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A New Species of Acrodipsas Sands (Lepidoptera: Lycaenidae) from Inland New South Wales and Southern Queensland
Abstract
Acrodipsas mortoni sp.n. from inland New South Wales and southern Queensland is described, figured, contrasted with the related A. arcana (Miller and Edwards) and assigned to the illidgei species-group.
Acrodipsas aurata sp.n. from the Blue Mountains, the southern highlands of New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory is described, figured and contrasted with the polymorphic A. cuprea (Sands) with which it has been previously considered to be con-specific. A. aurata is assigned to the myrmecophila species-group, based on leg morphology. Nine species are now recognised in the genus Acrodipsas Sands.
A provisional list of common names for the known species of Australian butterflies is presented, and the advantages of producing such a set of standard common names discussed. the criteria and methodology on which the names are based are detailed and instances in which terms should be avoided itemised. All previously used names are reviewed and current or traditional names considered; where possible, traditional names were given highest priority. Group names have been standardised at the higher taxonomic levels (i.e. genus, tribe, subfamily etc.). Problems faced in compiling the list are discussed and comments on the suitability of the proposed names invited.
Most butterflies in the family Lycaenidae associate with ants but fewer than 3% are myrmecophagous. Larvae of the Australian endemic butterfly genus Acrodipsas parasitise the nests of ants from two subfamilies and, thus, constitute an interesting and uncommon myrmecophagous radiation within the Lepidoptera. Phylogenetic relationships among Acrodipsas species were inferred from fragments of mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase subunits I and II totalling 1155 bp using maximum parsimony and a neighbour joining method. Monophyly of the genus was confirmed, as was the sister genus status of Lucia. Acrodipsas myrmecophila was established as the plesiotypic Acrodipsas species, which together with Acrodipsas brisbanensis parasitises the ancestral dolichoderine host-ants. A speciation event associated with a radical host-ant shift to Myrmicinae occurred in an ancestor of Acrodipsas cuprea but subsequent speciation events may have been driven by climatic fluctuations during the Pleistocene. Modifications to leg morphology in several species were found to be a synapomorphic state, which arose subsequent to the host-shift to Myrmicinae. Minimal genetic variation detected in allopatric species exhibiting divergent morphology suggests that phenotypic variability has been driven by strong environmental selective pressures. As a result, morphological differences between closely related allopatric species have evolved faster than genetic differences, most notably between Acrodipsas arcana and Acrodipsas illidgei. In contrast, sympatric lineages of A. brisbanensis across similar habitats show considerable genetic differentiation, yet have remained phenotypically indistinguishable. Successful amplification of short overlapping fragments of DNA from museum specimens confirms their utility for phylogenetic analysis when the availability of fresh tissue is limited.
Acrodipsas gen. n. is proposed for seven species of Lycaenidae from eastern Australia, including A. melania and A. hirtipes spp. n. Keys to the genera Pseudodipsas C. & R. Felder, Paralucia Waterhouse and Turner, and Lucia Swainson and to the species of Acrodipsas are presented. The male genitalia of all species of Acrodipsas are described and figured.
Acrodipsas illidgei (Waterhouse and Lyell) has mynnecophagous larvae associated with the ant Crematogaster sp. (laeviceps group). Eggs were found on the trunk and branches of the mangrove Avicennia marina colonised by the host ant. Two types of epidermal organs, possibly glandular, were identified in first instar larvae, and a Newcomer's organ was present from the second instar onwards. Biology was observed in artificial ant colonies. First instar larvae were carried by the ants and placed near the ant brood where they fed, apparently imbibing the fluid contents of the ant larvae through a hole chewed in the cuticle. Older larvae consumed the whole ant larva or pupa. The function of the larval organs in myrmecophily is discussed.
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the butterflies of Mount Moffatt and Carnarvon National Parks, Queensland
- MONTEITH G. B.