Additions and deletions to Syrphidae (Diptera) of Finland

Eight species of Syrphidae are reported as new to Finland, and new provincial records are given for four species. Eight species earlier reported are deleted from the fauna of Finland, and the nomenclature of two species is corrected

Phylogenetic relationships of Microdontinae (Diptera: Syrphidae) based on molecular and morphological characters

The intrasubfamilial classification of Microdontinae Rondani (Diptera: Syrphidae) has been a challenge: until recently more than 300 out of more than 400 valid species names were classified in Microdon Meigen. We present phylogenetic analyses of molecular and morphological characters (both separate and combined) of Microdontinae. The morphological dataset contains 174 characters, scored for 189 taxa (9 outgroup), representing all 43 presently recognized genera and several subgenera and species groups. The molecular dataset, representing 90 ingroup species of 28 genera, comprises sequences of five partitions in total from the mitochondrial gene COI and the nuclear ribosomal genes 18S and 28S. We test the sister-group relationship of Spheginobaccha with the other Microdontinae, attempt to elucidate phylogenetic relationships within the Microdontinae and discuss uncertainties in the classification of Microdontinae. Trees based on molecular characters alone are poorly resolved, but combined data are better resolved. Support for many deeper nodes is low, and placement of such nodes differs between parsimony and Bayesian analyses. However, Spheginobaccha is recovered as highly supported sister group in both. Both analyses agree on the early branching of Mixogaster, Schizoceratomyia, Afromicrodon and Paramicrodon. The taxonomical rank in relation to the other Syrphidae is discussed briefly. An additional analysis based on morphological characters only, including all 189 taxa, used implied weighting. A range of weighting strengths (k-values) is applied, chosen such that values of character fit of the resulting trees are divided into regular intervals. Results of this analysis are used for discussing the phylogenetic relationships of genera unrepresented in the molecular dataset.Peer reviewe

Morphological and molecular taxonomy of Dendrolimus sibiricus Chetverikov stat.rev. and allied lappet moths (Lepidoptera: Lasiocampidae), with description of a new species

The populations of the well-known forest pest, Dendrolimus sibiricus Chetverikov, 1908 stat.rev., were sampled in the European foothills of the Ural Mountains, Russia. D. sibiricus is a species distinct from the Japanese taxon D. superans (Butler, 1877). Another taxon from the Southern Urals, taxonomically close to D. pini (Linnaeus), is described here as D. kilmez sp.n. The synthetic female pheromones prepared for D. pini and D. sibiricus attracted equally well all three taxa present, and thus cannot be used to identify these species. The Ural populations of D. sibiricus show differences in external appearance, and as already in the 1840s Eversmann indicated that the species had caused local forest damage, D. sibiricus must be a long-established species in the Ural area. Thus, natural spreading westward of the pest is not to be expected. The five Dendrolimus species of the northern Palaearctic and the male genitalia are illustrated, and the distinguishing characters are listed. Two Matsumura lectotypes are designated

Taxonomic review of the Palaearctic species of the Cheilosia caerulescens-group (Diptera, Syrphidae)

The Palaearctic species of the Cheilosia caerulescens group (Diptera: Syrphidae) are revised in this work. The species group belongs to the genus Cheilosia subgenus Taeniocheilosia Oldenberg. One new species is described from north Caucasus, Cheilosia (Taeniocheilosia) circassica sp. n. Cheilosia primulae Hering is established as a junior synonym of Cheilosia laeviventris Loew. Four lectotype designations are made. The species of the Cheilosia caerulescens group are redescribed and illustrated, and a table of diagnostic characters and an identification key to species are provided. MtDNA COI barcodes were generated for several specimens of C. (T.) caerulescens Meigen and other Cheilosia (Taeniocheilosia) and Cheilosia s. str. taxa. Parsimony and maximum likelihood analyses did not place the morphologically similar C. hercyniae Loew in the C. caerulescens group but among other Cheilosia (Taeniocheilosia) taxa. The following eight taxa are included in the Cheilosia (T.) caerulescens group of species: Cheilosia armeniaca Stackelberg, 1960, C. caerulescens caerulescens (Meigen, 1822), C. caerulescens calculosa Skufjin, 1977, C. circassica sp. n., C. herculana Bradescu, 1982, C. kerteszi Szilady, 1938, C. laeviventris Loew, 1857, and C. venosa Loew, 1857.Peer reviewe

Checklist of the families Opetiidae and Platypezidae (Diptera) of Finland

Peer reviewe

DNA barcodes identify Central-Asian Colias butterflies (Lepidoptera, Pieridae)

A majority of the known Colias species (Lepidoptera: Pieridae, Coliadinae) occur in the mountainous regions of Central-Asia, vast areas that are hard to access, rendering the knowledge of many species limited due to the lack of extensive sampling. Two gene regions, the mitochondrial COI ‘barcode’ region and the nuclear ribosomal protein RpS2 gene region were used for exploring the utility of these DNA markers for species identification. A comprehensive sampling of COI barcodes for Central-Asian Colias butterflies showed that the barcodes facilitated identification of most of the included species. Phylogenetic reconstruction based on parsimony and Neighbor-Joining recovered most species as monophyletic entities. For the RpS2 gene region species-specific sequences were registered for some of the included Colias spp. Nevertheless, this gene region was not deemed useful as additional molecular ‘barcode’. A parsimony analysis of the combined COI and RpS2 data did not support the current subgeneric classification based on morphological characteristicsPeer reviewe

Hidden European diversity : a new monotypic hoverfly genus (Diptera: Syrphidae: Eristalinae: Rhingiini)

For the first time in more than 30 years, a new European hoverfly genus has been discovered, Katara gen. nov. Its type species Katara connexa sp. nov. (Diptera: Syrphidae) is described from the Pindos Mountains (Greece), and the systematic position of the monotypic taxon within the tribe Rhingiini is analysed using morphological and molecular data. Phylogenetic analyses resolved Katara connexa gen. et sp. nov. as sister taxon to Pelecocera latifrons. We assert based on the molecular phylogenetic results and the morphological distinctness of Pelecocera latifrons that this taxon merits a generic rank, thus we erect the genus Pseudopelecocera gen. nov. and also place Pelecocera persiana in this new genus based on shared characteristics. Based on our results, we place Chamaesyrphus in subgeneric rank and as a sister group to the nominal subgenus Pelecocera. We provide an identification key to the Rhingiini genera. Our phylogenetic analyses recovered all speciose Rhingiini genera as monophyletic and support existence of three main lineages within the tribe: (1) genus Rhingia with two groups, Palaearctic+Neotropical and Afrotropical taxa, (2) genus Cheilosia with its subgenera, and (3) lineage with remaining genera (Pseudopelecocera gen. nov., Katara gen. nov., Ferdinandea, Psarochilosia, Psarus, Portevinia and Pelecocera).Peer reviewe

Integrative taxonomy of Iberian Merodon species (Diptera, Syrphidae)

The genus Merodon Meigen, 1803 (Syrphidae, Diptera), with more than 50 European species, is primarily distributed in the Mediterranean region, there being 34 species that occur in the Iberian Peninsula. The morphological variation found within some species from the Iberian Peninsula prompted us to test their taxonomic status by integrating morphological and molecular data. We generated partial sequences of the mitochondrial, protein-coding gene cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI), the nuclear, internal transcribed spacer (ITS2) region, and the D2 region of thenuclear 28S rRNA gene. COI and ITS2 sequences were obtained for most included taxa. The variability of the COI sequences showed great differences between the studied species groups, exhibiting an interspecific range from 0.29% to 12.5% between ingroup taxa. Closely related taxa of the aureus complex (e.g. M. quercetorum and M. legionensis) presented identical COI sequences. The obtained ITS2 sequences showed low intraspecific variability, and only a few taxa presented more than one genotype. Species status and delimitation were discussed for all taxa in the light of available morphological and molecular character information. Using the obtained sequence data for COI and 28S we inferred the phylogenetic relationships of the included taxa, using parsimony analysis. Separate analysis of the COI sequences identified four, quite well supportedclades within Merodon, the desuturinus, albifrons, nigritarsis and aureus groups. Combined analysis of the COI and 28S genes produced a topology similar to the COI topology.Ministry of Science and Environmental Protection of Serbia (Grant Number 143037), the Provincial Secretariat for Science and Technological Development (Maintenance of biodiversity–“Hot spots” on the Balkan and Iberian Peninsula), the Spanish Ministerio de Medio Ambiente (MMA-040/2002), the Spanish Ministerio de Educación y Ciencia (CGL2005-0713/BOS and grant number AP2003-3998) and Generalitat Valenciana (ACOMP06/063)