@article {23027, title = {Patterns of speciation in a parapatric pair of Saturnia moths as revealed by target capture}, journal = {Molecular Ecology}, volume = {33}, year = {2024}, month = {01/2024}, pages = {e17192}, chapter = {e17192}, abstract = {

\"The focus of this study has been to understand the evolutionary relationships and taxonomy of a widely distributed parapatric species pair of wild silk moths in Europe: Saturnia pavonia and Saturnia pavoniella (Lepidoptera: Saturniidae). To address species delimitation in these parapatric taxa, target enrichment and mtDNA sequencing was employed alongside phylogenetic, admixture, introgression, and species delimitation analyses. The dataset included individuals from both species close to and farther away from the contact zone as well as two hybrids generated in the lab. Nuclear markers strongly supported both S. pavonia and S. pavoniella as two distinct species, with hybrids forming a sister group to S. pavoniella. However, the Maximum Likelihood (ML) tree generated from mtDNA sequencing data presented a different picture, showing both taxa to be phylogenetically intermixed. This inconsistency is likely attributable to mitonuclear discordance, which can arise from biological factors (e.g., introgressive hybridization and/or incomplete lineage sorting). Our analyses indicate that past introgressions have taken place, but that there is no evidence to suggest an ongoing admixture between the two species, demonstrating that the taxa have reached full postzygotic reproductive isolation and hence represent two distinct biological species. Finally, we discuss our results from an evolutionary point of view taking into consideration the past climatic oscillations that have likely shaped the present dynamics between the two species. Overall, our study demonstrates the effectiveness of the target enrichment approach in resolving shallow phylogenetic relationships under complex evolutionary circumstances and that this approach is useful in establishing robust and well-informed taxonomic delimitations involving parapatric taxa.\"

}, keywords = {BARCODING, COI, EVOLUTION, INTROGRESSION, MAXIMUM LIKELIHOOD, MITO-NUCLEAR DISCORDANCE, MTDNA, PARAPATRY, PHYLOGENOMICS, PHYLOGENY, POPULATION GENETICS, PRINCIPAL COMPONENTS ANALYSIS, SATURNIA, SATURNIIDAE, SNP, SPECIES DELIMITATION}, url = {https://doi.org/10.1111/mec.17194}, author = {Khan, M. and Joshi, M. and Espeland, M. and Huemer, P. and Lopez-Vaamonde, C. and Mutanen, M.} } @article {22741, title = {Some physical properties of Brazilian wild Lepidoptera silks}, journal = {Journal of Polymers and the Environment}, volume = {2022}, year = {2022}, pages = {[1-12]}, chapter = {[1]}, abstract = {

\"Wild moths silk fibers have distinct properties from the widely cultivated Bombyx mori silk and show promising applications in several areas. However, few Lepidoptera species have their silk properly characterized; the studies so far concentrate on a few groups of wild silk moths. In the Lepidoptera group, in addition to the construction of cocoons, the silk is used to construct collective shelters, migration, lifelines, and, in rare cases, to capture prey. Therefore, understanding the composition and properties of these silks can help understand their role in the biology of these species and their possible applications. In this paper, tensile tests and FTIR analysis of silks from seven species were performed, and the results were analyzed by multilinear regression, principal component analysis, and cluster analysis. According to our results and data from the literature, the average Young\’s modulus for silks from Papilionoidea, Psychidae, Saturniidae, and Sphingidae are 3.5, 21.4, 5.4, and 5.9 GPa, respectively. Furthermore, the silk from Papilionoidea has lower tensile strength than other Lepidoptera. Our results support the correlation between the silk\’s mechanic properties and \β-sheet polyalanine, \β-sheet polyalanine-glycine, serine, and oxalate concentrations.\"

}, keywords = {AUTOMERIS, INFRARED SPECTROSCOPY, LEPIDOPTERA, MADORYX, MORPHOLOGY, MULTIPLE LINEAR REGRESSION, PRINCIPAL COMPONENTS ANALYSIS, ROTHSCHILDIA, SATURNIIDAE, SILK, SPHINGIDAE, TENSILE STRENGTH}, doi = {10.1007/s10924-022-02700-1}, url = {https://doi.org/10.1007/s10924-022-02700-1}, author = {Bonatto, L.D. and Agnol, L.D. and Vergani, V.P. and Perottoni, C.A. and Bianchi, O. and Zorzi, J.E.} } @article {22271, title = {The phylogenetics and biogeography of the Central Asian hawkmoths, Hyles hippophaes and H. chamyla: Can mitogenomics and machine learning bring clarity?}, journal = {Diversity}, volume = {13}, year = {2021}, month = {05/2021}, pages = {213}, chapter = {213}, abstract = {

\"The western Palaearctic species of the hawkmoth genus Hyles (Lepidoptera: Sphingidae) have long been the subject of molecular phylogenetic research. However, much less attention has been paid to the taxa inhabiting the central and eastern Palaearctic, particularly Central Asia, where almost 50\% of the species diversity of the genus occurs. Yet, many taxonomic conundrums hinder a proper assessment of the true diversity in these moths. One still unresolved group of species includes Hyles hippophaes and Hyles chamyla. Despite a largely overlapping morphology and ecology, a plethora of infraspecific taxa display some unique divergent characters over a wide geographical area. In this study, we undertook a taxonomic assessment of each population and resolved this species complex using an integrative approach. A combination of new computational techniques (DAISY-II) in comparative morphology and recent advances in DNA extraction methods and sequencing of museum specimens (WISC) alongside more traditional genetic approaches allowed testing of the three main phenotypes\—bienerti, chamyla and apocyni\—in terms of their morphological, mitochondrial and biogeographical integrity, and to elucidate their evolutionary relationships. Our results support the existence of two closely related species, Hyles chamyla and H. hippophaes, but \“H. chamyla apocyni\” is best regarded as a hybrid between H. chamyla and H. h. bienerti. The results indicate that the evolutionary relationship between H. chamyla and H. hippophaes is one of admixture in the context of ongoing ecological differentiation, which has led to shared morphological characters and a blurring of the species boundaries. These results clarify the evolutionary relationships of this species complex and open future research lines, including the analysis of nuclear markers and denser sampling, particularly of H. hippophaes and H. vespertilio in western Europe.\"

}, keywords = {BIOGEOGRAPHY, CATALOGUE, CENTRAL ASIA, DAISY-II, DISTRIBUTION, DNA, HYBRIDS, HYLES, INTROGRESSION, MACHINE LEARNING; ARTIFICAL NEURAL NETWORKS, MAXIMUM LIKELIHOOD, MITOGENOME, MTDNA, PHYLOGENOMICS, PRINCIPAL COMPONENTS ANALYSIS, SPHINGIDAE, TCS NETWORKS, TYPES, WING PATTERN}, doi = {10.3390/d13050213}, url = {https://doi.org/10.3390/d13050213}, author = {Patzold, F. and Marabuto, E. and Daneck, H. and O{\textquoteright}Neill, M.A. and Kitching, I.J. and Hundsdoerfer, A.K.} } @article {21182, title = {Quantifying wing shape and size of saturniid moths with geometric morphometrics}, journal = {Journal of the Lepidopterists{\textquoteright} Society}, volume = {70}, year = {2016}, pages = {99-107}, chapter = {99}, abstract = {

\"Butterflies and moths exhibit a spectacular diversity of wing shape and size. The extent of wing variation is particularly evident in wild silk moths (Saturniidae), which have large wing shape and size variation. Some species have jagged wing margins, rounded forewing apical lobes, or narrow hind wings with long tails, while others lack these traits entirely. Surprisingly, very little work has been done to formally quantify wing variation within the family. We analyzed the hind wing shape and size of 76 saturniid species representing 52 genera across five subfamilies using geometric morphometrics. We identified fifteen landmarks that we predict can be applied to families across Lepidoptera. PCA analyses grouped saturniid hind wings into six distinct morphological clusters. These groups did not appear to follow species relatedness\—some phylogenetically and genetically distantly related taxa clustered in the same morphological group. We discuss\  ecological factors that might have led to the extraordinary wing variation within Saturniidae.\"

}, keywords = {GEOMETRIC MORPHOMETRICS, LANDMARKS, MORPHOMETRICS, PRINCIPAL COMPONENTS ANALYSIS, PROCRUSTES ANALYSIS, SATURNIIDAE, WING LENGTH, WING SHAPE}, author = {Zhong, M. and Hill, G.A. and Gomez, J.P. and Plotkin, D. and Barber, J.R. and Kawahara, A.Y.} }