Reassessment on the monophyly of the fruit-piercing moth, Eudocima bilberg, 1820 (Lepidoptera: Erebidae) using molecular data

Abstract

Abstract Eudocima Billberg, 1820 is a group of moths known for their fruit-piercing behaviour. Members of this group are easily distinguished for their bright colour, hind wing patterns, and the robustness of their body. However, the monophyly of this genus is still in dispute. Based on morphological characters, a current study on 48 species of this genus showed that Eudocima is not a monophyletic group. We conducted a preliminary analysis of 25 species of Eudocima based on 632-bp sequences of cytochrome oxidase 1 (COI) to reassess the monophyly of this genus. Using Maximum Parsimony (MP) method, we ran a number of data sets to reconstruct the most appropriate phylogenetic tree. The result showed that Eudocima is a monophyletic group based on a nucleotide weighting of transversion: transitions = 2:1, despite the very low Jackknife support. This result should not be taken as a final conclusion because only about 60% of Eudocima species were included in our analysis. An upcoming study involving all members of this genus is necessary in order to reassess the putative monophyly of this genus.