Redescription of the alpine Incurvaria stangei Rebel, 1903 (Lepidoptera, Incurvariidae), reinstated from Prodoxidae

Incurvaria stangei Rebel, 1903 revised combination, placed without justification in Prodoxidae, is redescribed and transferred back to the Incurvariidae. Male and female genitalia of this south-eastern alpine endemic species are illustrated for the first time. DNA barcode sequences as well as morphological traits support the revised family assignment

DNA barcode library for European Gelechiidae (Lepidoptera) suggests greatly underestimated species diversity

For the first time, a nearly complete barcode library for European Gelechiidae is provided. DNA barcode sequences (COI gene – cytochrome c oxidase 1) from 751 out of 865 nominal species, belonging to 105 genera, were successfully recovered. A total of 741 species represented by specimens with sequences ≥ 500bp and an additional ten species represented by specimens with shorter sequences were used to produce 53 NJ trees. Intraspecific barcode divergence averaged only 0.54% whereas distance to the Nearest-Neighbour species averaged 5.58%. Of these, 710 species possessed unique DNA barcodes, but 31 species could not be reliably discriminated because of barcode sharing or partial barcode overlap. Species discrimination based on the Barcode Index System (BIN) was successful for 668 out of 723 species which clustered from minimum one to maximum 22 unique BINs. Fifty-five species shared a BIN with up to four species and identification from DNA barcode data is uncertain. Finally, 65 clusters with a unique BIN remained unidentified to species level. These putative taxa, as well as 114 nominal species with more than one BIN, suggest the presence of considerable cryptic diversity, cases which should be examined in future revisionary studies.For the first time, a nearly complete barcode library for European Gelechiidae is provided. DNA barcode sequences (COI gene - cytochrome c oxidase 1) from 751 out of 865 nominal species, belonging to 105 genera, were successfully recovered. A total of 741 species represented by specimens with sequences >= 500bp and an additional ten species represented by specimens with shorter sequences were used to produce 53 NJ trees. Intraspecific barcode divergence averaged only 0.54% whereas distance to the Nearest-Neighbour species averaged 5.58%. Of these, 710 species possessed unique DNA barcodes, but 31 species could not he reliably discriminated because of barcode sharing or partial barcode overlap. discrimination based on the Barcode Index System (BIN) was successful for 668 out of 723 species which clustered from minimum one to maximum 22 unique BINs. Fifty-five species shared a BIN with up to four species and identification from DNA barcode data is uncertain. Finally, 65 clusters with a unique BIN remained unidentified to species level. These putative taxa, as well as 114 nominal species with more than one BIN, suggest the presence of considerable cryptic diversity, cases which should be examined in future revisionary studies.Peer reviewe

A new Orthosia Ochsenheimer, 1816 species from Iran (Lepidoptera, Noctuidae, Hadeninae)

A new Orthosia species, O. habeleri sp. nov., is described from Iran (Kerman, SE Zagros Mts), and compared with the allopatric, closely related species, O. manfredi Hreblay, 1994. The subgenus Orthosia and its three main lineages are characterised; the primary types of the taxa described by Staudinger and Hreblay & Plante are illustrated; the photographs of the male genitalia of the holotypes of O. manfredi Hreblay, 1994, O. ariuna Hreblay, 1991, O. faqiri Hreblay & Plante, 1994 and O. feda Hreblay & Plante, 1994, and the lectotype of O. incerta var. pallida Staudinger, 1888 are illustrated for the first time

Redescription of the alpine Incurvaria stangei Rebel, 1903 (Lepidoptera, Incurvariidae), reinstated from Prodoxidae

Incurvaria stangei Rebel, 1903 revised combination, placed without justification in Prodoxidae, is redescribed and transferred back to the Incurvariidae. Male and female genitalia of this south-eastern alpine endemic species are illustrated for the first time. DNA barcode sequences as well as morphological traits support the revised family assignment

A new Orthosia Ochsenheimer, 1816 species from Iran (Lepidoptera, Noctuidae, Hadeninae)

A new Orthosia species, O. habeleri sp. nov., is described from Iran (Kerman, SE Zagros Mts), and compared with the allopatric, closely related species, O. manfredi Hreblay, 1994. The subgenus Orthosia and its three main lineages are characterised; the primary types of the taxa described by Staudinger and Hreblay & Plante are illustrated; the photographs of the male genitalia of the holotypes of O. manfredi Hreblay, 1994, O. ariuna Hreblay, 1991, O. faqiri Hreblay & Plante, 1994 and O. feda Hreblay & Plante, 1994, and the lectotype of O. incerta var. pallida Staudinger, 1888 are illustrated for the first time

DNA barcode library of megadiverse Austrian Noctuoidea (Lepidoptera) – a nearly perfect match of Linnean taxonomy

The aim of the study was to establish a nationwide barcode library for the most diverse group of Austrian Lepidoptera, the Noctuoidea, with 5 families (Erebidae, Euteliidae, Noctuidae, Nolidae, Notodontidae) and around 690 species. Altogether, 3431 DNA barcode sequences from COI gene (cytochrome c oxidase 1) belonging to 671 species were gathered, with 3223 sequences >500 bp. The intraspecific divergence with a mean of only 0.17% is low in most species whereas interspecific distances to the Nearest Neighbour are significantly higher with an average of 4.95%. Diagnostic DNA barcodes were obtained for 658 species. Only 13 species (1.9% of the Austrian Noctuoidea) cannot be reliably identified from their DNA barcode (Setina aurita/Setina irrorella, Conisania leineri/Conisania poelli, Photedes captiuncula/Photedes minima, Euxoa obelisca/Euxoa vitta/Euxoa tritici, Mesapamaea secalella/Mesapamea secalis, Amphipoea fucosa/Amphipoea lucens). A similarly high identification performance was achieved by the Barcode Index (BIN) system. 671 species of Austrian Noctuoidea, representing 3202 records with BINs, are assigned to a total of 678 BINs. The vast majority of 649 species is placed into a single BIN, with only 13 species recognised as BIN-sharing (including the barcode sharing species above). Twenty-one species were assigned to more than one BIN and have to be checked for cryptic diversity in the future

A DNA barcode library of Austrian geometridae (Lepidoptera) reveals high potential for DNA-based species identification.

Situated in the Eastern section of the European Alps, Austria encompasses a great diversity of different habitat types, ranging from alpine to lowland Pannonian ecosystems, and a correspondingly high level of species diversity, some of which has been addressed in various DNA barcoding projects. Here, we report a DNA barcode library of all the 476 species of Geometridae (Lepidoptera) that have been recorded in Austria. As far as possible, species were sampled from different Austrian regions in order to capture intraspecific genetic variation. In total, 2500 DNA barcode sequences, representing 438 species, were generated in this study. For complete coverage of Austrian geometrid species in the subsequent analyses, the dataset was supplemented with DNA barcodes from specimens of non-Austrian origin. Species delimitations by ASAP, BIN and bPTP methods yielded 465, 510 and 948 molecular operational taxonomic units, respectively. Congruency of BIN and ASAP partitions with morphospecies assignments was reasonably high (85% of morphospecies in unique partitions), whereas bPTP appeared to overestimate the number of taxonomic units. The study furthermore identified taxonomically relevant cases of morphospecies splitting and sharing in the molecular partitions. We conclude that DNA barcoding and sequence analysis revealed a high potential for accurate DNA-based identification of the Austrian Geometridae species. Additionally, the study provides an updated checklist of the geometrid moths of Austria

Large geographic distance versus small DNA barcode divergence: Insights from a comparison of European to South Siberian Lepidoptera

Spanning nearly 13,000 km, the Palearctic region provides an opportunity to examine the level of geographic coverage required for a DNA barcode reference library to be effective in identifying species with broad ranges. This study examines barcode divergences between populations of 102 species of Lepidoptera from Europe and South Siberia, sites roughly 6,000 km apart. While three-quarters of these species showed divergence between their Asian and European populations, these divergence values ranged between 0–1%, distinctly less than the distance to the Nearest-Neighbor species in all but a few cases. Our results suggest that further taxonomic studies may be required for 16 species that showed either extremely low interspecific or high intraspecific variation. For example, seven species pairs showed low or no barcode divergence, but four of these cases are likely to reflect taxonomic over-splitting while the others involve species pairs that are either young or show evidence for introgression. Conversely, some of the nine species with deep intraspecific divergence at varied spatial levels may include overlooked species. Although these 16 cases require further investigation, our overall results indicate that barcode reference libraries based on records from one locality can be very effective in identifying specimens across an extensive geographic area.© 2018 Huemer et a