Generic Revision of the Dioptinae (Lepidoptera: Notodontidae): A Cladistic Study of Host Plant Associations and Diurnal Behavior

翅蛾科的成员是齿蛾科或“突出的飞蛾”的热带亚群，表现出许多独特的特征。首先，透克廷星是唯一有鲜艳翅膀图案的突出星，它们的成员在白天而不是晚上飞行。其次，许多薯蓣的毛虫以有毒植物为食，如“西番莲”和“管藤”。相比之下，其他突出的幼虫以树木为食，其中大多数不含毒素。最近的研究表明，迪奥汀是高度特化的牙齿动物。因此，蝶科和蝴蝶之间可以有相似之处，蝴蝶也被认为是从一种单调的、夜行的、蛾状的祖先进化而来的。本研究的主要目标是基于成虫和幼虫阶段的比较形态学来重建菊科昆虫的进化史。然后，刁蜂科的系统发育将作为一个新的分类框架，并将用于研究两个问题：第一，有毒植物摄食是什么时候在刁蜂科进化的？第二，日间飞行行为是什么时候进化的？

Members of the Dioptinae, a tropical subgroup of the Notodontidae or "Prominent moths," exhibit many unique features. First, dioptines are the only prominents with brightly-colored wing patterns, and whose members fly in the day rather than at night. Second, the caterpillars of many dioptines feed on toxic plants such as "passion vine" and "pipevine." In contrast, the larvae of other prominents feed on trees, most of which do not contain toxins. Recent work has shown that dioptines are highly specialized notodontids. Parallels can therefore be drawn between the Dioptinae and the butterflies, which are also thought to have evolved from a drab, nocturnal, moth-like ancestor. The major goal of this proposal is to reconstruct the evolutionary history of the Dioptinae based on comparative morphology of adult and larval stages. The dioptine phylogeny will then serve as a framework for a new classification, and will also be used to examine two questions: First, when did toxic plant-feeding evolve in the Dioptinae? Second, when did day-flying behavior evolve?