A new species of Galleria Fabricius (Lepidoptera, Pyralidae) from Korea based on molecular and morphological characters

By

Roh, Seung Jin
Park, Haechul
Kim, Seong-Hyun
Kim, So-Yun
Choi, Yong Soo
Song, Jeong-Hun

Type

Article

Date of Publication

2020

Original Publication

ZooKeys

Volume

970

Pages

51--61

Subjects

cryptic species , Galleriinae , new species , plastic eating moth , Pyraloidea , wax worms

Contributed by

Pensoft Publishers

Language

English

Published by

Sofia, Bulgaria Pensoft Publishers

Identifiers

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.970.54960

 

Abstract

The greater wax moth, Galleria mellonella Linnaeus, is well known as a pest of honey bees and for the biodegradation of wax and polyethylene by their larvae. The genus Galleria has long been considered monotypic and found worldwide. A taxonomic study of the genus Galleria is presented based on morphological and molecular characters (COI, CAD, wg). A new species (Galleria similis Roh & Song, sp. nov.) is recognized on the Korean peninsula. The new species is superficially similar to G. mellonella but they can be separated by the structures of hindwing venation and male genitalia. Habitus photographs and illustrations of diagnostic characters are provided.