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A New Family of Monotrysian Moths from Austral South America (Lepidoptera: Palaephatidae), with a Phylogenetic Review of the Monotrysia
... Descriptions of the organ in non-ditrysian lepidopterans are brief and usually without illustrations. Examples include descriptions of members of Mnesarchaeidae [11], Neopseustidae [11,12,13,14], Micropterigidae [15,16], Incurvariidae [17], Palaephatidae [18], Heterobathmiidae [19], Agathiphagidae [16], and Andesianidae [20]. However, the depth, degree of development, and even the presence of the cavity seem to be quite diverse among families, once these descriptions are analyzed. ...
... The studies and reports on non-dytrisian [11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20] and tineid moths [21] do not describe the internal structure and histology of the organ, and they are not considered here for our proposed terminology for the forms of the cavity, the patterns and arrangement of setae, and the type of axon. Descriptions of the internal structure could be difficult because of the small size ...
Vom Rath’s organ, located at the distal end of the third segment of the labial palp, is one of the recognized synapomorphies of Lepidoptera (Insecta). Information about the structural and histological morphology of this organ is sparse. The structure of vom Rath’s organ in four species of Nymphalidae, three frugivorous: Fountainea ryphea (Charaxinae: Anaeini), Morpho helenor achillaena (Satyrinae: Morphini) and Hamadryas epinome (Biblidinae: Ageroniini), and the nectarivorous species Aeria olena (Danainae: Ithomiini) is described by means of scanning electron microscopy and histology. The species showed significant differences in the cavity shape, setal morphology and arrangement, opening shape and location, associated with the organization of cell groups, type of axon, and degree of development. These differences do not seem to be related to feeding habit. No cell groups were found in Actinote thalia (Heliconiinae: Acraeini) and Heliconius erato phyllis (Heliconiinae: Heliconiini), and for the first time the absence of vom Rath’s organ is documented in the clade Ditrysia. A terminology is proposed to improve understanding of the organ morphology, with an extensive analysis of the previous descriptions.
... In all of the following families, no species were found that develop in soil, litter, or use the mycelium of fungi: Agathiphagidae [39], Heterobathmiidae [40], Eriocraniidae [41], Lophocoronidae [42][43][44], Prototheoridae [44], Acanthopteroctetidae [45], Opostegidae [46,47], Nepticulidae [47,48], Andesianidae [49], Cecidosidae [50], Prodoxidae [51][52][53], Incurvariidae [54,55], Nematopogoninae [56], Heliozelidae [57], Tischeriidae [58], Palaephatidae [59], Yponomeutidae [60,61], Urodidae [62], Douglasiidae [63], Schreckensteiniidae [64], Choreutidae [65], Millieriidae [66], Immidae [67], Tortricidae [68][69][70], Heliocosmidae [71], Galacticidae [72,73], Zygaenoids [74][75][76], Lacturidae [77], Himantopteridae [78,79], Aididae [80], Megalopygidae [81,82], Limacodidae [83,84]), Dalceridae [81,85], Cyclotornidae [86,87], Dudgeoneidae [86], Cossidae [88,89], Cossulinae [90], Brachodidae [91], Epipyropidae [86,92], Zeuzerinae [93], Castniidae [94,95], Metarbelinae [88,96], Hypoptinae [97], Pseudurgis [98], Thyrididae [99,100], Hyblaeidae [101], Callidulidae [102], Alucitidae [103], Epermeniidae [104], Carposinidae [105], Copromorphidae [106], Pterophoridae [107], Papilionidae [22,108,109], Hesperiidae [110,111], Hedylidae [112,113], Pieridae [114], Lycaenidae [115][116][117][118], Nymphalidae [119,120], Drepanidae [121], Cimeliidae [122], Doidae [123], Mimallonidae [124], Epicopeiidae [125], Sematuridae [126], Uraniidae [127], Lasiocampidae [128,129], Bombycoidea [130,131], Figure 3. The following families have caterpillars that feed in the soil, in the litter, and/or on fungal mycelium, Figure 3. ...
... Agathiphagidae [39], Heterobathmiidae [40], Prototheoridae [44], Andesianidae [49], Incurvariidae [54,55], Nematopogoninae [56], Adelidae [136], Heliozelidae [57], Tischeriidae [58], Palaephatidae [59], Psychidae [140], Yponomeutidae [60], Urodidae [72], Douglasiidae [73,160], Schreckensteiniidae [64], Choreutidae [65], Millieriidae [66], Immidae [67], Tortricidae [68][69][70], Heliocosmidae [71], Galacticidae [72,73], Zygaenoids [74,76], Lacturidae [77], Himantopteridae [78,79], Aididae [80], Megalopygidae [81,82], Limacodidae [83,84], Dalceridae [81,85], Cyclotornidae [86,87], Sesiidae [86,142], Dudgeoneidae [86], Cossidae [88,89], Cossulinae [90], Brachodidae [91], Epipyropidae [92], Zeuzerinae [93], Castniidae [94,95], Metarbelinae [88,96], Hypoptinae [97], Hyblaeidae [101], Callidulidae [102], Copromorphidae [106], Hesperiidae [110,111], Hedylidae [112,113], Pieridae [114], Lycaenidae [115][116][117][118], Nymphalidae [119,120], Drepanidae [121], Doidae [123], Mimallonidae [124], Epicopeiidae [125], Lasiocampidae [128,129], Figure 4. The following families have chrysalids in the soil, in the litter, and/or on fung celium, Figure 4. ...
Lepidoptera, an order of insects traditionally linked to the aerial habitat, are much more diverse in their living environment than the clichéd image we may have of them. The imago stage, which is the most visible in these insects, is not the one that has the most interaction with the environment (usually caterpillars) nor the one that lasts the longest (very often chrysalises). These two stages are often directly related to litter and soil, although only the interaction at the pupal stage seems to follow a phylogenetic logic with two independent evolutionary events for the preference with soil: Use of litter and the upper “O” horizon as protection against predation for the evolutionarily oldest Lepidoptera families, pupation at greater depths (up to 60 centimetres in extreme cases) for the most derived Lepidoptera families; this probably to take advantage of the thermal and moisture buffer provided by the soil. An estimate suggests that about 25% of lepidopteran species worldwide have more or less obligatory interactions with soil.
... The genera Hypomartyria Kristensen and Nielsen (suborder Zeugloptera) and Heterobathmia Kristensen and Nielsen (the sole genus of the superfamily Heterobathmoidea) are both endemic to the forests of southern South America (Kristensen andNielsen 1979, 1982). Similarly, the family Palaephatidae is found exclusively in southern South America and Australia (Davis 1986). None of these three groups have documented studies on pollination or pollen loads studies. ...
Understanding the pollination mechanisms of “settling moths” (moths from families other than Sphingidae typically perched on corollas while feeding on flowers) in the Neotropics is crucial for assessing their contributions to plant reproduction and ecosystem resilience. Through extensive literature searches on Google Scholar and SCOPUS, this study identified 44 relevant studies from an initial pool of 410. These studies covered 37 ecoregions across over 30 million km ² , primarily focusing on natural habitats, with Brazil, Argentina, and Mexico as major contributors. The research on Neotropical moth pollination has surged since 2000, with Noctuoidea, Geometridae, and Pyraloidea as the most cited moth groups. Despite the significant progress in documenting moth pollination, our assessment of taxonomic resolution revealed a heavy reliance on field observations, underscoring the need for collaboration with taxonomists to improve species‐level identifications and enrich ecological interpretations. Our network analysis of interactions between 37 plant families and 14 nocturnal moth families or higher taxon groups indicated a matrix fill of approximately 18.7%, with significant nestedness pointing to generalist‐specialist dynamics among plant and moth families. Modularity analysis identified distinct clusters of interactions, suggesting that specific plant and moth families engage in compartmentalised relationships shaped by ecological and evolutionary factors. Dominant groups, such as Asteraceae and Fabaceae among plants, and Erebidae and Noctuidae among moths, played central roles within these modules, underscoring their importance in maintaining nocturnal pollination networks. These findings emphasise the importance of both diverse and dominant pollinator groups in supporting Neotropical pollination dynamics. Our work highlights the need for pollinator‐centred studies, the adoption of standardised methodologies, and deeper exploration of exclusive moth pollination to advance understanding of plant reproduction across the Neotropics. Future research should aim to bridge gaps in species‐level identification and further investigate the ecological and evolutionary significance of nocturnal pollination across diverse environments.
... The Chilean data are from Herrera and Field 1959, Field and Herrera 1977, Herrera 1953, and unpublished data provided by Herrera, S. P. Courtney, and AMS. Chilean biogeographic concepts are from Artigas (1975), Pena (1966), Davis (1986), Irwin and Schlinger (1986), and Hueck and Seibert (1972). Unsatisfactory as the data may be in scope and repeatability, they are far better than for any other part of the Andean region except for the Satyrid faunas studied by Michael Adams in Colombia and W. Heimlich in the Southern Cone. ...
... The apical sensillum campaniformium of palpomere P3 is also notable. It is the second known report of this structure in the scientific literature, the first being in the palaephatid moth, Metaphatus ochraceus (Davis, 1986). The sensillum in T. absoluta is stimulated when the pointed tip of the labial palp is pressed against the host-plant. ...
In this study, investigation of the morphology and distribution of mouthpart sensilla in the adult tomato leafminer moth, Tuta absoluta Meyrick (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae), using a scanning electron microscope (SEM) is performed. SEM studies examining the mouthparts of Gelechiidae have been noted to be rare; moreover, there have been few investigations on the sensory structures of adult T. absoluta, despite the fact that it is an important pest. In adult T. absoluta, mouthpart structures include the labrum, maxillae comprising two maxillary galeae that form a proboscis, two maxillary palps, and two labial palps. Mandibles were not observed in all studied specimens (30 adults). The proboscis resembles that in other lepidopterous insects and is 1.48 ± 0.08 mm long. Its outer surface is covered with lamellar scales, dense microtrichia, and four sensillum types, that are, aporous sensilla chaetica, uniporous sensilla chaetica, uniporous sensilla styloconica, and aporous sensilla squamiformia. Uniporous sensilla basiconica were also found on the internal face of the proboscis. The labial palps are three-segmented and are known to bear three types of sensilla: squamiformia (present on all three segments), campaniformia, and coeloconica. In this study, we focus on the functional importance of the morphology and distribution of sensilla campaniformia on these labial palps.
... Nepticuloidea (Nepticulidae and its sister family Opostegidae) and Tischerioidea (Tischeriidae) are phylogenetically primitive monotrysian lepidopterans possessing only a single, common terminal anogenital opening in females. Although there is no current evidence to support a close relationship between these two superfamilies (Regier et al. 2013(Regier et al. , 2015, in the past some researchers treated Nepticuloidea and Tischerioidea as very close phylogenetic clades (Davis 1986), or as taxa of the common infraorder Nepticulomorpha (Kuznetzov & Stekolnikov 1978, 2001. However, Nepticuloidea and Tischerioidea most likely represent two relatively distant lineages (Nielsen & Kristensen 1996;Kristensen & Skalski 1999;Regier et al. 2013Regier et al. , 2015. ...
This study identifies the number of named and described species of three monotrysian, plant-mining lepidopteran families worldwide: Nepticulidae and Opostegidae (Nepticuloidea), and Tischeriidae (Tischerioidea). At the end of 2021, we estimated that a total of 1000 Nepticulidae species, 197 Opostegidae species, and 170 Tischeriidae species have been described since the taxonomic practice of describing species began in the 18th century. We examine and discuss the history of descriptions and authorship of species worldwide for each of the three families. We found that the total (accumulative) number of species described increased with each time period delineated. About five new species were described per year on average, or about 22 new species were described per year in the 21st century. We recognize researchers with the most number of described species in these three taxa.
Nuestro país es considerado una isla biogeográfica debido a sus variadas e infranqueables fronteras naturales: desierto, cordillera y mar. Esta condición proporciona las claves para su alto grado de endemismo. Entre el 22 y el 25 por ciento de las especies descritas para Chile son endémicas, es decir, sólo viven dentro del territorio nacional. Estas características han favorecido una biodiversidad única, un verdadero tesoro que muchas veces desconocemos o simplemente no sabemos apreciar.
Este libro es una invitación a conocer, respetar y cuidar la fauna silvestre, valioso patrimonio natural y cultural de Chile. A aprender más acerca de nuestra biodiversidad y cómo protegerla, ya que es responsabilidad de todos velar por la conservación de la naturaleza presente en nuestro país, que cumple un rol fundamental en nuestro entorno.
The geographic disjunction between the hawkmoth genera Compsulyx in New Caledonia and Batocnema in East Africa-Madagascar is a biogeographic pattern shared with other plant and animal taxa, irrespective of their individual means of dispersal. The disjunction is almost identical to a sister species relationship in the plant genus Acridocarpus (Malpighiaceae), similar to Cunonia (Cunoniaceae) in New Caledonia and South Africa, and comparable to Dietes (Iridaceae) on Lord Howe Island and Madagascar/East Africa. These and other geographic disjunctions represent scattered elements of the numerous trans-Indian Ocean connections involving more widespread taxa, some with distributions that include the Pacific. The biogeographic patterns are consistent with Mesozoic tectonic events that disrupted the continuity of widespread ancestral distributions. The tectonic correlations are not in conflict with younger fossil or island calibrated molecular divergence ages that represent minimum estimates only. And they provide a potential falsification of centres of origin and chance dispersal models generated by ancestral-areas programmes.
Invasive moths continue to show up in Florida. One interesting moth that has been recently collected in Florida is an undetermined species of the genus Eudarcia Clemens (Meessiidae). We wrote this article to raise questions and point out interesting things about it, to solicit help searching for larvae and collecting more moths, and to encourage a bit of dissection.
Resumen. Se entrega una actualización de la diversidad de especies, géneros y familias para los microlepidópteros presentes en Chile (desde Micropterigoidea a Zygaenoidea) y una estimación de la diversidad taxonómica para el orden Lepidoptera en el país, de acuerdo con la información publicada en la literatura. Palabras clave: Diversidad de insectos; fauna; Microlepidoptera; Obtectomera; polillas.
Abstract. An update of the diversity of species, genera, and families of the Microlepidoptera present in Chile (from Micropterigoidea to Zygaenoidea) and an estimate of the taxonomic diversity for the order Lepidoptera in the country, are provided according to the information published in the literature.