No abstract

The phylogeny of butterflies, Parnassius stubbendorfii and P. glacialis, collected at various localities in the Japan archipelago and the eastern part of the Asian continent was analyzed using mitochondrial DNA sequences coding for NADH dehydrogenase subunit 5 (805 bp). The molecular phylogenetic trees revealed that P. glacialis and P. stubbendorfii diverged from a common ancestor, and then the populations inhabiting the Japan archipelago and the Asian continent diverged in each species. The reliability of these divergences was supported by high bootstrap values. The divergences within the Japan archipelago and within the Asian continent in each species were unclear because of low bootstrap values. The genetic distance and a rough time-estimation in the UPGMA tree suggest that the both populations of P. glacialis and P. stubbendorfii may have been isolated in the Japan archipelago at the early time (about 1.7-2.0 Mya) of the glacial period in the Pleistocene. The genetic distance between the Japanese and the continental subspecies may be large enough that they can be classified as different species, in comparison with the genetic distances among some other parnassian species.

Phylogenetic relationships of 31 Japanese Catocala species were analyzed based on the partial nucleotide sequences of the mitochondrial NADH dehydrogenase subunit 5 (ND5) gene (762 bp). When several non-Catocala Noctuidae moths were designated as the outgroup, these Catocala species formed a monophyletic group. However, divergences between these Catocala species were very deep, and no close phylogenetic relationships were recognized among them except for that between the two recently separated species, C. xarippe and C. fulminea. The remote relationships implied for several pairs of species suggest that the color of the hindwings is a changeable characteristic, and does not reflect phylogenetic lineage. Continental specimens were analyzed in 20 of 31 Catocala species, and all of them showed a close relationship with their Japanese counterpart. However, the closeness of the nucleotide sequences between the Japanese and continental individuals of the same species varied from species to species, indicating that isolation between the Japanese and continental populations of these species occurred at many different times. The two analyzed species endemic to North America showed a close relationship with their morphologically inferred Japanese counterparts, indicating that the geographic separation and following speciation between these Eurasian and American species occurred much more recently compared with the speciation events among the Catocala species now found in Japan.

(Communicated by Yasuj i KATSUKI, M. J. A., Sept. 12, 1983) In most species of Lepidoptera, other than primitive forms and a few advanced species, the scales clothing the wing surfaces present rows that are anteroposteriorly directed.1~,2~ How scale rows are arranged over whole wings has not beenn precisely studied, because it is difficult to determine the exact positions of the scales. The problem arises because the ordinary scales on the wings vary in shape and size, and because adjacent scales overlap.Nardi and Kafatos studied the scale cell density change which was induced after grafting pupal wing epidermis of the tobacco hornworm, by observing the sockets which are the small points of attachment of the scales on the wing surface.3~ Here, we also define the position of a scale by its socket, which can be readily observed after the procedures described below.The majority of the observations was made on Papilio xuthus. Scanning electronmicrographs were prepared after scales had been brushed from the wings. To plot the arrangement of socket rows, wings were immersed in a mixture of detergent and sodium hypochlorite, causing the scales to be bleached and the wings to become transparent.After rinsing in ethanol and water, the wings were mounted on glass slides and their images projected onto a screen by an overhead projector.Socket rows were plotted at real intervals between rows of ca. 2.3 mm in order to yield schematic diagrams of their arrangements.The following specialized kinds or regions of scalation were excluded : (1) A small region near the junction of wing and body; (2) male-specific scales such as the scent-scales of Pieris and the sex marks of Papilio ; (3) small regions where the scale arrangement is random, such as the white markings of the skipper Parnara guttata.Our definition of the scale position is precise, because the thin neck of each scale is inserted into the opening of the socket, which forms a small projection of the wing surface4> (Fig. 1a), and the two cells that give rise during development to a scale and its socket are derived from a single stem cel1,5 7 so that socket positions can