Oliver S. Flint

Accelerated construction of a regional DNA-barcode reference library: caddisflies (Trichoptera) in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park

Abstract Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) barcoding is an effective tool for species identification and life-stage association in a wide range of animal taxa. We developed a strategy for rapid construction of a regional DNA-barcode reference library and used the caddisflies (Trichoptera) of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park (GSMNP) as a model. Nearly 1000 cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) sequences, representing 209 caddisfly species previously recorded from GSMNP, were obtained from the global Trichoptera Barcode of Life campaign. Most of these sequences were collected from outside the GSMNP area. Another 645 COI sequences, representing 80 species, were obtained from specimens collected in a 3-d bioblitz (short-term, intense sampling program) in GSMNP. The joint collections provided barcode coverage for 212 species, 91% of the GSMNP fauna. Inclusion of samples from other localities greatly expedited construction of the regional DNA-barcode reference library. This strategy increased intraspecific divergence and decreased average distances to nearest neighboring species, but the DNA-barcode library was able to differentiate 93% of the GSMNP Trichoptera species examined. Global barcoding projects will aid construction of regional DNA-barcode libraries, but local surveys make crucial contributions to progress by contributing rare or endemic species and full-length barcodes generated from high-quality DNA. DNA taxonomy is not a goal of our present work, but the investigation of COI divergence patterns in caddisflies is providing new insights into broader biodiversity patterns in this group and has directed attention to various issues, ranging from the need to re-evaluate species taxonomy with integrated morphological and molecular evidence to the necessity of an appropriate interpretation of barcode analyses and its implications in understanding species diversity (in contrast to a simple claim for barcoding failure).

New fossil Lepidoptera (Insecta: Amphiesmenoptera) from the Middle Jurassic Jiulongshan Formation of Northeastern China.

Background The early history of the Lepidoptera is poorly known, a feature attributable to an inadequate preservational potential and an exceptionally low occurrence of moth fossils in relevant mid-Mesozoic deposits. In this study, we examine a particularly rich assemblage of morphologically basal moths that contribute significantly toward the understanding of early lepidopteran biodiversity. Methodology/Principal Findings Our documentation of early fossil moths involved light- and scanning electron microscopic examination of specimens, supported by various illumination and specimen contrast techniques. A total of 20 moths were collected from the late Middle Jurassic Jiulongshan Formation in Northeastern China. Our principal results were the recognition and description of seven new genera and seven new species assigned to the Eolepidopterigidae; one new genus with four new species assigned to the Mesokristenseniidae; three new genera with three new species assigned to the Ascololepidopterigidae fam. nov.; and one specimen unassigned to family. Lepidopteran assignment of these taxa is supported by apomorphies of extant lineages, including the M1 vein, after separation from the M2 vein, subtending an angle greater than 60 degrees that is sharply angulate at the junction with the r–m crossvein (variable in Trichoptera); presence of a foretibial epiphysis; the forewing M vein often bearing three branches; and the presence of piliform scales along wing veins. Conclusions/Significance The diversity of these late Middle Jurassic lepidopterans supports a conclusion that the Lepidoptera–Trichoptera divergence occurred by the Early Jurassic.

The Trichoptera barcode initiative: a strategy for generating a species-level Tree of Life.

DNA barcoding was intended as a means to provide species-level identifications through associating DNA sequences from unknown specimens to those from curated reference specimens. Although barcodes were not designed for phylogenetics, they can be beneficial to the completion of the Tree of Life. The barcode database for Trichoptera is relatively comprehensive, with data from every family, approximately two-thirds of the genera, and one-third of the described species. Most Trichoptera, as with most of lifes species, have never been subjected to any formal phylogenetic analysis. Here, we present a phylogeny with over 16 000 unique haplotypes as a working hypothesis that can be updated as our estimates improve. We suggest a strategy of implementing constrained tree searches, which allow larger datasets to dictate the backbone phylogeny, while the barcode data fill out the tips of the tree. We also discuss how this phylogeny could be used to focus taxonomic attention on ambiguous species boundaries and hidden biodiversity. We suggest that systematists continue to differentiate between ‘Barcode Index Numbers’ (BINs) and ‘species’ that have been formally described. Each has utility, but they are not synonyms. We highlight examples of integrative taxonomy, using both barcodes and morphology for species description. This article is part of the themed issue ‘From DNA barcodes to biomes’.

Diversity of Adult Trichoptera in a ‘Non-Seasonal’ Tropical Environment

The caddisfly fauna of a wet tropical area (Fortuna, Chiriqui Province, Panama, 8°44′ N., 82° 16′ W., elev. 1050 m) that is ‘non-seasonal’ in terms of temperature, photoperiod, and rainfall was examined from nightly light trap collections, November 1976 to December 1977. At least four undescribed genera and 32 undescribed species were among the 67 taxa (plus 24 taxa of unassociated females) present in the total sample of 7,264 individuals. A comparison between the number of species/number of individuals-relationship of the Fortuna site with selected Nearctic sites indicated that Fortuna was more diverse than most Nearctic sites examined, although the faunas of a South Carolina and a Pennsylvania stream were approximately as diverse. Comparison with selected Palearctic sites showed a similar trend.

Probable origins of the West Indian Trichoptera and Odonata faunas

Upon analysis of the distribution of the West Indian Trichoptera and Odonata the following patterns become clear. The Trichoptera are very highly endemic, over 80% of the species being known from only one island, whereas the Odonata are much less so with only 15% of the species apparently restricted to one island. There does seem to be a correlation between the size of the organism as well as its ecological tolerance and the area it occupies. The small Hydroptilidae and the largest dragonflies, and those species the most ecologically tolerant are the most widely distributed.

Emergence phenology of trichoptera from six mile Creek, Erie County, Pennsylvania, U.S.A.

Abstract An emergence trap was placed over a section of Six Mile Creek, a warm water stream which flows into Lake Erie and is located in Erie County, PA. Six families, 17 species, and 1782 specimens of caddisflies were collected over a three year period. Diplectrona modesta Banks, the most abundant species, has an extended emergence from late May to August‐September and may exist in two cohorts. Wormaldia moesta (Banks) was the next most abundant species; in the 1979 collection it was four times more abundant than during either of the previous two years. Two cohorts may also exist in this species, one emerging in spring, and the other in late summer. Neophylax concinnus McLachlan, the third most abundant species, also revealed a dramatic increase in numbers the third year over the previous two years. This species always emerged during a period of four to six weeks in early autumn. Polycentropus elarus Ross, the next most abundant species, was quite synchronous in emergence in the last two years of the stu...

Five new species of Smicridea McLachlan (Trichoptera, Hydropsychidae) from Brazil

Five new species of Smicridea McLachlan, 1971, are described and illustrated for specimens collected during entomological inventories in the states of Espirito Santo, Goias, Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo and Parana (Brazil). Four of these new species belong to the subgenus Rhyacophylax Muller, 1879: S. (R.) froehlichi, S. (R.) jundiai, S. (R.) mangaratiba, S. (R.) ralphi, and one to the subgenus Smicridea McLachlan, 1871: S. (S.) mirnae.

Studies of Neotropical Caddisflies, XXVII: Anomalopsychidae, a New Family of Trichoptera

The male and female, larva, and pupa of Anomalopsyche minuta (Schmid) are described and figured. The new family, Anomalopsychidae, is proposed for this species and, tentatively, Contulma cranifer Flint. Additionally, undescribed and unassociated larvae and adults from Brazil, Colombia and Ecuador belong to this family. The family is the first undoubted member of the leptocerid branch of the Limnephiloidea found to possess ocelli. Although relationships are not absolutely certain, this neotropical taxon appears to be related to the Beraeidae and Helicophidae.

Studies of Neotropical Caddisflies, Lxi: New Species of Leptonema GuéRin (Trichoptera: Hydropsychidae)

Abstract Eight new species of the genus Leptonema are described from South America, bringing the total described New World species to 106. The males are described and their genitalia figured for all: Leptonema anomalum (Peru), L. bifurcatodes (Brazil), L. coronatum (Venezuela), L. cressae (Venezuela), L. lineaticorne (Peru, Brazil), L. macacu (Brazil), L. nubestre (Colombia), and L. sociale (Ecuador, Peru).

New species and records of Neotropical Sisyridae with special reference to Sisyra (Insecta: Neuroptera)

ABSTRACT New figures of the male genitalia and wings of Sisyra elongata Penny & Rafael are shown and the species is newly reported from Peru. Additional distributional data are given for S. amazonica (Brazil, Guyana, Paraguay), S. apicalis (Peru, Panama), S. minuta (Brazil), and S. panama (Brazil, Bolivia). A new Brazilian species of spongilla fly, Climacia punctulata is described and figured. New records of C. amalla (Peru), C. carpenteri (Brazil), C. insolita (Brazil), and C. townesi (Brazil) are presented. Climacia basalis Navás, 1933, is synonymized with C. basalis Banks, 1913.