Complete mitochondrial genome of the Five-dot Sergeant Parathyma sulpitia(Nymphalidae:Limenitidinae) and its phylogenetic implications

The complete mitochondrial genome of the Parathyma sulpitia （Lepidoptera, Nymphalidae, Limenitidinae） was determined. The entire mitochondrial DNA （mtDNA） molecule was 15 268 bp in size. Its gene content and organization were the same as those of other lepidopteran species, except for the presence of the 121 bp long intergenic spacer between trnSI（AGN）and trnE. The 13 protein-coding genes （PCGs） started with the typical ATN codon, with the exception of the coxl gene that used CGA as its initial codon. In addition, all protein-coding genes terminated at the common stop codon TAA, except the nad4 gene which used a single T as its terminating codon. All 22 tRNA genes possessed the typical clover leaf secondary structure except for trnSI（AGN）, which had a simple loop with the absence of the DHU stem. Excluding the A＋T-rich region, the mtDNA genome of P. sulpitia harbored 11 intergenic spacers, the longest of which was 121 bp long with the highest A＋T content （100%）, located between trnSI（AGN） and trnE. As in other lepidopteran species, there was an 18-bp poly-T stretch at the 3＇-end of the A＋T-rich region, and there were a few short microsatellite-like repeat regions without conspicuous macro-repeats in the A＋T-rich region. The phylogenetic analyses of the published complete mt genomes from nine Nymphalidae species were conducted using the concatenated sequences of 13 PCGs with maximum likelihood and Bayesian inference methods. The results indicated that Limenitidinae was a sister to the Heliconiinae among the main Nymphalidae lineages in this study, strongly supporting the results of previous molecular data, while contradicting speculations based on morphological characters.

Complete mitogenome of the Lesser Purple Emperor Apatura ilia(Lepidoptera:Nymphalidae:Apaturinae) and comparison with other nymphalid butterflies

The complete mitochondrial genome of Apatura ilia （GenBank accession no. JF437925） was determined as a circular DNA molecule of 15 242 bp, with common genes of 13 putative proteins, 2 rRNAs, and 22 tRNAs and of the same gene arrangement as in other sequenced lepidopterans. All protein-coding genes had the typical start codon ATN, except for the COI＇s using CGA as its start codon as previously demonstrated in other lepidopteran species. The comparison of the nucleotide sequences of the A. ilia mitogenome with ten other Nymphalidae species showed nearly identical gene orientation and arrangement, with only a few alterations in non-coding fragments. The nucleotide composition and codon frequency all fell into the range estimated for the order Lepidoptera. The A. ilia mitochondrial genome had the canonical set of 22 tRNA genes folded in the typical cloverleaf structure, with an unique exception of tRNAs^r （AGN）. The mitochondrial genes from A. ilia were overlapped in a total of 33 bp at 9 locations, as well as interleaved with a total of 155 bp intergenic spacers, spread over 12 regions with the size ranging from 1 to 49 bp. Furthermore, the spacer between ND6 and Cyt b harbored a microsatellite-like repeat （TA）23 not found in other completely sequenced nymphalid genomes. The 403 bp AT-rich region harbored two conserved motifs （ATAGA, ATTTA）, a 21 bp polyT stretch, a 10 bp poly-A region, along with two microsatellite-like repeats （ （TA）10 and （TA）7）, as detected in other nymphalid butterflies.

Complete mitochondrial genome of the laced fritillary Argyreus hyperbius(Lepidoptera:Nymphalidae)

We investigated the complete mitochondrial genome（mitogenome） of Argyreus hyperbius.The 151 56 bp long genome harbored the gene content（13 protein coding genes,22 tRNA genes,2 rRNA genes and an A＋T-rich region） and the gene arrangement was identical to all known lepidopteran mitogenomes.Mitogenome sequence nucleotide organization and codon usage analyses showed that the genome had a strong A＋T bias,accounting for A＋T content of 80.8%,with a small negative AT skew（？0.019）.Eleven intergenic spacers totaling 96 bp,and 14 overlapping regions totaling 34 bp were scattered throughout the whole genome.As has been observed in other lepidopteran species,12 of the 13 protein-coding genes（PCGs） were initiated by ATN codons,while the COI gene was tentatively designated by the CGA codon.A total of 11 PCGs harbored the complete termination codon TAA,while the COI and COII genes ended at a single T residue.All of the 22 tRNA genes showed typical clover structures except that the tRNASer（AGN） lacks the dihydrouridine（DHU） stem which is replaced by a simple loop.The intergenic spacer sequence between the tRNASer（AGN） and ND1 also contained the ATACTAA motif,which is conserved in all other lepidopterans as well.Additionally,the 349 bp A＋T-rich region was not comprised of large tandem repetitive sequences,but harbored a few structures common to other lepidopteran insects,such as the motif ATAGA followed by a 20 bp poly-T stretch,a microsatellite-like（AT）9 element preceded by the ATTTA motif,and a 5 bp poly-A site present immediately upstream of tRNAMet.The mitochondrial genomic sequence features found in this study not only contribute to genetic diversity information of the group,but also are useful in future studies of the endangered nymphalid butterfly in population genetic dynamics,species conservation,phylogeography and evolution.

Phylogeny of Apaturinae Butterflies (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae) Based on Mitochondrial Cytochrome OxidaseⅠ Gene

The phylogenetic relationships of genera in the subfamily Apaturinae were examined using mtDNA sequence data from 1,471 bp of cytochrome oxidase subunit Ⅰ （COI）. The mitochondrial COI gene from a total of 16 species in 11 genera were sequenced to obtain mtDNA data, along with those of 4 species obtained from GenBank, to construct the MP and the NJ trees using Athyma jina, Penthema adelma, Polyura nepenthes, and Charaxes bernardus as outgroups. The transitions at the third codon positions of the COI data set were found saturated, but they were retained for analysis, because they contain the majority of the phylogenetic information. The impacts of equal weight assumptions for all characters in the parsimonious analysis were assessed by potential alternations in clades in response to different transition/transversion weighting schemes. The results indicated four distinct major groups in Apaturinae. Moreover, several well supported and stable clades were found in the Apaturinae. The study also identified undetermined taxon groups whose positions were weakly supported and were subject to changes under different weighting schemes. Within the Apaturinae, the clustering results are approximately identical to the classical morphological classification. The mtDNA data suggest the genus Mimathyma as a monophyletic group. Lelecella limenitoides and Dilipa fenestra have close relationship with very strong support in all phylogenetic trees. It also supports the taxonomic revision of removing several species from Apatura to other genera, namely Mimathyma schrenckii, M. chevana, M. nycteis, Chitoria subcaerulea, C. fasciola, C. pallas, and Helcyra subalba.

A Taxonomic Study on the Genus Boeberia Prout,1901 (Lepidoptera:Nymphalidae:Satyrinae) from China

The genus Boeberia Prout,1901 from China is reviewed. A previously known species is redescribed： Boeberia parmenio（Bber,1809） and one species is synonymized： Boeberia polyommata Chou and Yuan,2001（=Satyrus ferula（Fabricius,1793）） . Illustrations of adults and male genitalia are provided.

Phylogeny of Limenitidinae Butterflies (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae) Inferred from Mitochondrial Cytochrome Oxidase I Gene Sequences

The phylogenetic analyses of the subfamily Limenitidinae are performed based on 1 471 bp of mtDNA cytochrome oxidase subunit I （COI） gene sequence data which were obtained from 21 individuals spanning 9 genera, along with those of 17 species obtained from GenBank, using Apatura iris, Aglais urticae, and Polyura dolon as outgroup species. Although the transitions at the third codon positions of the COI data set were highly saturated, they were still retained for analysis as they contain the majority of the phylogenetic information, and thus, the maximum pasimony （MP） under different weighting schemes and maximum likelihood （ML） trees were reconstructed in this study. The results showed that within this subfamily, the results based on the COI gene sequences are approximately identical to the traditional classification results. However, the clustering of Lexias pardalis and Tanaecia julii within the genus Euthalia as well as the clustering of Phaedyma aspasia within the genus Neptis with weak support are different from that of the current classification scheme made by Chinese scholars. The genus Limenitis is splited into two subclusters in the trees constructed by using MP and ML methods. These results support one of the strongest hypotheses for the tribe relationships within Limenitidinae.

宜昌市蛱蝶科昆虫分类的初步研究

对2014~2016年采自湖北省宜昌市的蛱蝶科(Nymphalidae)昆虫种类进行了初步调查与鉴定。结果表明:宜昌市蛱蝶科种类有15属19种。宜昌市蛱蝶科昆虫以古北界和东洋界成分为主,其次为非洲界、新热带界和澳洲界,新北界尚未发现有分布。同时编制了宜昌市蛱蝶科种类检索表。

Biology and distribution of butterfly fauna of Hazara University, Garden Campus, Mansehra, Pakistan

The butterflies are beautiful creature of nature with great economic importance as pollinator as well as bio-indicator of environments. The present survey was conducted to determine the biology and distribution of butterfly fauna of Hazara University, Garden Campus, Mansehra, Pakistan during March-June 2012. The study area was divided into 3 quadrates, i.e., residential area, administration area and main campus. A total of 170 specimens were collected, 10 species were identified belonging to 3 different families and falling in 8 genera. The species were identified. The painted lady, Cynthia cardui (Linnaeus);blue pansy, Junonia orithya Linnaeus;and plain tiger, Danaus chrysippus (Linnaeus) were belonging to family Nymphalidae. The lime butterfly, Papilio demoleus Linnaeus and com-mon mormon, P. polytes Linnaeus were belonging to family Papilionidae. The dark clouded yellow, Colias croceus (Geoffroy);common grass yellow, Eumera hecab (Linnaeus);Murree green-veined white, Pieris ajaka Moore;green-veined white, P. napi (Linnaeus) and Bath white, Pontia daplidice (Linnaeus) were belonging to family Pieridae. The body sizes of E. hecabe and J. orithya were minimum, i.e., 1.4 cm (n = 4 - 13), however, D. chrysippus was maximum, i.e., 2.5 cm (n = 1). The wingspan of E. hecabe was minimum, i.e., 3.7 cm (n = 4), however, P. polytes was maximum, i.e., 7.5 cm (n = 1). Proper preventive measures should be taken into consideration in order to minimize the natural habitat loss, as butterfly fauna is dependent upon proper environmental conditions.