Life history and mitochondrial genomes of Salassinae and Agliinae (Insecta, Lepidoptera): New insights into the loss of cocooning behaviour and phylogeny of Saturniidae

Abstract

The subfamilies Salassinae and Agliinae are two monogeneric groups of the family Saturniidae. They were regarded as the non-cocooning saturniids in Asia. Since very little information on their life history and mitogenome has been reported, their origin and evolution are still poorly understood. In this study, nature-imitated rearing is used to record the life history of two Aglia and five Salassa species. In addition, four complete mitogenomes are presented, which are the first ones of these two subfamilies. The results show that both Salassinae and Agliinae have lost their cocooning. Moreover, the phylogenetic analysis demonstrates that the subfamily Saturniinae is not monophyletic due to the inclusion of Agliinae and Salassinae.

Characterization of the Complete Mitochondrial Genome of Salassa thespis (Lepidoptera: Saturniidae) and Comparison with Other Lepidoptera Species

“…Initially, the mitochondrial genome was widely used in Lepidoptera to solve the species identification controversy left over from the traditional morphological classification, and Bombyx mori was the first reported species. Subsequently, research on mitochondrial genomes covered various levels and groups of Lepidoptera insects, especially among species at different superfamily and family levels, and was used to explore the origin, divergence, diffusion and phylogeny of species [8][9][10][11][12][13]. However, the complete mitochondrial genome sequences of Lepidoptera insects included in the GenBank database account for less than 1% of the total number of Lepidoptera.…”