Abstract
During a DNA barcoding campaign of leaf-mining insects from Siberia, a genetically divergent lineage of a gracillariid belonging to the genus Micrurapteryx was discovered, whose larvae developed on Caragana Fabr. and Medicago L. (Fabaceae). Specimens from Siberia showed similar external morphology to the Palearctic Micrurapteryx gradatella and the Nearctic Parectopa occulta but differed in male genitalia, DNA barcodes, and nuclear genes histone H3 and 28S. Members of this lineage are re-described here as Micrurapteryx caraganella (Hering, 1957), comb. n., an available name published with only a brief description of its larva and leaf mine. Micrurapteryx caraganella is widely distributed throughout Siberia, from Tyumen oblast in the West to Transbaikalia in the East. Occasionally it may severely affect its main host, Caragana arborescens Lam. This species has been confused in the past with Micrurapteryx gradatella in Siberia, but field observations confirm that Micrurapteryx gradatella exists in Siberia and is sympatric with Micrurapteryx caraganella, at least in the Krasnoyarsk region, where it feeds on different host plants (Vicia amoena Fisch. and Vicia sp.).In addition, based on both morphological and molecular evidence as well as examination of type specimens, the North American Parectopa occulta Braun, 1922 and Parectopa albicostella Braun, 1925 are transferred to Micrurapteryx as Micrurapteryx occulta (Braun, 1922), comb. n. with albicostella as its junior synonym (syn. n.). Characters used to distinguish Micrurapteryx from Parectopa are presented and illustrated. These findings provide another example of the potential of DNA barcoding to reveal overlooked species and illuminate nomenclatural problems.
Highlights
With more than 2000 described species, the family Gracillariidae represents one of the most diverse groups of small moths (De Prins and De Prins 2015)
157 DNA barcodes of specimens of the genera Micrurapteryx and Parectopa were analysed in this study: 22 – M. caraganella, 11 – M. gradatella, 73 – M. occulta, 6 – M. kollariella, 27 – M. salicifoliella, 9 – Parectopa ononidis, 9 – P. robiniella (Table 1, Fig. 1)
We confirm the existence of a distinct species of Micrurapteryx, namely M. caraganella feeding on plants from the genus Caragana and occasionally on Medicago sativa (Fabaceae) in Siberia based initially on differences in DNA barcodes
Summary
With more than 2000 described species, the family Gracillariidae represents one of the most diverse groups of small moths (De Prins and De Prins 2015). Ten species occur in the Palearctic Region: M. bidentata Noreika, 1992, M. fumosella Kuznetzov & Tristan, 1985, M. gerasimovi Ermolaev, 1982, M. gradatella (Herrich-Schäffer, 1855), M. kollariella (Zeller, 1839), M. parvula Amsel, 1935, M. sophorella Kuznetzov, 1979, M. sophorivora Kuznetzov & Tristan, 1985, M. tibetiensis Bai & Li, 2013, and M. tortuosella Kuznetzov & Tristan, 1985. For four species M. bidentata, M. parvula, M. sophorella and M. tibetiensis hosts remain unknown (Kuznetzov and Tristan 1985; Noreika and Puplesis 1992; Bai 2013). One species has been recorded from the Nearctic Region, M. salicifoliella (Chambers, 1872), whose larvae mine leaves of Salix (De Prins and De Prins 2015)
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