni Park & Koo, sp. nov., T. toliarensis Park & Koo, sp. nov., T. silvestris Park & Koo, sp. nov., T. sogai Park & Koo, sp. nov., T. vietteiola Park & Koo, sp. nov., T. haploista Park & Koo, sp. nov., T. septentriella Park & Koo, sp. nov., T. zahamenensis Park & Koo, sp. nov., T. unicolorella Park & Koo, sp. nov., T. pistillia Park & Minet, sp. nov., T. andringitrensis Park & Minet, sp. nov., T. ochrizona Park & Minet, sp. nov., T. anosibensis Park & Minet, sp. nov., T. convexula Park & Minet, sp. nov., T. sphenosa Park & Minet, sp. nov., T. malagasiella Park & Minet, sp. nov., and T griveaudi Park & Minet, sp. nov. The previously unknown male of T. lecithocerella (Viette, 1956) is described for the first time. Adults and their male or female genitalia are illustrated.

Taxonomic composition and monophyly of the genus Magnificus (Lepidoptera: Hepialoidea: Hepialidae).

The genus Magnificus Yan, 2000 was originally established to include M. jiuzhiensis Yan, 2000 and M. zhiduoensis Yan, 2000. Here we also include the species M. bouvieri (Oberthür, 1913) comb. n., M. dirschi (Bang-Haas, 1939) comb. n., M. miniatus (Chu Wang, 1985a) comb. n., M. regius (Staudinger, 1896) comb. n., and M. roseus (Oberthür, 1911) comb. n. Monophyly of Magnificus is supported by the shared presence of a unique shape of the tergosternal sclerite in the anterio-abdominal region and pseudoteguminal arm in the male genitalia. We also provide evidence for the inclusion of Magnificus and the northern Eurasian genera Hepialus Fabricius, Pharmacis Hübner, Triodia Hübner and Zenophassus Tindale as members of a larger monophyletic group supported by the shared presence in the male genitalia of a deep U-shaped medial notch in the posterior margin of the saccus and an expanded triangular flange at the lateral corners of the notch. The reciprocally allopatric distribution of Magnificus and its probable sister group is consistent with each originating locally by vicariance over different parts of a widespread ancestral range. This divergence may be the result of tectonic uplift in central Asia.

Review of the Malagasy lecithocerid species described by Pierre Viette and deposited in MNHN (Paris), with new generic combinations and descriptions of a new subfamily and genus of Momphidae (Lepidoptera: Gelechioidea).

The holotypes of the Malagasy Lecithoceridae described by Pierre Viette (from 1954 to 1988) are reviewed, which represents a total of 23 specimens originally assigned to the genera Idiopteryx Walsingham, 1891 (4 named species) and Lecithocera Herrich-Shäffer, 1853 (19 named species). The holotype of Nemophora janineae Viette, 1954, erroneously described in Adelidae, is also included in the present study since it clearly belongs to the Lecithoceridae; N. janineae is here transferred to the genus Parkiana Cho, 2020. All these type specimens are housed in the Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle (MNHN, Paris), where Pierre Viette had worked as a researcher during almost forty years (1945-1982). The Lecithocera species in question are transferred either to other genera of the Lecithoceridae, or to other families: 12 species, including Lecithocera kambanella and L. masoalella previously transferred by Park (2018), are assigned to Torodora Meyrick, 1894; three species to Parkiana Cho; the remaining species to non-lecithocerid groups, namely the Gelechiidae: Dichomeridinae (1 species), the Epichostis-group (considered incertae sedis but here expanded to include the genus Merocrates Meyrick, 1931; 1 species), and the Momphidae (2 described species, here regarded as synonyms, viz. L. andrianella Viette, 1968 and L. ranavaloella Viette, 1968). The four alleged Malagasy Idiopteryx turn out to belong to non-lecithocerid families and are transferred to the genera Dichomeris Hübner (Gelechiidae: Dichomeridinae; 1 species), Odites Walsingham (Peleopodidae: Oditinae; 1 species), and Moca Walker (Immidae, superfamily Immoidea; 2 species). Within the Momphidae, Lecithocera andrianella Viette is assigned to a new genus, Adelomompha Minet Park gen. nov., which is placed in a new subfamily (Adelomomphinae Minet Park subfam. nov.) since it lacks at least two imaginal apomorphies present in the ground plan of the remaining Momphidae (here placed in the subfamily Momphinae, revised status). High resolution photographs were taken to illustrate the habitus and various morphological structures (genitalia, notably) of the 24 above-mentioned type specimens (MNHN material).

DNA barcodes reveal deeply neglected diversity and numerous invasions of micromoths in Madagascar 1.

Madagascar is a prime evolutionary hotspot globally, but its unique biodiversity is under threat, essentially from anthropogenic disturbance. There is a race against time to describe and protect the Madagascan endangered biota. Here we present a first molecular characterization of the micromoth fauna of Madagascar. We collected 1572 micromoths mainly using light traps in both natural and anthropogenically disturbed habitats in 24 localities across eastern and northwest Madagascar. We also collected 1384 specimens using a Malaise trap in a primary rain forest at Andasibe, eastern Madagascar. In total, we DNA barcoded 2956 specimens belonging to 1537 Barcode Index Numbers (BINs), 88.4% of which are new to BOLD. Only 1.7% of new BINs were assigned to species. Of 47 different families found, Dryadaulidae, Bucculatricidae, Bedelliidae, Batrachedridae, and Blastobasidae are newly reported for Madagascar and the recently recognized Tonzidae is confirmed. For test faunas of Canada and Australia, 98.9%-99.4% of Macroheterocera BINs exhibited the molecular synapomorphy of a phenylalanine in the 177th complete DNA barcode codon. Non-macroheteroceran BINs could thus be sifted out efficiently in the Malaise sample. The Madagascar micromoth fauna shows highest affinity with the Afrotropics (146 BINs also occur in the African continent). We found 22 recognised pests or invasive species, mostly occurring in disturbed habitats. Malaise trap samples show high temporal turnover and alpha diversity with as many as 507 BINs collected; of these, astonishingly, 499 (98.4%) were novel to BOLD and 292 (57.6%) were singletons. Our results provide a baseline for future surveys across the island.