The research I performed focused on comparing their species-level phylogenetic diversification patterns, based on a dataset that included the majority of their global diversity, to understand common factors that have driven their evolution.
These observations suggest that species-level non-monophyly in COI gene trees is less common than previously supposed, with many cases reflecting misidentifications, the subjectivity of species delimitation or other operational factors
Larvae of Phyllocnistis unipunctella (Stephens) mining the upperside and underside of leaves of Populus spp. were compared in terms of gross morphology and the COI DNA barcoding section of mitochondrial DNA.
After finding distinct clades in a molecular phylogeny for Nepticulidae that could not be placed in any known genera and discovering clear apomorphic characters that define these clades, as well as a number of Neotropical species that could be placed in known genera but were undescribed, three new genera and nine new species are here described from the Neotropics
The successful assembly of mitogenomes and the well-supported tree obtained from these sequences demonstrates the power of shotgun sequencing from total genomic DNA of species pools as an efficient tool in genus-level phylogenetics.
We found that, even though most species within species groups commonly feed on plants from one family, shifts to a distantly related host family have occasionally occurred throughout the phylogeny and such shifts are most commonly observed towards Betulaceae. The largest radiations have occurred within species groups that feed on Fagaceae, Rosaceae, and Salicaceae.
The family Nepticulidae is a species rich, basal branch within the phylogeny of the Lepidoptera, characterized by larval leaf-mining habits, and thereby represents a potentially important lineage whose evolutionary history can be established more thoroughly with the potential use of fossil calibration points.
We collected larval cases for DNA analysis on the larvae and for rearing, which revealed that none of the collected larvae belong to the Coleophoridae previously recorded feeding on this host, but a mixture of three other Coleophora species.
We present an interactive key that is available online through any web browser without the need to install any additional software, making it an easily accessible tool for the larger public.
The nuDNA data suggest genetic differentiation between L. l. limosa from Sweden and The Netherlands, between L. l. limosa and L. l. islandica, but not between L. l. limosa and L. l. melanuroides. However, the mtDNA data were not consistent with the nuDNA pattern.