Species delimitation and phenotypic diversity in the wing pattern in lichen moths genus Lycomorphodes Hampson (Lepidoptera: Erebidae, Arctiinae, Lithosiini)

• Grant number: 25/01403-9
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Master
• Start date: May 01, 2025
• End date: April 30, 2027
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Zoology - Taxonomy of Recent Groups
• Principal Investigator: Simeão de Souza Moraes
• Grantee: Thiago de Oliveira
• Host Institution: Instituto de Biologia (IB). Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP). Campinas , SP, Brazil
• Associated research grant: 21/02524-3 - Exploring the evolutionary history of lichen moths through an integrated approach (Lepidoptera: Lithosiini), AP.JP

Abstract

Lithosiini moths represents a tribe belonging to the subfamily Arctiinae. The tribe is quite diverse in the Neotropical region. In Brazil there are records for 212 species distributed in 52 genera. This lineage stands out for sequestration of secondary compounds present in lichens. However, the scarcity of specialists and taxonomic studies prevents the investigation of non-trivial topics, such as evolutionary and ecological studies, from being addressed in a coherent manner. Considering the importance of morphology for taxonomic and systematic studies, this study will provide a comparative study on morphology, in order to access the phenotypic plasticity in the wing pattern of Lycomorphodes species, in an attempt to determine whether the polymorphism in the wing pattern reflects cryptic interspecific diversity or whether the observed variation is an intraspecific variation related to mimicry complexes with Lycidae beetles and other groups of moths. To this end, species delimitation tools based on molecular data will be used, and compared to evidences obtained from other data sources, including morphology and distributional data, following the principles of integrative taxonomy. In addition, the structures responsible for the release of pheromones, the androconial organs, will be analyzed in order to investigate interspecific variation with potential use in the description of taxa, given the lack of information in the literature on androconial organs in Lycomorphodes.