A new molecular phylogeny offers hope for a stable family level classification of the Noctuoidea (Lepidoptera)

Abstract

. A new molecular phylogeny offers hope for a stable family level classification of the Noctuoidea (Lepidoptera). -Zoologica Scripta, 40, 158-173. To examine the higher level phylogeny and evolutionary affinities of the megadiverse superfamily Noctuoidea, an extensive molecular systematic study was undertaken with special emphasis on Noctuidae, the most controversial group in Noctuoidea and arguably the entire Lepidoptera. DNA sequence data for one mitochondrial gene (cytochrome oxidase subunit I) and seven nuclear genes (Elongation Factor-1a, wingless, Ribosomal protein S5, Isocitrate dehydrogenase, Cytosolic malate dehydrogenase, Glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase and Carbamoylphosphate synthase domain protein) were analysed for 152 taxa of principally type genera ⁄ species for family group taxa. Data matrices (6407 bp total) were analysed by parsimony with equal weighting and model-based evolutionary methods (maximum likelihood), which revealed a new high-level phylogenetic hypothesis comprising six major, well-supported lineages that we here interpret as families: Oenosandridae, Notodontidae, Erebidae, Nolidae, Euteliidae and Noctuidae.

From the Phylogeny of the Satyrinae Butterflies to the Systematics of Euptychiina (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae): History, Progress and Prospects

“…The advent of molecular systematics has over the past two decades allowed the testing of previous classi ications with new forms of data, and indeed has allowed new classi ications to be proposed for highly diverse groups of organisms that have previously de ied stable classi ication (e.g. Zahiri et al 2011). Here we review the latest studies on the diverse clade of butter lies, Satyrinae, and discuss their implications on the classi ication of the group, which has been very labile over the past 250 years.…”

Comparing the Expression of Olfaction-Related Genes in Gypsy Moth (Lymantria dispar) Adult Females and Larvae from One Flightless and Two Flight-Capable Populations

“…This number is similar to the one reported on a previous study comparing S. littoralis adult antennae and larval head capsules (127) (Poivet et al, 2013), and another study investigating the adult antennal transcriptome of H. armigera (131), and H. assulta (129) (the latter did not include GRs and we excluded sensory neuron membrane proteins from the total count) (Zhang et al, 2014). The conserved number of olfaction-related genes suggests a core group of genes control olfaction in moth species belonging to the superfamily Noctuoidea (Kristensen et al, 2007;Zahiri et al, 2011). Given the similar number of genes across these species, we could speculate that olfactory differences emerge as a product of functional diversification, while the genes themselves are products of duplication.…”

GC/FT-IR Analysis of Novel 4,6,9-Triene and 2,4,6,9-Tetraene Occurring in a Female Pheromone Gland of <i>Arctia plantaginis</i> (Erebidae: Arctiinae)

“…Erebidae (including former Arctiidae and Lymantriidae [4]) and Geometridae [5] [6]. Species-specific pheromones are created by the blending of some compounds with different structures, such as chain length, unsaturated degree, and positions of the double bond and epoxy ring.…”