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Schachat SR. Symmetry systems on the wings of Dichromodes Guenée (Lepidoptera: Geometridae) are unconstrained by venation. PeerJ 2020; 8:e8263. [PMID: 31915575 PMCID: PMC6942684 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.8263] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/29/2019] [Accepted: 11/21/2019] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
The nymphalid groundplan, an idealized schematic illustrating the essential elements of butterfly wing patterns, predicts a consistent relationship between color pattern and wing venation. Moths in the family Geometridae have wing shapes and patterns that often resemble those of butterflies, and until recently, this family was believed to be among butterflies’ closest relatives. However, an examination of the geometrid genus Dichromodes Guenée, 1858 shows no consistent relationship between the central symmetry system and wing venation. Whereas the distal edge of the central symmetry system is predicted to reach the costal margin proximal to the Subcostal vein in butterflies and acronictine moths, it has no consistent relationship with the Subcostal, Radius, or Radial Sector 1 veins in Dichromodes. This finding highlights developmental diversity that was previously overlooked due to the overwhelming preference for butterflies in studies of lepidopteran wing patterns.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sandra R Schachat
- Department of Geological Sciences, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, United States of America
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3
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Gawne R, Frederik Nijhout H. Expanding the nymphalid groundplan’s domain of applicability: pattern homologies in an arctiid moth (Utetheisa ornatrix). Biol J Linn Soc Lond 2019. [DOI: 10.1093/biolinnean/bly193] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Richard Gawne
- Department of Biology, Duke University, Durham, NC, USA
- Konrad Lorenz Institute for Evolution and Cognition Research, Klosterneuburg, Austria
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4
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Kilchoer C, Steiner U, Wilts BD. Thin-film structural coloration from simple fused scales in moths. Interface Focus 2018; 9:20180044. [PMID: 30603066 DOI: 10.1098/rsfs.2018.0044] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 10/08/2018] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
The metallic coloration of insects often originates from diverse nanostructures ranging from simple thin films to complex three-dimensional photonic crystals. In Lepidoptera, structural coloration is widely present and seems to be abundant in extant species. However, even some basal moths exhibit metallic coloration. Here, we have investigated the origin of the vivid metallic colours of the wing scales of the basal moth Micropterix aureatella by spectrophotometry and scanning electron microscopy. The metallic gold-, bronze- and purple-coloured scales share a similar anatomy formed of a fused lower and upper lamina resulting in a single thin film. The optical response of this thin-film scale can be attributed to thin-film interference of the incident light, resulting in the colour variations that correlate with film thickness. Subtle variations in the wing scale thickness result in large visible colour changes that give Micropterix moths their colourful wing patterns. This simple coloration mechanism could provide a hint to understand the evolution of structural coloration in Lepidoptera.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cédric Kilchoer
- Adolphe Merkle Institute, University of Fribourg, Chemin des Verdiers 4, 1700 Fribourg, Switzerland
| | - Ullrich Steiner
- Adolphe Merkle Institute, University of Fribourg, Chemin des Verdiers 4, 1700 Fribourg, Switzerland
| | - Bodo D Wilts
- Adolphe Merkle Institute, University of Fribourg, Chemin des Verdiers 4, 1700 Fribourg, Switzerland
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5
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Zhang Q, Mey W, Ansorge J, Starkey TA, McDonald LT, McNamara ME, Jarzembowski EA, Wichard W, Kelly R, Ren X, Chen J, Zhang H, Wang B. Fossil scales illuminate the early evolution of lepidopterans and structural colors. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2018; 4:e1700988. [PMID: 29651455 PMCID: PMC5895446 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.1700988] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/30/2017] [Accepted: 02/23/2018] [Indexed: 06/02/2023]
Abstract
Lepidopteran scales exhibit remarkably complex ultrastructures, many of which produce structural colors that are the basis for diverse communication strategies. Little is known, however, about the early evolution of lepidopteran scales and their photonic structures. We report scale architectures from Jurassic Lepidoptera from the United Kingdom, Germany, Kazakhstan, and China and from Tarachoptera (a stem group of Amphiesmenoptera) from mid-Cretaceous Burmese amber. The Jurassic lepidopterans exhibit a type 1 bilayer scale vestiture: an upper layer of large fused cover scales and a lower layer of small fused ground scales. This scale arrangement, plus preserved herringbone ornamentation on the cover scale surface, is almost identical to those of some extant Micropterigidae. Critically, the fossil scale ultrastructures have periodicities measuring from 140 to 2000 nm and are therefore capable of scattering visible light, providing the earliest evidence of structural colors in the insect fossil record. Optical modeling confirms that diffraction-related scattering mechanisms dominate the photonic properties of the fossil cover scales, which would have displayed broadband metallic hues as in numerous extant Micropterigidae. The fossil tarachopteran scales exhibit a unique suite of characteristics, including small size, elongate-spatulate shape, ridged ornamentation, and irregular arrangement, providing novel insight into the early evolution of lepidopteran scales. Combined, our results provide the earliest evidence for structural coloration in fossil lepidopterans and support the hypothesis that fused wing scales and the type 1 bilayer covering are groundplan features of the group. Wing scales likely had deep origins in earlier amphiesmenopteran lineages before the appearance of the Lepidoptera.
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Affiliation(s)
- Qingqing Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Palaeobiology and Stratigraphy, Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing 210008, China
- University of Sciences and Technology of China, Hefei 230026, China
| | - Wolfram Mey
- Museum für Naturkunde, Leibniz Institute of Evolution and Biodiversity Research, Humboldt University, D-10115 Berlin, Germany
| | - Jörg Ansorge
- Institute of Geography and Geology, University of Greifswald, D-17487 Greifswald, Germany
| | - Timothy A. Starkey
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Exeter, Stocker Road, Exeter EX4 4QL, UK
| | - Luke T. McDonald
- School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University College Cork, North Mall, Cork T23 TK30, Ireland
| | - Maria E. McNamara
- School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University College Cork, North Mall, Cork T23 TK30, Ireland
| | - Edmund A. Jarzembowski
- State Key Laboratory of Palaeobiology and Stratigraphy, Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing 210008, China
- Department of Earth Sciences, Natural History Museum, London SW7 5BD, UK
| | - Wilfried Wichard
- Institute of Biology and its Didactics, University of Cologne, D-50931 Cologne, Germany
| | - Richard Kelly
- School of Earth Sciences, University of Bristol, Bristol BS8 1TQ, UK
- Department of Natural Sciences, National Museum of Scotland, Edinburgh EH1 1JF, UK
| | - Xiaoyin Ren
- State Key Laboratory of Palaeobiology and Stratigraphy, Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing 210008, China
| | - Jun Chen
- State Key Laboratory of Palaeobiology and Stratigraphy, Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing 210008, China
- Institute of Geology and Paleontology, Linyi University, Linyi 276000, China
| | - Haichun Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Palaeobiology and Stratigraphy, Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing 210008, China
| | - Bo Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Palaeobiology and Stratigraphy, Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing 210008, China
- Key Laboratory of Zoological Systematics and Evolution, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China
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Schachat SR. The wing pattern of Moerarchis Durrant, 1914 (Lepidoptera: Tineidae) clarifies transitions between predictive models. ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE 2017; 4:161002. [PMID: 28405390 PMCID: PMC5383847 DOI: 10.1098/rsos.161002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/07/2016] [Accepted: 02/02/2017] [Indexed: 06/07/2023]
Abstract
The evolution of wing pattern in Lepidoptera is a popular area of inquiry but few studies have examined microlepidoptera, with fewer still focusing on intraspecific variation. The tineid genus Moerarchis Durrant, 1914 includes two species with high intraspecific variation of wing pattern. A subset of the specimens examined here provide, to my knowledge, the first examples of wing patterns that follow both the 'alternating wing-margin' and 'uniform wing-margin' models in different regions along the costa. These models can also be evaluated along the dorsum of Moerarchis, where a similar transition between the two models can be seen. Fusion of veins is shown not to effect wing pattern, in agreement with previous inferences that the plesiomorphic location of wing veins constrains the development of colour pattern. The significant correlation between wing length and number of wing pattern elements in Moerarchis australasiella shows that wing size can act as a major determinant of wing pattern complexity. Lastly, some M. australasiella specimens have wing patterns that conform entirely to the 'uniform wing-margin' model and contain more than six bands, providing new empirical insight into the century-old question of how wing venation constrains wing patterns with seven or more bands.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sandra R. Schachat
- Mississippi Entomological Museum, Mississippi State University, Mississippi State, MS 39762, USA
- Department of Paleobiology, Smithsonian Institution, MRC 121, Washington, DC 20013, USA
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Schachat SR, Gibbs GW. Variable wing venation in Agathiphaga (Lepidoptera: Agathiphagidae) is key to understanding the evolution of basal moths. ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE 2016; 3:160453. [PMID: 27853559 PMCID: PMC5098984 DOI: 10.1098/rsos.160453] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/28/2016] [Accepted: 09/01/2016] [Indexed: 06/06/2023]
Abstract
Details of the ancestral groundplan of wing venation in moths remain uncertain, despite approximately a century of study. Here, we describe a 3-branched subcostal vein, a 5-branched medial vein and a 2-branched cubitus posterior vein on the forewing of Agathiphaga vitiensis Dumbleton 1952 from Vanuatu. Such veins had not previously been described in any Lepidoptera. Because wing veins are typically lost during lepidopteran evolutionary history, rarely-if ever-to be regained, the venation of A. vitiensis probably represents the ancestral character state for moths. Wing venation is often used to identify fossil insects as moths, because wing scales are not always preserved; the presence of a supposedly trichopteran 3-branched subcostal vein in crown Lepidoptera may decrease the certainty with which certain amphiesmenopteran fossils from the Mesozoic can be classified. And because plesiomorphic veins can influence the development of lepidopteran wing patterns even if not expressed in the adult wing, the veins described here may determine the location of wing pattern elements in many lepidopteran taxa.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sandra R. Schachat
- Mississippi Entomological Museum, Mississippi State, MS 39762, USA
- Department of Paleobiology, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC 20013, USA
| | - George W. Gibbs
- School of Biological Sciences, Victoria University, PO Box 600, Wellington 6140, New Zealand
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