Noctuoidea

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Noctuoidea
Check day owl (Callistege mi)

Check day owl ( Callistege mi )

Systematics
Class : Insects (Insecta)
Subclass : Flying insects (Pterygota)
Order : Butterflies (Lepidoptera)
Subordination : Glossata
Superfamily : Noctuoidea
Scientific name
Noctuoidea
Latreille , 1809
Agate owl caterpillar ( Phlogophora meticulosa )

The Noctuoidea are a superfamily of butterflies (Lepidoptera). With around 70,000 species, it is by far the largest and most widespread superfamily of butterflies worldwide. It includes 2250 species and subspecies in Europe . Both the moths and the caterpillars encompass a wide variety of body sizes, body colors, lifestyles and ecological adaptations.

features

butterfly

Even if the moths are very different in shape and size, many species have a strong and robust body. The monophyly is very well established by the tympanic organs on the metathorax and the associated structures on the abdomen. With these organs the animals can perceive ultrasound sounds of different frequencies. It is believed that the main function of the tympanic organs is to detect the ultrasonic sounds of hunting bats . However, there is also some evidence that they are used for receiving pairing signals.

On each side of the thorax, the rear metepimeron is modified in such a way that there is an indentation in which the membrane of the tympanic organ (tympanum) lies. The membrane is usually separated from the metepimeron by the epaulette . In front of the epaulette, the metepimeron can be membranous. Dorsomedial to the tympanic organ lies the counter-tympanum, which is connected to it by the same air chamber. This second membrane probably functions as an additional resonance organ. The front of the first abdominal segment can be turned strongly inwards and thus form a few indentations for the counter-tympana. There may be a sclerotized flap on the side that lies before or after the stigma of the first abdominal segment . It probably serves to localize received noises. The exact function of this flap has not yet been fully researched.

Wing veining

Quadrifine wing veins in Arctornis l-nigrum from the Erebidae family . The Cubitalader (Cu) reaches four terminal branches in the Erebidae. The fourth division is marked with a circle.

Within the noctuoid there are two patterns of vein veining on the forewings. In the plesiomorphic variant, M2 arises halfway between M1 and M3 between them. This results in a three-way division from the lower corner of the disc cell . This "trifid" wing veining occurs in the genus Oenosandra and the tooth spiders . In the second variant, M2 arises very close to M3, is fused with it or has a stalk with it. This four-part or "quadrifid" wing veining occurs in all other Noctuoidea, with the exception of those in which this feature has been further developed in such a way that the veins are so fused together that fewer branches can be seen.

Tympanic organs

There are also two main blueprints for the tympanic organs. In spinners and some types of syntomini , the metepimeron is dorsally strongly concave, which means that the membrane is oriented ventrally. In this case, the epaulette and flap on the opposite tympanum are missing. In the genus Oenosandra and the quadrifine families of the group, the metepimerone is at most only slightly concave, which means that the membrane is oriented forward. The epaulette and flap on the opposite tympanum are formed. In the Notodontidae, the tympanum is only stimulated by one acoustic sensory cell, whereas in the Noctuidae two are formed. However, the development of this characteristic has not yet been sufficiently well researched.

Eggs

The eggs are of the erect type.

Caterpillars

The caterpillars have two bristles in the middle of the back of the metathorax, which, with the exception of the Oenosandridae, represent a good synapomorphism of the superfamily. However, these bristles are difficult to localize in the subgroups that are sometimes very hairy. Other characteristics of the caterpillars mentioned in older literature are plesiomorphic.

Way of life

The caterpillars of most species feed sitting on plants, but there are also a number of species that develop as bores in the plants.

Systematics

The group includes at least 42,000 to about 70,000 species in over 7200 genera. Kristensen (2003) divided the Noctuoidea into eight families: Oenosandridae, Doidae and Notodontidae as well as the remaining quadrifid families (Noctuidae, Pantheidae, Lymantriidae, Nolidae and Arctiidae). In 2005, Fibiger and Lafontaine presented a revised classification of the noctuoidea with ten families. In addition to the groups mentioned above, the Erebinae were raised to the family rank as Erebidae and the Strepsimaninae as Strepsimanidae and the Micronoctuidae were established as a separate family. The Pantheidae were placed as a subfamily Pantheinae in the family of the owl butterflies (Noctuidae). Later four groups in family rank (Arctiidae, Lymantriidae, Micronoctuidae and Strepsimanidae) were returned to the subfamily level. The Doidae family was transferred to the Drepanoidea superfamily. The family Euteliidae was established for the subfamilies Euteliinae and Stictopterinae. The following system is essentially based on Zahiri et al. 2011 back and includes six families. The number of genera and species reflects the status of 2011.

The phylogenetic status of families is currently mainly represented as follows: Notodontidae + (Erebidae + (Nolidae + (Euteliidae + Noctuidae))).

supporting documents

  1. ^ Noctuoidea in Fauna Europaea. Retrieved February 26, 2011
  2. ↑ a b c d e f Niels P. Kristensen: Lepidoptera, moths and butterflies . In: Maximilian Fischer (Ed.): Handbook of Zoology . 1st edition. tape 4 - Arthropoda: Insecta , volume 35. de Gruyter, Berlin / New York 1998, ISBN 3-11-015704-7 (English).
  3. ↑ a b c Malcolm J. Scoble: The Lepidoptera: Form, Function and Diversity . Oxford University Press, Oxford 1995, ISBN 0-19-854952-0 (English).
  4. ↑ Michael Fibiger & J. Donald Lafontaine: A review of the higher classification of the Noctuoidea (Lepidoptera) with special reference to the Holarctic fauna. Esperiana, 11, pp. 7-92, 2005
  5. ^ J. Donald Lafontaine and Michael Fibiger: Revised higher classification of the Noctuoidea (Lepidoptera) . Canadian Entomologist, 138: 610-635, Ottawa 2006 ISSN  0008-347X
  6. ↑ Reza Zahiri et al .: A new molecular phylogeny offers hope for a stable family level classification of the Noctuoidea (Lepidoptera). Zoologica Scripta, 40, pp. 158-173, 2011
  7. ↑ Z.-Q. Zhang (Ed.): Animal biodiversity: An outline of higher-level classification and survey of taxonomic richness. Zootaxa, Mapress 2011 ( PDF )
  8. ↑ Mingsheng Yang, Lu Song, Yuxia Shi, Yanjun Yin, Yueying Wang, Peipei Zhang, Jiaqin Chen, Lijiao Lou, Xiaomeng Liu: The complete mitochondrial genome of a medicinal insect, Hydrillodes repugnalis (Lepidoptera: Noctuoidea: Erebidae), and related analysis. International Journal of Biological Macromolecules, Volume 123, pp. 485-493, February 2019.

literature

  • Niels P. Kristensen: Lepidoptera, moths and butterflies . In: Maximilian Fischer (Ed.): Handbook of Zoology . 1st edition. tape 4 - Arthropoda: Insecta , volume 35. de Gruyter, Berlin / New York 1998, ISBN 3-11-015704-7 (English).
  • Malcolm J. Scoble: The Lepidoptera: Form, Function and Diversity . Oxford University Press, Oxford 1995, ISBN 0-19-854952-0 (English).