Molecular phylogeny, biogeography and color pattern evolution of the burnet moth subfamily Chalcosiinae (Lepidoptera, Zygaenoidea, Zygaenidae)

Beschreibung

The burnet moth subfamily Chalcosiinae is one of the most intriguing groups of Lepidoptera It is comprised of approximately 70 genera and 400 species distributed mainly in Eastern and Southeastern Asia, with only one genus and two species known to be restricted to the Western Palaearctic region. The mainly day-flying adults are well-known by their bright color, contrasting patterns together with fascinating mimicry relationships with other groups of Lepidoptera. However, the monophyly of the subfamily and its internal relationships still remain poorly solved, and also little is known about its biogeography and divergence time. Our first goal is using the protocol developed in ZFMK to construct a stable molecular phylogenetic tree of the subfamily and based on it we will explore more topics like the biogeography, divergence time of different lower-level taxa and the development of the color pattern of this subfamily.

Ort