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Live Eois and habitats. aÐt, caterpillars of 18 Eois species collected in southern Ecuador (Reserva Biolo ́ gica San Francisco and surroundings), reared by F. Bodner between 2007 and 2009. u and v, host plant and habitat photographs taken in the study area. s, Eois sp. nr. russearia taking up ßuid from the ground. t, Eois sp. nr. nigrinotata sitting on a dead leaf (both images from Parque Nacional Podocarpus entrance at Rio Bombuscaro, Ϸ 1,000 masl, 2000Ð2200 hours, 24Ð27-XI-2008). wÐz, Eois moths attracted to UV light at 3,000 masl (Parque Nacional Podocarpus, Cajanuma, Ϸ 2000 hours, 20-XI-2008). (Online Þgure in color.)
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The moth genus Eois Hübner (Lepidoptera: Geometridae: Larentiinae) comprises 254 validly described species, 211 of them (83%) occurring in the Neotropical region, 12% in the Asian-Australian region, and 5% in Africa. A checklist of Neotropical Eois is provided and some taxonomic changes are made. Aplogompha noctilaria (Schaus) is excluded from the...
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... few species, such as Eois inflammata (Dognin), have pinkish bands, whereas species related to Eois pallidicosta (Warren) (Fig. 3q) or Eois nigriceps (Warren) (Fig. 3u) are dull brownish. The wings are held outstretched at rest ( Fig. 6t and wÐy). Wing undersides usually show few deviations from the fore- wings; their colors are generally less bright and pat- terns are less pronounced than on the upper side (on the contrary, other larentiine moths such as Hag- nagora Druce and Callipia Guené e rest with folded wings and their undersides exhibit accentuated pat- ...
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... Stages. Caterpillars (Fig. 6aÐr) are typical geometrid larvae with mostly slender bodies and prolegs only on abdominal segments A6 and A10. They are rather variable in shape and coloration. In members of the adimaria clade, the larvae tend to be elongated and transparently greenish (Fig. 6b and c), but in other spe- cies they are stouter. Most caterpillars are green, ...
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... Stages. Caterpillars (Fig. 6aÐr) are typical geometrid larvae with mostly slender bodies and prolegs only on abdominal segments A6 and A10. They are rather variable in shape and coloration. In members of the adimaria clade, the larvae tend to be elongated and transparently greenish (Fig. 6b and c), but in other spe- cies they are stouter. Most caterpillars are green, and many have brownish, reddish, or black spots or bands Fig. 2. Twenty-eight Eois adult moths. HT, holotype; ST, syntype; and nr, near. Genitalia of nine species are shown in Fig. 4. Specimens not labeled as type material are from two study areas in southern ...
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... caterpillars are green, and many have brownish, reddish, or black spots or bands Fig. 2. Twenty-eight Eois adult moths. HT, holotype; ST, syntype; and nr, near. Genitalia of nine species are shown in Fig. 4. Specimens not labeled as type material are from two study areas in southern Ecuador and Costa Rica (see Table 2). (Online Þgure in color.) (Fig. 6kÐp), or they exhibit completely dark patterns ( Fig. 6i and r). Species related to E. olivacea and E. olivaria show particularly contrasting patterns, including bright and dark spots dorsally ( Fig. 6m and n), and pink spots laterally (Fig. 6m) in some species, whereas others exhibit merely some pale patches (not shown). Eois sp. near ...
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... or black spots or bands Fig. 2. Twenty-eight Eois adult moths. HT, holotype; ST, syntype; and nr, near. Genitalia of nine species are shown in Fig. 4. Specimens not labeled as type material are from two study areas in southern Ecuador and Costa Rica (see Table 2). (Online Þgure in color.) (Fig. 6kÐp), or they exhibit completely dark patterns ( Fig. 6i and r). Species related to E. olivacea and E. olivaria show particularly contrasting patterns, including bright and dark spots dorsally ( Fig. 6m and n), and pink spots laterally (Fig. 6m) in some species, whereas others exhibit merely some pale patches (not shown). Eois sp. near catana seems to mimic bird droppings (Fig. 6a) and is the only ...
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... Fig. 4. Specimens not labeled as type material are from two study areas in southern Ecuador and Costa Rica (see Table 2). (Online Þgure in color.) (Fig. 6kÐp), or they exhibit completely dark patterns ( Fig. 6i and r). Species related to E. olivacea and E. olivaria show particularly contrasting patterns, including bright and dark spots dorsally ( Fig. 6m and n), and pink spots laterally (Fig. 6m) in some species, whereas others exhibit merely some pale patches (not shown). Eois sp. near catana seems to mimic bird droppings (Fig. 6a) and is the only species illustrated with short but pronounced cone-shaped paired dorsal appendages. Rather than feeding on whole leaves (which are often tough and ...
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... are from two study areas in southern Ecuador and Costa Rica (see Table 2). (Online Þgure in color.) (Fig. 6kÐp), or they exhibit completely dark patterns ( Fig. 6i and r). Species related to E. olivacea and E. olivaria show particularly contrasting patterns, including bright and dark spots dorsally ( Fig. 6m and n), and pink spots laterally (Fig. 6m) in some species, whereas others exhibit merely some pale patches (not shown). Eois sp. near catana seems to mimic bird droppings (Fig. 6a) and is the only species illustrated with short but pronounced cone-shaped paired dorsal appendages. Rather than feeding on whole leaves (which are often tough and hard), Eois caterpillars tend to ...
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... dark patterns ( Fig. 6i and r). Species related to E. olivacea and E. olivaria show particularly contrasting patterns, including bright and dark spots dorsally ( Fig. 6m and n), and pink spots laterally (Fig. 6m) in some species, whereas others exhibit merely some pale patches (not shown). Eois sp. near catana seems to mimic bird droppings (Fig. 6a) and is the only species illustrated with short but pronounced cone-shaped paired dorsal appendages. Rather than feeding on whole leaves (which are often tough and hard), Eois caterpillars tend to scrape the lower epider- mis and mesophyll from the leaf undersurface while leaving the epidermis of the leaf upperside intact (Fig. 6b and ...
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... bird droppings (Fig. 6a) and is the only species illustrated with short but pronounced cone-shaped paired dorsal appendages. Rather than feeding on whole leaves (which are often tough and hard), Eois caterpillars tend to scrape the lower epider- mis and mesophyll from the leaf undersurface while leaving the epidermis of the leaf upperside intact (Fig. 6b and c, g, k, l, nÐr). Only older larvae of particular Eois species eat whole parts of Piper leaves, but only when feeding on Piper species with thin, soft leaves. Other Specimens not labeled as type material are from two study areas in southern Ecuador and Costa Rica (see Table 2). (Online Þgure in color.) caterpillars create holes ...
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... whole parts of Piper leaves, but only when feeding on Piper species with thin, soft leaves. Other Specimens not labeled as type material are from two study areas in southern Ecuador and Costa Rica (see Table 2). (Online Þgure in color.) caterpillars create holes which often leave a typical pat- tern of damage, e.g., in Piper perareolatum C.DC. (Fig. 6u). Most Eois caterpillars live solitarily, but some species (e.g., Eois sp. near olivaria, Fig. 6n) are gregarious or semigregarious. Morphology of Neotropical geometrid pupae needs to be studied in more detail. Eois pupae (Fig. 6z) vary in coloration from dark brown to ochre. They do not provide conspicuous characters, except for a ...
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... Specimens not labeled as type material are from two study areas in southern Ecuador and Costa Rica (see Table 2). (Online Þgure in color.) caterpillars create holes which often leave a typical pat- tern of damage, e.g., in Piper perareolatum C.DC. (Fig. 6u). Most Eois caterpillars live solitarily, but some species (e.g., Eois sp. near olivaria, Fig. 6n) are gregarious or semigregarious. Morphology of Neotropical geometrid pupae needs to be studied in more detail. Eois pupae (Fig. 6z) vary in coloration from dark brown to ochre. They do not provide conspicuous characters, except for a relatively large frons. Eois eggs are ...
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... color.) caterpillars create holes which often leave a typical pat- tern of damage, e.g., in Piper perareolatum C.DC. (Fig. 6u). Most Eois caterpillars live solitarily, but some species (e.g., Eois sp. near olivaria, Fig. 6n) are gregarious or semigregarious. Morphology of Neotropical geometrid pupae needs to be studied in more detail. Eois pupae (Fig. 6z) vary in coloration from dark brown to ochre. They do not provide conspicuous characters, except for a relatively large frons. Eois eggs are ...
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... as adults. They are attracted to UV light ( Brehm et al. 2005Brehm et al. , 2007, and they are more frequently found in the forest understory (where most of the host plants grow) than in tree canopies (Brehm 2007). It is un- known whether the moths visit sources of nectar. Adults have sometimes been observed taking up ßuid from the ground (Fig. 6s). ...
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A new species of Lomanoxia Martínez is described from Costa Rica: L. canthonopsis Skelley and Howden. This represents the first member of the genus reported from Central America. The status of the tribe Lomanoxini Stebnicka is evaluated and is here synonymized under Eupariini LePeletier and Serville.
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... Larentiinae are the second largest subfamily of Geometridae, comprising more than 6400 described species (Rajaei et al., 2022). However, considering the estimates about the number of undescribed taxa (e.g., Brehm et al., 2011) it is evident that the actual global diversity of larentiines exceeds 7000 species. In recent years, Larentiinae have been subjected to large-scale phylogenetic studies repeatedly, with those of Europe (Aarvik et al., 2017(Aarvik et al., , 2021, supplemented by further 21 species belonging to taxonomic key groups that do not occur in this region Murillo-Ramos et al., 2019;Õunap et al., 2016). ...
A comprehensive phylogeny of north European Geometridae is reconstructed using a two‐step analytical pipeline. First, a phylogenomic backbone tree was inferred using a 117‐species subset of geometrid moths and a 35‐species set of outgroup taxa from eight other macroheteroceran families. The data matrix totalled 209,499 bp from 648 protein‐coding loci obtained using anchored hybrid enrichment technique for sequencing. This backbone was used for constructing a larger phylogeny of Geometridae based on up to 11 ‘traditional’ protein‐coding genes which were obtained for all 376 species of north European geometrids, complemented by 98 species from taxonomic key groups of Geometridae from other parts of the world. Our results largely corroborate earlier findings about higher classification of Geometridae, but new evidence nevertheless allows us to suggest several changes to the taxonomy. Lampropterygini Õunap & Nedumpally tribus nova and Pelurgini Õunap & Nedumpally tribus nova (both Larentiinae) are described. Epirranthini are regarded as a junior subjective synonym of Rumiini syn. n. Triphosini and Macariini are shown to be paraphyletic within their current limits. Costaconvexa Agenjo is transferred from Xanthorhoini to Epirrhoini new tribe association , Artiora Meyrick from Ennomini incertae sedis to Boarmiini new tribe association , Selenia Hübner from Ennominae incertae sedis to Epionini new tribe association and Epirranthis Hübner from Epirranthini to Rumiini new tribe association . Ochyria Hübner stat. rev. is revived from synonym of Xanthorhoe Hübner as a valid genus and Epelis Hulst stat. rev. and Speranza Curtis stat. rev. from synonyms of Macaria Curtis as valid genera, leading to the following new or revised combinations: Ochyria quadrifasiata (Clerck) rev. comb. , Epelis carbonaria (Clerck) comb. n. , Speranza fusca (Thunberg) comb. n. , Speranza artesiaria (Denis & Schiffermüller) rev. comb. , Speranza brunneata (Thunberg) rev. comb. , Speranza wauaria (Linnaeus) rev. comb. , Speranza loricaria (Eversmann) rev. comb. Perizoma saxicola Tikhonov rev. comb. is transferred back to its original genus from Gagitodes Warren. Hydrelia Hübner, Xanthorhoe and Heliomata Grote & Robinson are shown to be paraphyletic within their current limits.
... Based on a study with some species from Borneo (Holloway, 1997), the male genitalia lack the uncus and labides, while female genitalia present a robust bursa with multiseriate signa. Recently, Brehm et al. (2011) showed that characters from valvae and vesica on the male genitalia might be phylogenetically informative and also useful in delimiting species. ...
The genus Eois Hübner (Geometridae: Larentiinae) comprises 254 valid species, 217 of which were described from the Neotropics and 31 of those having their type locality in Brazil. Since this species rich genus has never been revised, and may potentially include many cryptic undescribed species, Eois embodies a problematic taxonomic scenario. The actual diversity of Eois is greatly underestimated and the Brazilian fauna is poorly known, both because of inadequate sampling and because of the potential existence of cryptic species "hidden" within some nominal taxa. In this study we investigated the diversity within a cryptic species complexes associated to the E. pallidicosta and E. odatis clades. We describe three new species Eois oya Moraes & Montebello sp. nov ., Eois ewa Moraes & Stanton sp. nov ., and Eois oxum Moraes & Freitas sp. nov., in an integrative taxonomy approach, using morphology, host plant use and species delimitation tools.
... The Larentiinae genus Eois Hübner represents one of the most diverse genera in Geometridae (Holloway, 1997;Scoble, 1999). Brehm et al., (2011) recognized 254 valid species, of which 207 are described and widely distributed in the Neotropical region, to extend that the type locality of 71 species is in Brazil or Colombia. The remaining 47 species are found in Africa and Southeast Asia. ...
... Based on representatives from Borneo, Holloway (1997) provided some diagnostic characters of genital morphology for the genus Eois, including: (a) the absence of uncus and labides, (b) a well-developed scaphium in males, (c) a horn-shaped signum, and (d) a multi-spinned corpus bursae in females. More recently, Brehm et al., (2011) showed that male characters associated with the valva and vesica may be phylogenetically informative and useful in delimiting species. ...
The genus Eois Hübner (Geometridae: Larentiinae) comprises 254 valid species. Being a hyperdiverse genus, Eois potentially includes many undescribed cryptic species and embodies a problematic taxonomic scenario. The actual diversity of Eois is greatly underestimated and the Neotropical fauna needs to be well known since it figures as one of the most threatened terrestrial ecosystem. In the present study, we compare three species delimitation methods to highlight the hidden diversity within a subset of Eois species: Automatic Barcode Gap Discovery, Bayesian Poisson Tree Processes and Multi‐Rate Poisson Tree Processes. Our results point to an increase up to 176% in the currently valid species number. The hypothesis of cryptic diversity is corroborated by morphological characters within some species complexes. For complexes comprising species of Brazilian fauna, we provide a preliminary taxonomic assessment. Additionally, we found no congruence among the three delimitation methods for some species complexes, which indicates the importance of species and locality sampling as well as the previous alpha taxonomic knowledge in avoiding result bias. In this sense, we tried to standardize the identification provided for the Genbank sequences used in most relevant publications for Eois, in order to minimize biases and maximize the replicability of analyses in future studies. Moreover, we stress the importance of an integrative taxonomic approach for cryptic species discovery approach by employing both morphological attributes and life history to corroborate molecular analysis.
... Therefore, we predict that molecular analysis of these Indian species may place them in Cotesia or Glyptapanteles. Investigations into the coevolution and ecology of two hyperdiverse neotropical taxa, Piper (Piperales: Piperaceae) and one of its specialist herbivores Eois (Lepidoptera: Geometridae), have identified Parapanteles wasps as the most numerous and diverse parasitoids of Eois caterpillars (Bodner et al., 2010;Brehm et al., 2011;Wilson et al., 2012). Wilson et al. (2012) identified at least six putative Eois-attacking Parapanteles species based on adult and cocoon morphology and molecular results. ...
Parapanteles Ashmead (Braconidae: Microgastrinae) is a medium-sized genus of microgastrine wasps that was erected over a century ago and lacks a unique synapomorphic character, and its monophyly has not been tested by any means. Parapanteles usually are parasitoids of large, unconcealed caterpillars (macrolepidoptera) and have been reared from an unusually large diversity of hosts for a relatively small microgastrine genus. We used Cytochrome Oxidase I sequences (“DNA barcodes”) available for Parapanteles and other microgastrines to sample the generic diversity of described and undescribed species currently placed in Parapanteles, and then sequenced four additional genes for this subsample (wingless, elongation factor 1-alpha, ribosomal subunit 28s, and NADH dehydrogenase subunit 1). We constructed individual gene trees and concatenated Bayesian and maximum-likelihood phylogenies for this 5-gene subsample. In these phylogenies, most Parapanteles species formed a monophyletic clade within another genus, Dolichogenidea, while the remaining Parapanteles species were recovered polyphyletically within several other genera. The latter likely represent misidentified members of other morphologically similar genera. Species in the monophyletic clade containing most Parapanteles parasitized caterpillars from only five families - Erebidae (Arctiinae), Geometridae, Saturniidae, Notodontidae, and Crambidae. We do not make any formal taxonomic decisions here because we were not able to include representatives of type species for Parapanteles or other relevant genera, and because we feel such decisions should be reserved until a comprehensive morphological analysis of the boundaries of these genera is accomplished.
... Caterpillars in the genus Eois (Lepidoptera: Geometridae) are Piper specialists that feed exclusively on 1-4 different Piper species (Connahs et al., 2009). They are one of the most well studied and abundant genera of caterpillars found on Piper, and over 80% of Eois species are found in the neotropics with others in Africa, Asia, and Australia (Rodríguez-Castañeda et al., 2010;Brehm et al., 2011). In contrast, the Piper skipper, Q. cerealis (Lepidoptera: Hesperiidae), has been recorded feeding on 23 Piper species; in this paper we categorise this skipper as a Piper generalist 1 . 1 | Description of the hypotheses and predictions behind each path in our supported SEM models. ...
Terrestrial tri-trophic interactions account for a large part of biodiversity, with approximately 75% represented in plant–insect–parasitoid interactions. Herbivore diet breadth is an important factor mediating these tri-trophic interactions, as specialisation can influence how herbivore fitness is affected by plant traits. We investigated how phytochemistry, herbivore immunity, and herbivore diet breadth mediate plant–caterpillar–parasitoid interactions on the tropical plant genus Piper (Piperaceae) at La Selva Biological station in Costa Rica and at Yanayacu Biological Station in Ecuador. We collected larval stages of one Piper generalist species, Quadrus cerealis, (Lepidoptera: Hesperiidae) and 4 specialist species in the genus Eois (Lepidoptera: Geometridae) from 15 different species of Piper, reared them on host leaf material, and assayed phenoloxidase activity as a measure of potential larval immunity. We combined these data with parasitism and caterpillar species diet breadth calculated from a 19-year database, as well as established values of phytochemical diversity calculated for each plant species, in order to test specific hypotheses about how these variables are related. We found that phytochemical diversity was an important predictor for herbivore immunity, herbivore parasitism, and diet breadth for specialist caterpillars, but that the direction and magnitude of these relationships differed between sites. In Costa Rica, specialist herbivore immune function was negatively associated with the phytochemical diversity of the Piper host plants, and rates of parasitism decreased with higher immune function. The same was true for Ecuador with the exception that there was a positive association between immune function and phytochemical diversity. Furthermore, phytochemical diversity did not affect herbivore immunity and parasitism for the more generalised herbivore. Results also indicated that small differences in herbivore diet breadth are an important factor mediating herbivore immunity and parasitism success for Eois at both sites. These patterns contribute to a growing body of literature that demonstrate strong cascading effects of phytochemistry on higher trophic levels that are dependent on herbivore specialisation and that can vary in space and time. Investigating the interface between herbivore immunity, plant chemical defence, and parasitoids is an important facet of tri-trophic interactions that can help to explain the enormous amount of biodiversity found in the tropics.
... constantinaria (Oberthür, 1881) -was described (Oberthür 1881). Twelve further taxa were described between 1904 and 1914 by Thierry-Mieg (1904), Warren (1904Warren ( , 1905Warren ( , 1907 and Dognin (1913Dognin ( , 1914, and two by Sperry (1951), reflecting a typical temporal pattern and peak of taxonomic activity around 1900 also found in many other Neotropical geometrid taxa (Gaston et al. 1995;Brehm et al. 2011;Brehm 2015). In their catalogue of geometrid moths, Parsons et al. (1999) treated 15 of these 16 taxa; only the taxon C. confluens Warren, 1907 is not listed in the catalogue, it was originally described as a form of Callipia balteata Warren, 1905. ...
... The situation in less conspicuous taxa is much worse: higher proportions of species still remain undescribed, and many species of small taxa (such as Eupithecia Curtis, 1825) still need to be sampled, because they are not represented in any museum collection. For example, Brehm et al. (2011) estimated the percentage of undescribed species in the Neotropical Larentiinae genus Eois Hübner, 1818 at 85%. ...
The vividly coloured Neotropical genus Callipia Guenée (1858) (Lepidoptera Linnaeus, 1758, Geometridae (Leach, 1815), Larentiinae (Leach, 1815), Stamnodini Forbes, 1948) is revised and separated into four species groups, according to a provisional phylogeny based on Cytochrome Oxidase I (COI) gene data and morphology. Fourteen new species are described using COI data and morphology: a) in the balteata group: C. fiedleri sp. nov., C. jakobi sp. nov., C. lamasi sp. nov.; b) in the vicinaria group: C. hausmanni sp. nov., C. walterfriedlii sp. nov.; c) in the parrhasiata group: C. augustae sp. nov., C. jonai sp. nov., C. karsholti sp. nov., C. levequei sp. nov., C. milleri sp. nov., C. sihvoneni sp. nov., C. wojtusiaki sp. nov. and d) in the constantinaria group: C. hiltae sp. nov., C. rougeriei sp. nov. One new subspecies is described: C. wojtusiaki septentrionalis subsp. nov. Two species are revived from synonymy: C. intermedia Dognin, 1914 stat. rev. and C. occulta Warren, 1904 stat. rev. The taxon hamaria Sperry, 1951 is transferred from being a junior synonym of C. constantinaria Oberthür, 1881 to being a junior synonym of C. occulta stat. rev. The taxon admirabilis Warren, 1904 is confirmed as being a junior synonym of C. paradisea Thierry-Mieg, 1904. The taxon languescens Warren, 1904 is confirmed as being a junior synonym of C. rosetta, Thierry-Mieg, 1904 and the taxon confluens Warren, 1905 is confirmed as being a junior synonym of C. balteata Warren, 1905. The status of the remaining species is not changed: C. aurata Warren, 1904, C. brenemanae Sperry, 1951, C. parrhasiata Guenée, 1858, C. flagrans Warren, 1904, C. fulvida Warren, 1907 and C. vicinaria Dognin. All here recognised 28 species are illustrated and the available molecular genetic information of 27 species, including Barcode Index Numbers (BINs) for most of the taxa is provided. The almost threefold increase from 10 to 28 valid species shows that species richness of tropical moths is strongly underestimated even in relatively conspicuous taxa. Callipia occurs from medium to high elevations in wet parts of the tropical and subtropical Andes from Colombia to northern Argentina. The early stages and host plants are still unknown.
... Eois Hübner is one of the most species rich genera of geometrid moths in the subfamily Larentiinae. The genus currently comprises 254 validly described species, 211 of them (83%) occurring in the Neotropical region, 12% in the Oriental-Australian region, and 5% in Africa [9]. It is expected that only a small fraction of the true richness has been taxonomically described so far [9,10]. ...
... The genus currently comprises 254 validly described species, 211 of them (83%) occurring in the Neotropical region, 12% in the Oriental-Australian region, and 5% in Africa [9]. It is expected that only a small fraction of the true richness has been taxonomically described so far [9,10]. A previous molecular phylogeny of Eois by [11] provided strong support for the monophyly of the genus Eois as a whole, as well as for the clades formed by the Neotropical and Old World members of Eois, respectively. ...
... Eois moths have been the focus of rearing programmes and host plant studies [12,13,14,15]. They also were central to studies on tritrophic relationships [16], on interactions with host plant secondary metabolites [17,18], on general biodiversity patterns in the Andes [10,19,20], on biogeographic and taxonomic description patterns [9] and they served as a model for a case study on sequencing of old type specimens [21]. Therefore, re-visiting their phylogeny and evolutionary biology in the light of increased knowledge is of interest to a range of biological disciplines. ...
Eois is one of the best-investigated genera of tropical moths. Its close association with Piper plants has inspired numerous studies on life histories, phylogeny and evolutionary biology. This study provides an updated view on phylogeny, host plant use and temporal patterns of speciation in Eois. Using sequence data (2776 bp) from one mitochondrial (COI) and one nuclear gene (Ef1-alpha) for 221 Eois species, we confirm and reinforce previous findings regarding temporal patterns of diversification. Deep diversification within Andean Eois took place in the Miocene followed by a sustained high rate of diversification until the Pleistocene when a pronounced slowdown of speciation is evident. In South America, Eois diversification is very likely to be primarily driven by the Andean uplift which occurred concurrently with the entire evolutionary history of Eois. A massively expanded dataset enabled an in-depth look into the phylogenetic signal contained in host plant usage. This revealed several independent shifts from Piper to other host plant genera and families. Seven shifts to Peperomia, the sister genus of Piper were detected, indicating that the shift to Peperomia was an easy one compared to the singular shifts to the Chloranthaceae, Siparunaceae and the Piperacean genus Manekia. The potential for close co-evolution of Eois with Piper host plants is therefore bound to be limited to smaller subsets within Neotropical Eois instead of a frequently proposed genus-wide co-evolutionary scenario. In regards to Eois systematics we confirm the monophyly of Neotropical Eois in relation to their Old World counterparts. A tentative biogeographical hypothesis is presented suggesting that Eois originated in tropical Asia and subsequently colonized the Neotropics and Africa. Within Neotropical Eois we were able to identify the existence of six clades not recognized in previous studies and confirm and reinforce the monophyly of all 9 previously delimited infrageneric clades.
... Presently, it comprises about 21,000 described species (Minet and Scoble 1998). However, the real number is certainly much higher as suggested by recent biodiversity investigations in the Neotropics (Brehm et al. 2011). In this study, we investigate Nyssiodes lefuarius (Erschoff, 1872), a species of a small geometrid genus (Figs. 1 and 2). ...
The thoraces of males and flightless females of the geometrid winter moth Nyssiodes lefuarius are described, documented in detail, and compared. Morphological, functional, and evolutionary aspects of the female phenotype are discussed. The flightlessness of female N. lefuarius is linked not only with complex modifications of the skeletomuscular structure, especially elements of the flight apparatus, but also with greatly enlarged ovaries and a reduced gut. Compared with other flightless female lepidopterans, females of N. lefuarius display a specific thoracic skeletomuscular configuration, which strongly suggests independent evolution, in agreement with the phylogenetic pattern. The evolutionary scenario of flight ability enhancement in Lepidoptera is demonstrated using a combined phylogeny from recent studies based on molecular data. Thoracic skeletomuscular characters are compiled and mapped, mainly using extensive information from the literature, but also including the new morphological data obtained from the male N. lefuarius. Important changes in the thoracic character system are linked with the rise of Coelolepida, Heteroneura, and Ditrysia. Only minor changes take place in the character system in more advanced groups of Lepidoptera. A highly unusual feature is the secondarily stiff wing type in some groups of Ditrysia without the neopteran basal folding mechanism. The morphological background of the secondarily evolved “palaeopteran” condition is a complex of different character changes. Major problems in the reconstruction of the phylogeny are a high degree of homoplasy and missing detailed data for several crucial taxa emerging close to the root of the order.
... All specimens were assigned to a subfamily, most to a genus, and some to a species. However, most species identifications were provisional because of the large numbers of undescribed species [31], and the presence of many species with close morphological similarity (see below). ...
We sampled 14,603 geometrid moths along a forested elevational gradient from 1020-3021 m in the southern Ecuadorian Andes, and then employed DNA barcoding to refine decisions on species boundaries initially made by morphology. We compared the results with those from an earlier study on the same but slightly shorter gradient that relied solely on morphological criteria to discriminate species. The present analysis revealed 1857 putative species, an 80% increase in species richness from the earlier study that detected only 1010 species. Measures of species richness and diversity that are less dependent on sample size were more than twice as high as in the earlier study, even when analysis was restricted to an identical elevational range. The estimated total number of geometrid species (new dataset) in the sampled area is 2350. Species richness at single sites was 32-43% higher, and the beta diversity component rose by 43-51%. These impacts of DNA barcoding on measures of richness reflect its capacity to reveal cryptic species that were overlooked in the first study. The overall results confirmed unique diversity patterns reported in the first investigation. Species diversity was uniformly high along the gradient, declining only slightly above 2800 m. Species turnover also showed little variation along the gradient, reinforcing the lack of evidence for discrete faunal zones. By confirming these major biodiversity patterns, the present study establishes that incomplete species delineation does not necessarily conceal trends of biodiversity along ecological gradients, but it impedes determination of the true magnitude of diversity and species turnover.
... Moths were pinned and dissected following established techniques (Lafontaine 2004, Hünefeld et al. 2011. Genitalia slides were embedded in Euparal, stained with Chlorazol Black, and digitised using an Olympus dotSlide system with 10x magnification. ...
Three new Hagnagora Druce species (Geometridae, Larentiinae) are described: Hagnagora richardi Brehm, sp. n. from Ecuador, H. hedwigae Brehm, sp. n. from Ecuador, and H. mirandahenrichae Brehm, sp. n. from Costa Rica. A checklist of taxa assigned to Hagnagora is provided. Hagnagora is provisionally divided into six clades: the anicata clade (6 species), the buckleyi clade (3 species), the croceitincta clade (3 species), the ephestris clade (3 species), the mortipax clade (4 species) and H. subrosea (1 species). Two taxa are revived from synonymy: H. catagrammina Druce, stat. rev. and H. luteoradiata Thierry-Mieg, stat. rev. Two taxa are reinstated from subspecies to species level: H. acothysta Schaus, stat. rev. and H. jamaicensis Schaus, stat. rev. Four taxa are provisionally removed from Hagnagora: “Hagnagora” ignipennis, “Hagnagora” mesenata, “Hagnagora” vittata, and “Hagnagora” ceraria. After these changes, the genus Hagnagora now comprises 20 valid species.
