Discovery of Dichocrocis frenatalis Lederer, 1863 (Lepidoptera, Crambidae, Spilomelinae) in mangrove environments of the Ryukyu Islands, Japan, and tribal placement of the genus

By

Matsui, Yuki
Wachi, Nakatada
Yoshiyasu, Yutaka

Type

Article

Date of Publication

2025-6-25

Original Publication

ZooKeys

Volume

1243

Pages

143--158

Subjects

Adults aggregation , hair-pencils , polyphyletic genus , Steniini , type species

Contributed by

Pensoft Publishers

Language

English

Published by

Sofia, Bulgaria Pensoft Publishers

Identifiers

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.1243.155924

 

Abstract

Dichocrocis frenatalis Lederer, 1863, the little-known type species of the polyphyletic genus Dichocrocis, was discovered in the Ryukyu Islands, Japan. We provide a redescription of the adult morphology, including the male genitalia with highly developed hair-pencil structures, as well as female genitalia. The phylogenetic placement of this genus, and therefore its type species, within Spilomelinae has been uncertain, but our molecular phylogenetic analysis and morphological evaluation support the placement of the genus Dichocrocis in the tribe Steniini. Additionally, as a novel ecological observation, we report that the Japanese population of this species is abundant in mangrove environments, where the adults frequently aggregate on the underside of leaves and are preyed upon by a mangrove-associated robber fly.