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ARS Home » Northeast Area » Beltsville, Maryland (BARC) » Beltsville Agricultural Research Center » Systematic Entomology Laboratory » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #425187
Research Project: Systematics of Beetles, Flies, Moths and Wasps with an Emphasis on Agricultural Pests, Invasive Species, Biological Control Agents, and Food Security

Location: Systematic Entomology Laboratory

Title: X-ray µCT assisted dissection of Nipponosphadasmus Morimoto (Curculionidae: Conoderitae) reveals flightlessness for the first time in the superfamily

Author
item LEWIS, JAKE - Okinawa Institute Of Science And Technology
item KOJIMA, HIROAKI - Tokyo University Of Agriculture & Technology
item Anzaldo, Salvatore
item FUJISAWA, YUSUKE - Keio University

Submitted to: Insect Systematics and Diversity
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 3/24/2025
Publication Date: 5/12/2025
Citation: Lewis, J.H., Kojima, H., Anzaldo, S.S., Fujisawa, Y. 2025. X-ray µCT assisted dissection of Nipponosphadasmus Morimoto (Curculionidae: Conoderitae) reveals flightlessness for the first time in the superfamily. Insect Systematics and Diversity. 9(3):1-7. https://doi.org/10.1093/isd/ixaf012.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/isd/ixaf012

Interpretive Summary: Weevils are a large group of plant-feeding beetles with major economic significance; some species can be highly destructive to crops and others can be used beneficially to control invasive plants. One group of weevils includes significant pests of avocado (a multi-billion dollar industry), other tropical and subtropical fruit trees, sunflower, and ornamental plants. Our research describes the biology of a poorly known and rarely collected species of weevil in this group for the first time, documents the first instance of wing loss in the group with the aid of a digital dissection technique, redefines the genus, and provides DNA barcodes to aid in species identification. This publication is of importance to scientists studying insect anatomy and the dispersal ability of insects from different habitats and can be used to help identify weevils more quickly and accurately.

Technical Abstract: The weevil genus Nipponosphadasmus Morimoto, 1959 (Coleoptera Curculionidae Conoderitae), is a rarely collected, Shikoku Island (Japan) endemic lineage that has remained unstudied since its description. Here, we use X-ray µCT to dissect the Nipponosphadasmus type specimens and also examine newly procured non-type material. Our dissections revealed complete reduction in the hindwings, the first example of flightlessness in the supertribe Conoderitae (approx. 2200 species). Although species in Conoderitae are especially recognized as charismatic, strong, arboreal fliers with some species even mimicking flies, the flightless genus Nipponosphadasmus represents a novel shift away from the habits that characterize the group. Furthermore, collection data of the newly procured specimens and original type specimens suggest higher elevation, montane habitat preferences in Nipponosphadasmus. Flight loss is frequently observed in mountain-dwelling lineages across the insect orders, and the higher elevation habitat preferences of Nipponosphadasmus may have played a role in the evolution of hindwing reduction in this species as well. Traditional morphological examination of type material and the newly procured specimens also support N. yanoi Morimoto, 1959 syn. nov. as a new junior subjective synonym of N. coxalis Morimoto, 1959. To facilitate future molecular identification of Nipponosphadasmus, we publish the first DNA (CO1) barcodes for the genus.