Dyopsinae

Keegan, Kevin L., Rota, Jadranka, Zahiri, Reza, Zilli, Alberto, Wahlberg, Niklas, Schmidt, B. Christian, Lafontaine, J. Donald, Goldstein, Paul Z. & Wagner, David L., 2021, Toward a Stable Global Noctuidae (Lepidoptera) Taxonomy, Insect Systematics and Diversity (AIFB) 5 (3), pp. 1-24 : 11

Dyopsinae

The eight dyopsine genera identified by Zahiri et al. (2013) fell within two well-supported clades recovered by these authors: the clade containing Arcte Kollar, 1844 and Dyops Guenée, 1852 (BS = 94, SH = 97.9, UF = 92), and the clade containing Ceroctena Guenée, 1852 (BS = 92, SH = 98.3, UF = 96; Fig. 3 ). Unlike Zahiri et al. (2013), we did not find strong support for the node subtending the two clades (BS = 53, SH = 97.3, UF = 76). This may be due to the Cobubatha clade, mentioned above, which fell within Dyopsinae in some of our RAxML bootstrap replicates; none of the Cobubatha clade genera were included by Zahiri et al. (2013). Grouped within the Ceroctena clade is Desmoloma Felder, 1874 , which is currently recognized in Erebidae , Lymantriinae . Adult Desmoloma share numerous morphological and behavioral synapomorphies with Ceroctena and Sosxetra Walker, 1862 (both of which also used to be regarded as Erebidae , Lymantriinae ). Adults of these three genera exhibit an exceptional resting posture: the elongate forelegs are held forward, and the hindwings extend laterally beyond the forewings, exposing elongate setae that splay from the hindwing costal margin ( Fig. 8 ). Curiously, we found Magusa orbifera (Walker, 1857) to group within Dyopsinae in our IQ-TREE analysis. M. orbifera grouped in Noctuinae sister to its congener, M. divaricata (Grote, 1874) in our RAxML analysis. We have no reason to believe based on morphology of adults or larvae that M. orbifera belongs in Dyopsinae or is otherwise misplaced in Noctuinae.

Figures

Fig. 3. Maximum-likelihood tree inferred by RAxML analysis. Clade labels reflect our hypotheses about the extent of the various clades, and the taxonomic changes suggested in Results and Discussion. Lineages shown as being members of various clades may not have as yet been transferred into them. Bootstrap values ≥ 70 are shown at nodes.The scale bar shows estimated number of substitutions per site.The tree continues into Figs. 4–6. Clades are shown in three alternating colors to aid visibility.

Fig. 8. Ceroctena (A) (Photo by Gernot Lunz) and Desmoloma (B) (photo by Andreas Kay) showing diagnostic resting posture with their elongate forelegs held forward and hindwings extending laterally beyond their dorsally folded forewings,exposing elongate setae that splay from the costal margin of the hindwings.