Description, molecular phylogeny, and natural history of a new kleptoparasitic species of gelechiid moth (Lepidoptera) associated with Melastomataceae galls in Brazil

Abstract

The male, female, pupa and larva of a new species of Gelechiidae (Lepidoptera), Locharcha opportuna Moreira and Becker, are described and illustrated with the aid of optical and scanning electron microscopy. A preliminary analysis of mitochondrial DNA sequences including members of related lineages is also provided. The immature stages are associated with galls induced by a species of Palaeomystella Fletcher (Lepidoptera: Momphidae) on Tibouchina sellowiana (Cham.) Cogn. (Melastomataceae), endemic to the Atlantic Rainforest. Larvae are kleptoparasitic, usurping the gall internal space and thereafter feeding on the internal tissues. By determining the variation in population density of both species and following gall development individually throughout ontogeny under field conditions, we demonstrated that the kleptoparasite completes its life cycle inside galls induced by Palaeomystella, where pupation occurs. The variation in seasonal abundance of the kleptoparasite is tied to that of the cecidogenous species, with their corresponding peaks in density occurring sequentially.

http://zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:525F6D52-8CE1-47D1-A0D9-78B564DF5565

Keywords:

• Neotropical region
• Atlantic Rainforest
• melastome galls
• momphid moths
• kleptoparasitism

Acknowledgements

Thanks are due to the Instituto de Meio Ambiente/PUC-RS (PROMATA, São Francisco de Paula) for allowing us to carry out this study in areas under their care, and for providing assistance with fieldwork. We are also grateful to the staff members of CME/UFRGS and Thales O. Freitas (UFRGS) for the use of facilities and assistance with scanning electron microscopy and molecular analyses, respectively. Klaus Sattler (Natural History Museum, London) and Sangmi Lee (Arizona State University) provided valuable information on gelechiid genitalia morphology. Héctor Vargas (UTA), Lucas Kaminski (UNICAMP) and Sandra Hartz (UFRGS) critically read the first version of the manuscript. Thanks are also due to Janet W. Reid for editing the text.

Additional information

Funding

This study was financially supported in part by the Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico, CNPq [Project numbers 309676/2011-8 and 156153/2011-4, granted to G. R. P. Moreira and G. L. Gonçalves, respectively]. F. A. Luz was supported by a CNPq Master’s Program Fellowship.