Abstract
The greater wax moth, Galleria mellonella Linnaeus, is well known as a pest of honey bees and for the biodegradation of wax and polyethylene by their larvae. The genus Galleria has long been considered monotypic and found worldwide. A taxonomic study of the genus Galleria is presented based on morphological and molecular characters (COI, CAD, wg). A new species (Galleria similis Roh & Song, sp. nov.) is recognized on the Korean peninsula. The new species is superficially similar to G. mellonella but they can be separated by the structures of hindwing venation and male genitalia. Habitus photographs and illustrations of diagnostic characters are provided.
Highlights
The family Pyralidae is large group of Lepidoptera, placed in the superfamily Pyraloidea consisting of 1055 genera with 5921 described species
A total of 21 new sequences was generated from four specimens of Galleria similis and 17 specimens of G. mellonella (524–650 bp of partial cytochrome oxidase subunit I gene (COI) barcode region, 613 bp of partial CADand 432 bp of partial wg gene region)
Genetic divergence of COI using uncorrected p-distance among the Galleria and Achroia species ranged from 5.3% to 12.0%, while intraspecific divergence ranged from 0% to 2.2% (Table 3)
Summary
The family Pyralidae is large group of Lepidoptera, placed in the superfamily Pyraloidea consisting of 1055 genera with 5921 described species (van Nieukerken et al 2011). Among the Galleriinae, the monotypic genus Galleria Fabricius, 1798 was established with the type species Phalaena cereana Blom, 1764. Based on morphological and molecular characters, and provide habitus photographs and illustrations of diagnostic characters for identification of the two species of the genus Galleria.
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
