Pyraloidea Species Research Articles

Characterisation and phylogenetic analysis of the complete mitogenome of the edible insect bamboo wormOmphisa fuscidentalis in Yunnan Province, China

The bamboo wormOmphisa fuscidentalis is a kind of popular edible insect in Indochina Peninsula, however, the genus affiliation of this insect is controversial. Previous taxonomic studies from China and Thailand using limited morphology and single mitochondrial gene evidence indicated that, those samples distributed in different areas from Asia could belong to different species in different genera. To understand its taxonomic status and phylogenetic relationship with related taxa, we first sequenced and characterised the complete mitochondrial genome (mitogenome) of the mothO. fuscidentalis’ mitogenome is 15,347 bp in size, and containing 13 protein-coding genes (PCGs), 2 rRNAs, 22 tRNAs, and a control region. Further, 23 of the 37 genes are encoded by the J-strand while 14 are encoded by the N-strand. Most of PCGs are initiated by ATN codons, but 3 of the 13 PCGs harboured the incomplete termination codon by T. In the gene order ofO. fuscidentalis, the ancestor of Lepidoptera sequencetrnI-trnQ-trnM morphed intotrnM-trnI-trnQ, as observed in other Pyraloidea species. A phylogenetic tree was then constructed based on the nucleotide sequences of mitochondrial 13 PCGs from 41 Pyraloidea species and two Tortricoidea species (outgroups) using Bayesian inference and maximum likelihood, which determined thatO. fuscidentalis belongs to Crambidae. Accordingly, the bamboo worm does not belong to the genusChilo in the subfamily Crambinae, or to the subfamily Spilomelinae. This study provides fundamental data to clarify the taxonomic status and better understand the biology of this edible insect.

A catalogue of Indian Pyraloidea (Lepidoptera).

We catalogue 1,695 Indian Pyraloidea species in 509 genera. Of these, Pyralidae comprises 518 species in 182 genera, which represents 8.35% of the global Pyralidae diversity of 6,197 species. Crambidae are represented by 1,177 species in 327 genera, accounting for 11.29% of the global Crambidae diversity of 10,418 species. Botys medullalis Snellen, distributed in Indonesia, is reinstated to species status as Sciorista medullalis (Snellen), stat. rev., comb. nov. Sylepta [sic] picalis Hampson, 1903, syn. nov. is synonymised with Syllepte picalis Hampson, 1899. A replacement name Archernis polynesiae N. Singh & Mally, nom. nov. is proposed for Archernis fulvalis Hampson, 1913a, a junior homonym of Archernis fulvalis Hampson, 1899e. We review the chronology and quantity of species descriptions of Indian Pyraloidea by various authors. Summaries of all subfamilies of Pyralidae and Crambidae present in India provide information on adult and larval morphology, food plant associations, and diversity and distribution in major biogeographic zones of India.

New data on the distribution of little-known Pyraloidea species from Croatia (Lepidoptera: Pyraloidea)

New records and data on distribution concerning 15 Pyraloidea species (Pyralidae, Crambidae) little-known in Croatia are given. The majority of the specimens were collected around the Velebit area, or lesser-studied areas of Continental Croatia, with other material collected in Dalmatia. Three species were reported for the first time from the Mountainous and the Continental geographic area. Within these studied regions, one species was recorded for the first time after more than 150 years, six species after more than 120 years, four species after more than 100 years and five species after almost 70 years. Altogether 13 out of the total of 15 species were recorded for the first time in recent investigations from Croatia: one after an absence of 120 years, three species for the first time in 70 years and nine after almost 20 years.

New species and new records of Pyraloid moths (Lepidoptera: Pyraloidea) from Turkey.

In this paper, twelve Pyraloidea species are newly recorded in the Turkish fauna. A new species of Pyralidae (Phycitinae), Ancylosis igdirensis sp. nov. is described. And, the female genitalia of Sciota campicolella Erschoff, 1874 is described for the first time. The pictures related to the species are illustrated.

Contribution to the knowledge of the Croatian Pyraloidea fauna. Species reported from Biokovo Natural Park (Insecta: Lepidoptera)

Little is known on the occurrence of Pyraloidea species from Croatian mountains and there is no species list from Mountain of Biokovo. We provide new data on Pyraloidea species recorded from Biokovo Natural Park. The species list contains information on date and locality of species recorded during field surveys conducted by the first author between 2016 and 2019 and the second author between 1985 and 2018. During these field surveys, 71 Pyraloidea species were recorded. The list was complemented with six species known only from literature data. Altogether we report 77 Pyraloidea species, 54 belonging to the family Crambidae and 23 belonging to the family Pyralidae. This represents about 20,5% of the overall Croatian Pyraloidea fauna. Some interesting species that have been previously known only from historic literature are reported from Biokovo Mountain, for example, Catoptria acutangulella (Herrich-Schäffer, 1847), a montane specie that has not been recorded in Croatia since 1896 and Biokovo Mountain since 1850 (the results have been published elsewhere). The species Mecyna trinalis ([Denis & Schiffermüller], 1775) has been recorded for the first time in Dalmatia. The species Udea numeralis (Hübner, [1796]), Evergestis limbata (Linnaeus, 1767) and Hypsopygia fulvocilialis (Duponchel, 1834) have been reported for the first time from Dalmatia in almost 150 years and the species Selagia spadicella (Hübner, [1796]), Agriphila inquinatella ([Denis & Schiffermüller], 1775) and Agriphila straminella ([Denis & Schiffermüller], 1775) have been reported for the first time in almost 100 years. Also, 15 species have been reported for the first time from Dalmatia in decades, like Dolicharthria bruguieralis (Duponchel, 1833), a species that has not been reported in almost 85 years.This paper deepens the knowledge on the distribution of Pyraloidea species occurring in Biokovo Natural Park and reconfirms the occurrence of many species that have not been reported from Croatia in decades.

Comparative Mitochondrial Analysis of Cnaphalocrocis exigua (Lepidoptera: Crambidae) and Its Close Relative C. medinalis.

Rice leaffolders are important pests on rice in Asia, Oceania, and Africa, causing serious loss to rice production. There are two main rice leaffolders in China, namely Cnaphalocrocis medinalis (Guenée) and C. exigua (Butler) with the former having the ability of long-distance migration. To reveal the differences in the mitochondrial genomes (mitogenome) between them, we compared the completed mitogenome of C. exigua with three C. medinalis individuals. Although phylogenetic analysis based on the mitogenomic data strongly supported the close relationship between these two species, many differences were still being revealed. The results showed that the mitogenome of C. exigua was shorter in length (15,262 bp) and slight lower in AT content than that of C. medinalis. Except for the different start codons of nad3 and nad6 gene, we also found the cox1 gene had a typical start codon ‘ATG’ which suggested that the starting position of this gene must be reconsidered in the entire superfamily Pyraloidea. All tRNAs have a typical clover-leaf structure, except for the dihydrouridine (DHU) stem losing of trnS1, which has the atypical anticondon ‘TCT’ instead of ‘GCT’ in C. medinalis and most Pyraloidea species. Two intergenic regions (between trnY and cox1, nad3 and trnA) featured by AT repeats were only found in C. medinalis and even rarely appeared in reported Pyraloidea species. Furthermore, regardless of interspecific comparison or intraspecific comparison of these two species, protein coding genes, especially the atp8 genes, had quite different evolutionary rates.

Investigations on the Fauna of Pyraloidea and Geometridae (Lepidoptera) of Nemrut Caldera Natural Monument

This study is conducted between May and October 2017 and 2018, during the day and night by field studies on the foothills of Nemrut Caldera and Mount Nemrut by targeting the detection of Pyraloidea and Geometridae moth species. As a result of the field studies, 93 taxa belonging to Pyraloidea and 52 species of Geometridae are determined. Of these taxa, 80 species belonging to the Pyraloidea and, 40 species belonging to the Geometridae have been identified for the first time in Nemrut Caldera. With these records, the number of Pyraloidea species in Nemrut Caldera increased to 94 and the number of Geometridae species increased to 58. And, of these taxa, 20 species of Pyraloidea, and 21 of Geometridae are new records for the Bitlis province. The number of pyraloid species in the Bitlis province has risen to 238 and also the number of geometrid species to 137.

Identification and Field Evaluation of the Sex Pheromone of Orthaga achatina (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae).

Orthaga achatina (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae) is the most serious pest in south China of camphor trees, Cinnamomum camphora (L.) Presl, an important urban tree species. Gas chromatography-electroantennographic detection (GC-EAD) of the sex pheromone of O. achatina showed three EAD-active components. Coupled gas chromatography/mass spectrometry analyses identified these as (Z)-11-hexadecenol (Z11-16:OH), (Z)-11-hexadecenyl acetate (Z11-16:OAc), and (3Z,6Z,9Z,12Z,15Z)-tricosapentaene (Z3,Z6,Z9,Z12,Z15-23:H). In field tests using different combinations of the three compounds, male moths were attracted to a mixture of Z11-16:OAc and Z3,Z6,Z9,Z12,Z15-23:H, but less attracted to other blends. Further field tests with different ratios of the two compounds determined the optimal ratio of the binary blend as 500:250. The addition of Z11-16:OH to Z11-16:OAc, or to the binary mixture of Z11-16: OAc and the pentaene did not yield higher catches. This shows that O. achatina uses a mixture of Type I and Type II sex pheromone components. Orthaga achatina is the third Pyraloidea species found to utilize Z3,Z6,Z9,Z12,Z15-23:H as a sex pheromone component.

Structural characterization and applications of ITS2 from rice leaffolders Cnaphalocrocis medinalis and Marasmia patnalis (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae)

Cnaphalocrocis medinalis and Marasmia patnalis are important rice insect pests in Asia and have similar morphologic features and same feeding patterns. Understanding the molecular difference of the two leaffolders is helpful to their identification and clarification of their phylogenetic class in the Pyraloidea. In this study, we determined and analyzed the nucleotide sequences of nuclear rDNA internal transcribed spacer 2 (ITS2) in the two rice leaffolders from 9 populations (six C. medinalis populations collected from China, Philippine, Thailand, and Vietnam, and three M. patnalis populations from Philippine, Thailand, and Vietnam) and compared interspecies variation of IST2 among different geographic populations and intraspecies variation of ITS2 from Pyraloidea. Phylogenetic trees were constructed on the two leaffolders and other Pyraloidea species using Maximum Parsimony method. Results showed that the ITS2 sequences differed in the two leaffolders. Compared to C. medinalis, ITS2 of M. patnalis had small deletion at the sites of 41, 72, 81, 304 and an insertion at the site of 337. Interspecies variation results showed that three C. medinalis populations from Southeast Asia (VN, PH, and TH) are with small divergence compared to NJ and HZ, and small divergence was observed among three M. patnalis populations (VN, PH, and TH). Intraspecies variation results showed that two leaffolders were with close relationship compared to the other Pyraloidea. Phylogenetic trees showed that two leaffolders were grouped together with Maruca vitrata. These results indicated that the ITS2 sequences differed in the two leaffolders could potentially be used in the distinguishing of the two rice leaffolders and the determination on the phylogeny of species.

Complete mitochondrial genome of the meadow moth, Loxostege sticticalis (Lepidoptera: Pyraloidea: Crambidae), compared to other Pyraloidea moths

The mitochondrial genome (mitogenome) is an important topic for comparative and evolutionary genomics, as well as phylogenetic and population genetics. However, there are limited data regarding the mitochondrial genome available of Pyraloidea, one of the largest superfamilies in Lepidoptera. In this report, we present the complete mitogenome of the meadow moth, Loxostege sticticalis L. (Lepidoptera: Pyraloidea: Crambidae), which is a serious economic pest of both crops and weeds worldwide, thereby enhancing the available genomic information for Pyraloidea. This circular genome is 15,218bp in length, containing 13 protein-coding genes (PCGs), two rRNA genes (rRNAs), and 22 tRNA genes (tRNAs), with a typical gene orientation and order comparable to other sequenced Pyraloidea insects. The genome composition of the major strand exhibits highly AT bias (80.82%), with a slightly positive AT skew indicating the occurrence of more As than Ts. The L. sticticalis mitogenome has a total of 130bp of intergenic spacer sequences spread over 15 regions, ranging in size from 1 to 48bp, of which only two are common among the 23 total Pyraloidea moths that have data collected on the mitogenome (one is located between tRNAGln and ND2 with variation change in length and a limited sequence conservation, and the other is located between tRNASer(UCN) and ND1 with a conserved 6bp motif ‘ATACTA’). The A + T-rich region of 331bp in the genome is comprised of non-repetitive sequences but contains an ATAGN motif followed by a poly-T stretch of 17bp, a microsatellite-like (TA)11 element preceded by an ATTTA motif, and a poly-A stretch upstream tRNAMet. These conserved structures identified in the A + T-rich region are presented in all of the sequenced Pyraloidea species. We provide a mitogenome-based phylogeny of Pyraloidea species, in which L. sticticalis shares close ancestry to Ostrinia species with substantial evidence. Our phylogenetic analyses strongly divide Crambidae into two sister lineages, one consisting of Pyraustinae and Spilomelinae, while the other contains Crambinae, Acentropinae, Scopariinae, Schoenobiinae and Glaphyriinae. The mitogenome dataset also supports the basal split between Pyraustinae and Spilomelinae.

Reexamination of the female sex pheromone of the sweet potato vine borer moth: identification and field evaluation of a tricosatriene.

The sweet potato vine borer moth, Omphisa anastomosalis (Pyraloidea: Crambidae), is a serious pest in tropical and subtropical Asia-Pacific regions. In previous work using a population from Okinawa, Japan, (10E,14E)-10,14-hexadecadienal (E10,E14-16:Ald) was identified as the major pheromone component, with hexadecanal, (E)-10-hexadecenal, and (E)-14-hexadecenal as minor components. However, traps baited with the synthetic compounds were less effective at attracting males in the field than those baited with virgin females. While Pyraloidea females usually produce only Type I pheromone components (unsaturated fatty alcohols and their derivatives), the pheromones of some Pyraloidea species have been shown to involve a combination of both Type I and Type II components (unsaturated hydrocarbons and their epoxides). We examined an extract of the pheromone glands of female O. anastomosalis from Vietnam by gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry and detected (3Z,6Z,9Z)-3,6,9-tricosatriene (Z3,Z6,Z9-23:H) in addition to the compounds identified previously. All four isomers of 10,14-16:Ald were synthesized. A mixture of synthetic E10,E14-16:Ald and Z3,Z6,Z9-23:H in a ratio of 1:0.2-1:2 was attractive to male moths in Vietnam, indicating the strong synergistic effect of the Type II compound. Addition of the other minor pheromone components to the binary blend did not increase the number of male moths captured. Combinations of Z3,Z6,Z9-23:H with the other three geometrical isomers of E10,E14-16:Ald attracted no males, further substantiating the 10E,14E configuration of the natural diene component. E10,E14-16:Ald mixed with other polyunsaturated hydrocarbons showed that mixtures that included a C21 triene, a C22 triene, or a C23 pentaene attracted as many males as did the mixture with Z3,Z6,Z9-23:H. The identification of a highly attractive sex pheromone will help in developing efficient strategies for monitoring and control of O. anastomosalis populations in sweet potato fields.

ОГНЕВКООБРАЗНЫЕ ЧЕШУЕКРЫЛЫЕ (LEPIDOPTERA, PYRALOIDEA) ОМСКОЙ ОБЛАСТИ

An annotated check-list of 149 Pyraloidea species reliably known from the territory of Omsk Province is presented, including 105 species newly recorded from the territory, and 38 species – from the southern region of West Siberia.

The complete mitochondrial genome of Paracymoriza prodigalis (Leech, 1889) (Lepidoptera), with a preliminary phylogenetic analysis of Pyraloidea

The complete mitochondrial genome sequence is determined for Paracymoriza prodigalis (Leech, 1889). The 15,326 bp circular molecule possesses a gene organization and order identical to other sequenced Pyraloidea mitochondrial genomes. All tRNAs have the typical clover-leaf structure except for tRNASer(AGN), which lacks the dihydrouridine (DHU) arm. The A+T-rich region of 343 bp includes the features common to the Lepidoptera, including the ‘ATAGA’ followed by an 19-bp poly-T stretch, but the tandem repeat sequences often appearing in available insects are not found. Phylogenetic relationships of eight subfamilies of 14 Pyraloidea species were constructed based on 13 PCGs of mitochondrial genomes using Bayesian inference (BI) and maximum likelihood (ML) methods. These phylogenies of the subfamilies within Pyraloidea accord well with morphological phylogenetic analysis except for the position of Schoenobiinae.

Characterization of the complete mitochondrial genome of Tryporyza incertulas, in comparison with seven other Pyraloidea moths

The complete 15,223-bp mitochondrial genome (mitogenome) of Tryporyza incertulas (Walker) (Lepidoptera: Pyraloidea: Crambidae) was determined, characterized and compared with seven other species of superfamily Pyraloidea. The order of 37 genes was typical of insect mitochondrial DNA sequences described to date. Compared with other moths of Pyraloidea, the A+T biased (77.0%) of T. incertulas was the lowest. Eleven protein-coding genes (PCGs) utilized the standard ATN, but cox1 used CGA and nad4 used AAT as the initiation codons. Ten protein-coding genes had the common stop codon TAA, except nad3 having TAG as the stop codon, and cox2, nad4 using T, TA as the incomplete stop codons, respectively. All of the tRNA genes had typical cloverleaf secondary structures except trnS1(AGN), in which the dihydrouridine (DHU) arm did not form a stable stem-loop structure. There was a spacer between trnQ and nad2, which was common in Lepidoptera moths. A 6-bp motif ‘ATACTA’ between trnS2(UCN) and nad1, a 7-bp motif “AGC(T)CTTA” between trnW and trnC and a 6-bp motif “ATGATA” of overlapping region between atp8 and atp6 were found in Pyraloidea moths. The A+T-rich region contained an ‘ATAGT(A)’-like motif followed by a poly-T stretch. In addition, two potential stem-loop structures, a duplicated 19-bp repeat element, and two microsatellites ‘(TA)12’ and ‘(TA)9’ were observed in the A+T-rich region of T. incertulas mitogenome. Finally, the phylogenetic relationships of Pyraloidea species were constructed based on amino acid sequences of 13 PCGs of mitogenomes using Bayesian inference (BI) and maximum likelihood (ML) methods. These molecular-based phylogenies supported the morphological classification on relationships within Pyraloidea species.

Новые данные о распространении редких видов огневок и совок (Lepidoptera: Pyraloidea, Noctuoidea) по материалам из Ростовской области (Россия)

Новые данные о распространении редких видов огневок и совок (Lepidoptera: Pyraloidea, Noctuoidea) по материалам из Ростовской области (Россия)

Diversity of lepidopteran stem borers on monocotyledonous plants in eastern Africa and the islands of Madagascar and Zanzibar revisited

Surveys were completed in Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Madagascar, Mozambique, Tanzania, Uganda and Zanzibar to assess the lepidopteran stem borer species diversity on wild host plants. A total of 24,674 larvae belonging to 135 species were collected from 75 species of wild host plants belonging to the Poaceae, Cyperaceae and Typhaceae. Amongst them were 44 noctuid species belonging to at least nine genera, 33 crambids, 15 pyralids, 16 Pyraloidea species not yet identified, 25 tortricids and three cossids. The noctuid larvae represented 73.6% of the total number of larvae collected, with 66.3, 3.5 and 3.8% found on Poaceae, Cyperaceae and Typhaceae, respectively. The Crambidae, Pyralidae, Tortricidae and Cossidae represented 19.8, 1.9, 2.5 and 0.1% of the total larvae collected, respectively, with 90.4% of the Crambidae and Pyralidae collected from Poaceae, and 99.7% of the Tortricidae collected from Cyperaceae. The lepidopteran stem borer species diversity in the wild host plants was far more diverse than previously reported.

Diversity of lepidopteran stem borers on monocotyledonous plants in eastern Africa and the islands of Madagascar and Zanzibar revisited

AbstractSurveys were completed in Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Madagascar, Mozambique, Tanzania, Uganda and Zanzibar to assess the lepidopteran stem borer species diversity on wild host plants. A total of 24,674 larvae belonging to 135 species were collected from 75 species of wild host plants belonging to the Poaceae, Cyperaceae and Typhaceae. Amongst them were 44 noctuid species belonging to at least nine genera, 33 crambids, 15 pyralids, 16 Pyraloidea species not yet identified, 25 tortricids and three cossids. The noctuid larvae represented 73.6% of the total number of larvae collected, with 66.3, 3.5 and 3.8% found on Poaceae, Cyperaceae and Typhaceae, respectively. The Crambidae, Pyralidae, Tortricidae and Cossidae represented 19.8, 1.9, 2.5 and 0.1% of the total larvae collected, respectively, with 90.4% of the Crambidae and Pyralidae collected from Poaceae, and 99.7% of the Tortricidae collected from Cyperaceae. The lepidopteran stem borer species diversity in the wild host plants was far more diverse than previously reported.