Phylogenetic relationships of the tribe Operophterini (Lepidoptera, Geometridae): a case study of the evolution of female flightlessness

Abstract

A molecular phylogenetic analysis was conducted in order to reconstruct the evolution of female flightlessness in the geometrid tribe Operophterini (Lepidoptera, Geometridae, Larentiinae). DNA variation in four nuclear gene regions, segments D1 and D2 of 28S rRNA, elongation factor 1a, and wingless, was examined from 22 species representing seven tribes of Larentiinae and six outgroup species. Direct optimization was used to infer a phylogenetic hypothesis from the combined sequence data set. The results obtained confirmed that Operophterini (including Malacodea) is a monophyletic group, and Perizomini is its sister group. Within Operophterini, the genus Malacodea is the sister group to the genera Operophtera and Epirrita, which form a monophyletic group. This relationship is also supported by morphological data. The results suggest that female flightlessness has evolved independently twice: first in the lineage of Malacodea and, for the second time, in the lineage of Operophtera after its separation from the lineage of Epirrita. An alternative reconstruction (i.e. recovery of flight ability in an ancestor of Epirrita) appears unlikely for various reasons. The similarities shared by Epirrita with a basal representative of Perizomini, Perizoma didymatum, allow the proposal of a sequence of evolutionary events that has led to flightlessness. It is likely that the transition to female flightlessness in the two lineages of Operophterini occurred after the colonization of stable forest habitats, followed by the evolution of a specific set of permissive traits, including larval polyphagy, limited importance of adult feeding, and adult flight during the cold months of the season.

Disentangling determinants of egg size in the Geometridae (Lepidoptera) using an advanced phylogenetic comparative method

“…Also, host plants are considered to be more numerous and more easily found in forest habitats compared to nonforest environments, which necessarily bears consequences for various life history traits (Barbosa et al. , 1989; Snäll et al. , 2007).…”

Flight loss linked to faster molecular evolution in insects

“…EF-1a, elongation factor 1 a; Wgl, wingless; IDH, isocitrate dehydrogenase; GAPDH, glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase; RpS5, ribosomal protein S5; CAD, carbamoyl-P synthetase/aspartate transcarbamylase/dihydroorotase; H3, histone 3; NF1, neurofibromin; COI, cytochrome c oxidase subunit I; COII, cytochrome c oxidase subunit II; cytB, cytochrome b; FFL, female flightless; bsFL, both-sexes-flightless.) One of the three transitions in this study overlaps with [19] and the transition was included in whole-tree analyses for this study [20] for one gene that was not available in [19].…”

Niche explosion

“…Here we include some species that feed on\20 families when these have been mentioned in earlier literature on the ecology and evolution of polyphagy and winglessness. References: Barbosa et al (1989), Robinson et al (2010), Snäll et al (2007) Ascotis selenaria 38, Ectropis bhurmitra 31, Hyposidra talaca 31, Sabulodes caberata 28, Anavitrinella pampinaria 27, Ectropis crepuscularia 27, Biston betularia 25, Cingilia catenaria 22, Erannis tiliaria 17, Operophtera brumata 14, Alsophila pometaria 13, Paleacrita vernata 13, Phigalia titea 11 3. Thrips (Thysanoptera: Thripidae).…”