FIGS 17-23 - uploaded by Bryan A. Connolly
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Miracavira brillians (17-22) and Amphipyra pyramidoides (23) larvae. (17) First instar. (18) Second instar. (19) Third instar. (20) Fourth instar. (21) Fifth instar. (22) Fifth instar, head. (23) Fifth instar Amphipyra pyramidoides.
Source publication
The egg, larva, pupa, and male genitalia of Miracavira brillians (Barnes) are described and illustrated, and obser-vations are provided on the insect's life history and larval biology. Miracavira brillians is transferred from the Acronictinae to the Amphipyrinae: Psaphidini: Feraliina based on numerous larval, pupal, and adult characters. Both larv...
Citations
... Each of these genera contains only one or two species. Several changes to the subtribe have occurred since it was first proposed: Triocnemidini was removed briefly from Psaphidinae based on pupa morphology and larva biology (Kitching and Rawlins 1999), but reassigned to it by Fibiger and Lafontaine (2005); Psaphidinae was subsumed as a tribe of Amphipyrinae based on larva morphology (Wagner et al. 2008); Unciella was described; and Oxycnemis was found to be a paraphyletic assemblage of genera belonging in two subfamilies (Keegan et al. 2019). In the latest checklist of Pohl and Nanz (2023) "Oxycnemis" gracillinea Grote is moved provisionally to Sympistis Hübner (Oncocnemidinae) along with "Oxycnemis" acuna (Barnes), and Hemigrotella argenteostriata Barnes & McDunnough is included in Triocnemidina for the first time. ...
Pooleagen. nov. is described for two noctuid species from southwestern United States: Poolea grandimacula Barnes & McDunnough, comb. nov., previously in Oxycnemis Grote, and Poolea psaphidoidessp. nov.Poolea is compared to Oxycnemis (Amphipyrinae, Psaphidini, Triocnemidina) and is retained in the same subtribe. Adult moths and male and female genitalia of Poolea species are illustrated along with those of Oxycnemis advena Grote, the genus type species. Pertinent recent taxonomic changes to Amphipyrinae classification are reviewed.
... The Palaearctic genus Valeria Stephens, 1829 belongs to the subtribe Psaphidina of the tribe Psaphidini of the subfamily Amphipyrinae (Wagner et al. 2008;Lafontaine & Schmidt 2010;Ronkay et al. 2011;Zahiri et al. 2011;Keegan et al. 2019Keegan et al. , 2021. The genus has relatively recently been revised by Ronkay et al. (2011), who considered seven species known from western and eastern parts of Eurasia. ...
A new species of the genus Valeria Stephens, 1829, Valeria kalashiani sp. n. is described from south-eastern Armenia (south-western Vayots Dzor Province). The diagnostic comparison is made with V. kartalea Kuhna & Schmitz, 1997 and V. schreieri Hacker & Ebert, 2002. Adults, male and female genitalia are illustrated.
... The genus Himalaea Hreblay & L. Ronkay, 1998 belongs to the subtribe Psaphidina of the tribe Psaphidini of the subfamily Amphipyrinae (Wagner et al. 2008;Lafontaine & Schmidt 2010;Ronkay et al. 2011;Zahiri et al. 2011;Keegan et al. 2019Keegan et al. , 2021. It was erected to include the only species Himalaea unica Hreblay & L. Ronkay, 1998 described by a single male from south-eastern Xizang Autonomous Region of China (Hreblay et al. 1998). ...
A new species of the genus Himalaea Hreblay & L. Ronkay, 1998, Himalaea batanga sp. n. is described from western Sichuan Province of China. The new species is the second known member of the genus well different from the type species in both external and male genitalia morphology. Adults and male genitalia of both species of Himalaea are illustrated.
... Based on their assessment, Amphipyrinae, Psaphidinae and Stiriinae exhibited mixtures of primitive and derived states and, accordingly, were grouped near each other in the middle of their phylogenetic sequence of subfamilies. Wagner et al. (2008) recommended subsuming Psaphidinae into Amphipyrinae, as a tribe, based on shared larval characters (e.g. head retracted into prothorax and A8 being sharply angulate) and male genitalic features (e.g. finger-like ampulla and vesica with numerous spike-like cornuti). ...
Amphipyrinae have long been a catchall taxon for Noctuidae, with most members lacking discernible morphological synapomorphies that would allow their assignment to one of the many readily diagnosable noctuid subfamilies. Here data from seven gene regions (> 5500 bp) for more than 120 noctuid genera are used to infer a phylogeny for Amphipyrinae and related subfamilies. Sequence data for 57 amphipyrine genera – most represented by the type species of the genus – are examined. We present here the first large‐scale molecular phylogenetic study of Amphipyrinae and the largest molecular phylogeny of Noctuidae to date; several proposed nomenclatural changes for well‐supported results; and the identification of areas of noctuid phylogeny where greater taxon sampling and/or genomic‐scale data are needed. Adult and larval morphology, along with life‐history traits, for taxonomic groupings most relevant to the results are discussed. Amphipyrinae are significantly redefined; many former amphipyrines, excluded as a result of these analyses, are reassigned to other noctuid subfamily‐level taxa. Four genera, Chamaeclea Grote, Heminocloa Barnes & Benjamin, Hemioslaria Barnes & Benjamin and Thurberiphaga Dyar, are transferred to the tribe Chamaecleini Keegan & Wagner tribe n. in Acontiinae. Stiriina is elevated to Stiriinae rev. stat., Grotellina is elevated to Grotellinae rev. stat. and Annaphilina is elevated to Annaphilini rev. stat. Acopa Harvey is transferred to Bryophilinae, Aleptina Dyar is transferred to Condicinae, Leucocnemis Hampson and Oxycnemis gracillinea (Grote) are transferred to Oncocnemidinae, Nacopa Barnes & Benjamin is transferred to Noctuinae and Narthecophora Smith is transferred to Stiriinae. Azenia Grote (and its subtribe Azeniina), Cropia Walker, Metaponpneumata Möschler, Sexserrata Barnes & Benjamin and Tristyla Smith are transferred to Noctuidae incertae sedis. Hemigrotella Barnes & McDunnough (formerly in subtribe Grotellina) is retained in Amphipyrinae. Argentostiria Poole and Bistica Dyar are retained in Stiriini but removed from incertae sedis position.
This published work has been registered on ZooBank: http://zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:4A140782‐31BA‐445A‐B7BA‐6EAB98ED43FA.
... Based on their assessment, Amphipyrinae, Psaphidinae and Stiriinae exhibited mixtures of primitive and derived states and, accordingly, were grouped near each other in the middle of their phylogenetic sequence of subfamilies. Wagner et al. (2008) recommended subsuming Psaphidinae into Amphipyrinae, as a tribe, based on shared larval characters (e.g. head retracted into prothorax and A8 being sharply angulate) and male genitalic features (e.g. finger-like ampulla and vesica with numerous spike-like cornuti). ...
Amphipyrinae have long been a catchall taxon for Noctuidae, with most members lacking discernible morphological synapomorphies that would allow their assignment to one of the many readily diagnosable noctuid subfamilies. Here data from seven gene regions (>5,500 base pairs) for more than 120 noctuid genera are used to infer a phylogeny for Amphipyrinae and related subfamilies. Sequence data for 57 amphipyrine genera—most represented by the type species of the genus—are examined. Presented here are: the first large-scale molecular phylogenetic study of Amphipyrinae and largest molecular phylogeny of Noctuidae to date; several proposed nomenclatural changes for well supported results; and the identification of areas of noctuid phylogeny where greater taxon sampling and/or genomic-scale data are needed. Adult and larval morphology, along with life history traits, for taxonomic groupings most relevant to the results are discussed. Amphipyrinae are significantly redefined; many former amphipyrines, excluded as a result of these analyses, are reassigned to other noctuid subfamily-level taxa. Four genera, Chamaeclea Grote, Heminocloa Barnes & Benjamin, Hemioslaria Barnes & Benjamin, and Thurberiphaga Dyar are transferred to the tribe Chamaecleini Keegan & Wagner New Tribe in Acontiinae. Stiriina is elevated to Stiriinae Revised Status , Grotellina is elevated to Grotellinae Revised Status , and Annaphilina is elevated to Annaphilini Revised Status . Acopa Harvey is transferred to Bryophilinae, Aleptina Dyar is transferred to Condicinae, Leucocnemis Hampson and Oxycnemis gracillinea (Grote) are transferred to Oncocnemidinae, Nacopa Barnes & Benjamin is transferred to Noctuinae, and Narthecophora Smith is transferred to Stiriinae. Azenia Grote (and its subtribe Azeniina), Cropia Walker, Metaponpneumata Möschler, Sexserrata Barnes & Benjamin, and Tristyla Smith are transferred to Noctuidae incertae sedis . Hemigrotella Barnes & McDunnough (formerly in subtribe Grotellina) is retained in Amphipyrinae.
This published work has been registered in ZooBank, http://zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:4A140782-31BA-445A-B7BA-6EAB98ED43FA
... Noctuoidea, the largest of the lepidopteran superfamilies, is of specific interest, having been studied by multiple authors following the discovery of the NGP (Sokolov 1936, Henke andKruse 1941). Our focus on the Acronictinae (Lepidoptera: Macroheterocera: Noctuidae) is occasioned by several recent systematic studies (Wagner 2007, Wagner et al. 2008, Schmidt et al. 2014, Rota et al. 2016) and by a number of biological attributes amenable to the study of wing pattern. The Acronictinae are an attractive study system for at least two reasons. ...
The nymphalid groundplan (NGP) is an idealized system used to classify and interpret wing pattern elements of butterflies. Nearly a century ago, the principles of the NGP were applied to the wing patterns of higher moths (Macroheterocera). Recent advances in phylogeny and in the comparative morphology of microlepidopteran wing pattern both suggest promise in revisiting the relevance of the NGP to the more conspicuous and derived groups of large Lepidoptera. In the noctuid subfamily Acronictinae, wing patterns include elements corresponding to the central symmetry system, discal (reniform) spot, and parafocal elements of the NGP. Wing patterns in this lineage are also consistent with the ‘uniform wing-margin’ model, which was hypothesized to explain the relationship between wing venation and color pattern, and which has been corroborated in various lineages of microlepidoptera. The uniform wing-margin model does not appear to hold for butterflies, however, and has not previously been evaluated in Macroheterocera. The finding that NGP-like wing patterns in Macroheterocera share features with microlepidoptera is consistent with convergence, i.e., with independent origins of ‘the’ NGP. Furthermore this finding suggests that such superficially similar (not strictly homologous) ‘NGPs’ may have arisen via different mechanisms corresponding to ancestral differences in the relationships between wing patterns wing venation, and can be differentiated on that basis.
... With the addition of Cerma, the definition of the subfamily became further confused by providing additional exceptions to the shaky understanding of what defines an acronictine. Wagner (2008) was also able to remove a non-acronictine from the subfamily due to larval study. ...
... After Wagner had a chance to study larvae of Miracavira brillians, it became clear that the larvae do not comport with acronictine features; in all ways they resemble amphipyrines, especially those of the tribe Psaphidini. Thus the genus ended its brief stay with Acronictinae (Wagner et al. 2008). Powell and Opler (2009), in their guide to the Moths of Western North America, ther treatment of the subfamily featured the only Acronicta, Merolonche, Simyra, and Agriopodes. ...
Moths and caterpillars of the noctuid genus Acronicta Oschenheimer, 1816, widely known as dagger moths, have captured the imagination of taxonomists for centuries. Morphologically enigmatic adults and highly variable larvae prompted A. R. Grote to proclaim, "There would seem to be no genus which offers a more interesting field to the biologist for exploration," (1895). Without known synapomorphies for Acronicta, or the subfamily Acronictinae, their circumscriptions have changed over time. This dissertation delves into the taxonomic history of these taxa, setting the stage for a worldwide phylogenetic analysis of Acronictinae. The diversity of larval forms is considered in a tri-trophic framework, quantifying bottom up (host plant) and top down (predator) effects through measures of diet breadth, morphology, and behavior, all in a phylogenetic context. Adult courtship structures, present in some acronictine species, are scored across the family Noctuidae, to aid in the study of the evolution of complex morphological traits.
... As there are no unequivocal adult or larval autapomorphies for Acronictinae (Kitching and Rawlins 1998;Wagner 2007a, b), we also examined the possibility of C. tybo belonging to other basal trifine subfamilies, most notably the Amphipyrinae, Psaphidini, which share some similarities with C. tybo (elongate valve, flattened setae forming valve corona, green forewing colouration, elongate tegumen). As is the case for Acronictinae (Beck 1999;Wagner 2007a, b), the best diagnostic characters for Psaphidini are those of the immature stages (Wagner et al. 2008). The larva of C. tybo shares a number of similarities with those of Comachara Franclemont and Polygrammate Hübner (Fig. 20;Wagner et al. 2011); all three genera share a similar ground colour; long, slender, darkened dorsal setae; proportionately large, pale green, smooth and unmarked head capsule; thickened subdorsal line and broken middorsal stripe represented by anterior and posterior fragments. ...
... As there are no unequivocal adult or larval autapomorphies for Acronictinae (Kitching and Rawlins 1998;Wagner 2007a, b), we also examined the possibility of C. tybo belonging to other basal trifine subfamilies, most notably the Amphipyrinae, Psaphidini, which share some similarities with C. tybo (elongate valve, flattened setae forming valve corona, green forewing colouration, elongate tegumen). As is the case for Acronictinae (Beck 1999;Wagner 2007a, b), the best diagnostic characters for Psaphidini are those of the immature stages (Wagner et al. 2008). The larva of C. tybo shares a number of similarities with those of Comachara Franclemont and Polygrammate Hübner (Fig. 20;Wagner et al. 2011); all three genera share a similar ground colour; long, slender, darkened dorsal setae; proportionately large, pale green, smooth and unmarked head capsule; thickened subdorsal line and broken middorsal stripe represented by anterior and posterior fragments. ...
AbstractThe taxonomic composition and systematic position of Agriopodes Hampson is examined through an integrated approach using adult and larval morphology, biology, and molecular sequence data. The type-species of Agriopodes, Moma fallax Herrich-Schäffer is shown to be derived within the Acronicta grisea Walker species-group; accordingly, Agriopodes is relegated to synonymy under Acronicta Ochsenheimer, syn. n. (Acronictinae). Additionally, molecular markers and morphology show that Agriopodes is not monophyletic: Agriopodes tybo (Barnes) is not closely related to A. fallax nor to Acronicta, and is transferred to a new genus, Chloronycta Schmidt & Anweiler, gen. n. The immature stages of Chloronycta tybo
comb. n. are described and illustrated for the first time. Although previously treated as a valid species, we show that Agriopodes geminata (Smith) represents the northern terminus of clinal variation in wing pattern of A. fallax and synonymize A. geminata under A. fallax (syn. n.). The history and identity of Agriopodes corticosa (Boisduval), a nomen dubium, is discussed.
... La subfamilia fue restringida a unos pocos géneros por Poole (1995) y Kitching & Rawlins (1998). Recientemente, sobre la base de la variabilidad de los caracteres larvales y genitales, Psaphidinae fue incorporada a los Amphipyrinae como tribu (Wagner et al., 2008) al igual que Stiriinae (Lafontaine & Schmidt, 2010;Pohl et al., 2010). ...
Los noctuidos, comúnmente llamados “polillas”, son lepidópteros de distribución mundial. Muchas especies son importantes plagas agrícolas, llegando a producir hasta un 100% de pérdida en la cosecha. A pesar de su importancia económica, la familia todavía no se encuentra bien definida así como tampoco las relaciones entre las subfamilias. En esta contribución se señalan los cambios que sufrió la familia a lo largo de los años y los últimos trabajos de filogenia supragenérica. Se provee la primera lista de especies argentinas, e información sobre diagnosis e importancia económica para cada una de las subfamilias.
