Jaan Viidalepp

Systematic position of Lythriini revised: transferred from Larentiinae to Sterrhinae (Lepidoptera, Geometridae)

The tribe Lythriini is a small group of diurnally active geometrid moths consisting of a single Palaearctic genus Lythria with five species. The systematic placement of Lythriini has remained controversial: though traditionally it has been placed into the subfamily Larentiinae, a number of morphological characters link this tribe with the subfamily Sterrhinae. A molecular phylogenetic study was conducted to verify the systematic position of Lythriini, using sequences of both mitochondrial and nuclear genes: elongation factor 1α (EF‐1α), wingless (wgl), 28S rRNA expansion segment D2 (28S D2), cytochrome oxidase subunit 1 (COI) and NADH dehydrogenase subunit 1 (ND1) (a total of 3784 bp). Phylogenetic analysis reliably demonstrated that Lythriini belong to the subfamily Sterrhinae. Therefore, we propose to remove tribe Lythriini from Larentiinae and unite it with Sterrhinae. Moreover, our analysis supports the monophyly of both Sterrhinae and Larentiinae. However, although both morphological data and interspecific genetic distances insinuated that Lythria cruentaria and L. sanguinaria are sister species, the latter formed a clade of sister taxa together with L. purpuraria.

Phylogeny of the subfamily Larentiinae (Lepidoptera: Geometridae): integrating molecular data and traditional classifications: Phylogeny of Larentiinae

Larentiinae are the second largest subfamily of Geometridae, with more than 6200 described species. Despite recent advances in molecular systematics of geometrid moths, phylogenetic relationships between the numerous subgroups of Larentiinae are poorly known. In this study we present the most comprehensive attempt to date to resolve the phylogeny of Larentiinae, having sampled at least one species from all currently recognized 23 tribes. Fragments of one mitochondrial (COI) and eight nuclear (EF‐1α, WGL, GAPDH, RPS5, IDH, MDH, CAD and 28S) genes were sequenced, for a total of 6939 bp. Maximum likelihood and Bayesian analyses resulted in identical well‐resolved phylogenetic trees, which had maximum or near‐maximum support values at most nodes. Almost all conventionally recognized tribes represented by more than one genus were found to be monophyletic. Close to the root of Larentiinae, six tribes branch off the main lineage one after another, with Dyspteridini being sister to all other members of the subfamily. The rest of larentiines are divided into two very diverse lineages, comprising eight and at least ten tribes, respectively. There were just three findings incongruent with the conventional tribal subdivision of the subfamily. First, the genera Collix Guenée and Anticollix Prout formed a separate, previously unrecognized but well‐supported clade at the tribe level. Second, the Palaearctic genus Pelurga Hübner was placed apart from Larentia Treitschke and Mesoleuca Hübner, which were the other members of Larentiini in this analysis. Third, Cataclysmini appeared together with genera belonging to Xanthorhoini, leaving the latter paraphyletic. The Neotropic genus Oligopleura Herrich‐Schäffer is shown to belong to the tribe Euphyiini (comb.n.) according to both molecular data and male genital morphology. The results and the tribal classification of Larentiinae are discussed with reference to the principal publications since the end of the 19th Century. We conclude that the current tribal classification of Larentiinae is not controversial from the phylogenetic point of view and that its increasing complexity has merely reflected the accumulation of information, mainly through different methods of biosystematic study having become available for researchers. Our results indicate that diurnal lifestyle, accompanied by conspicuous coloration, has evolved independently in several subgroups of Larentiinae.

A morphology based key to the genera of the tribe Nemoriini (Lepidoptera: Geometridae, Geometrinae)

A diagrammatic key to the genera of the Nemoriini tribe (Lepidoptera, Geometridae) is presented and illustrated. The genera studied exhibit two main character sets, corresponding to the Nemoria lineage and the Phrudocentra lineage. The spatulate type of uncus is associated with multicolor wing markings on both hemispheres. A rod-shaped uncus, often slightly bulbed at its tip, is common in the Neotropics, the genera involved having their wing markings reduced to white lines or brown-grey vein marks on a plain green ground color.

Review of some species groups of the genus Oospila Warren, with descriptions of nine new species (Lepidoptera: Geometridae: Geometrinae)

The Neotropical geometrine genus Oospila Warren, 1897 includes seventy-nine species and was revised by Cook Scoble (1995). The genus is distinctive in having a row of raised abdominal crests, which are composed of specialized, erect, metallic shining scales. This paper focuses on the integrative morphological and molecular delimitation of the smallest Oospila species. The wing patterns and genitalia structures of males and females are illustrated. Cook Scoble (1995) distinguished 13 species groups within Oospila. We discuss the species of the Oospila flavilimes species group, the O. stigma species group and O. miccularia species group below, and separate the O. arpata species complex into a group of its own. Nine new species and two new subspecies are described in this paper: O. cristae sp. n. from Ecuador, O. falcata sp. n. from French Guiana, O. pallidaria boliviensis subsp. n. from Bolivia, and O. loreenae sp. n. from Bolivia (flavilimes species group), O. ehakernae sp. n. from Costa Rica, O. similiplaga bolarpata subsp. n. from Bolivia (arpata species group), O. brehmi sp. n. and O. bifida sp. n. both from Bolivia, O. moseri sp. n. from Brazil, O. absaloni sp. n. and O. pipa sp. n. both from Ecuador (miccularia species group). Oospila similiplaga (Warren) (stat. nov.) is raised here from synonymy with O. arpata (Schaus) and O. imula (Dognin) from synonymy with O. miccularia (Guenée), respectively. Oospila agnetaforslundae nom. nov. is proposed as a replacement name for Oospila marginata Schaus, 1912 (nec Oospila marginata Warren, 1897), raising it to species rank from synonymy of Oospila permagna (Warren, 1909). With this paper, the number of Neotropical Oospila species is raised to 88.

Oospila bulava, a new emerald geometrid moth from South America (Lepidoptera, Geometridae, Geometrinae).

Warren (1897) described the genus Oospila for Phorodesma trilunaria Guenée, 1857 from Brazil. Prout (1912; 1932-1933) revised the genus, listing 48 species in the first publication and 58 species in the latter one, in Oospila. Cook and Scoble (1995) grouped eight related genera under Oospila, including 73 species and dividing these into 13 species groups. Pitkin (1996) relied on this revision while publishing a monographic review of the Neotropical geometrine genera. Parsons et al. (1999) attributed the same species that in Cook and Scoble (1995) to the genus. Two species are described later (Viidalepp, 2002; Lévèque & Viidalepp, 2015). While revising collections from the Neotropical region during the last decade, the authors of the present article have found several undescribed taxa: cryptic species are frequently overlooked in large-scale works (Vodă et al., 2014). The result of one case study is published in this article. The primary and subsequent descriptions of relevant taxa are consulted.

Two new emerald geometrid species of Telotheta Warren from Ecuador and Bolivia (Lepidoptera: Geometridae, Geometrinae, Lophochoristini)

Abstract Two new species of the lophochoristine genus Telotheta Warren found in Ecuador and Bolivia are described. The paper focuses on the morphological description and illustration of the wing pattern and genitalia structures of the typus generis Telotheta muscipunctata Dognin and the newly identified species Telotheta unoi and Telotheta fresei. The distinguishing characters of the genera Telotheta and Paromphacodes are also briefly discussed.