ARS | Publication request: DNA barcoding and morphology reveal three cryptic species of Anania (Lepidoptera: Crambidae: Pyraustinae) in North America, all distinct from their European counterpart

Submitted to: Systematic Entomology
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: May 15, 2012
Publication Date: October 15, 2012
Citation: Yang, Z., Landry, J.F., Handfield, L., Zhang, Y., Solis, M.A., Handfield, D., Scholtens, B.G., Mutanen, M., Nuss, M., Herbert, P.N. 2012. DNA barcoding and morphology reveal three cryptic species of Anania (Lepidoptera: Crambidae: Pyraustinae) in North America, all distinct from their European counterpart. Systematic Entomology. 37:686-705.

Interpretive Summary: Snout moths include numerous major pests of crops, stored foodstuffs, forests and ornamental plants that cause millions of dollars of damage annually. In this paper we describe how molecular barcoding, supported by structural characters, revealed three cryptic species of snout moths that were previously thought to be only one species in the United States. The species complex includes a species new to science from the Great Smoky Mountains, Tennessee, that is described. Molecular barcodes and illustrations of the moths and their reproductive structures are provided. This information will be useful to evolutionary biologists, action agency identifiers, and regulatory personnel at U. S. ports.

Technical Abstract: Anania coronata (Hufnagel), a Holarctic species of pyraustine crambid moth, has long been treated as having two geographically separated subspecies, the nominotypical Anania coronata in the Palaearctic Region, and Anania coronata tertialis (Guenée) in the Nearctic Region. Maximum likelihood and Bayesian inference analysis of mitochondrial DNA barcodes both recover four well-supported, reciprocally monophyletic groups within Anania coronata. Qualitative and quantitative analyses of genital structures reveal diagnostic differences that correspond to the four barcode lineages. On the basis of both molecular and morphological evidence, we conclude that Anania coronata is actually a complex of four species. Anania coronata (Hufnagel) is restricted to Europe, while three species occur in North America: Anania tertialis (Guenée), Anania plectilis (Grote & Robinson), and Anania tennesseensis sp. nov.