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

跳蛾亚科的成员，也就是跳蛾科的一个热带亚群，显示出许多独特的特征。首先，屈光星是唯一具有明亮翅膀图案的日冕，其成员在白天飞行，而不是在晚上飞行。其次，许多透光性植物的毛虫以“百香藤”和“管藤”等有毒植物为食。相比之下，其他突出物的幼虫以树为食，大多数树不含毒素。最近的研究表明，屈光石是高度专门化的诺齿目动物。因此，可以将Dioptinae和蝴蝶相提并论，后者也被认为是从一种单调的、夜间活动的、类似蛾子的祖先进化而来的。这一建议的主要目标是根据成虫和幼虫阶段的比较形态重建双眼蜂亚科的进化史。然后，透辉石的系统发育将作为新分类的框架，并将被用来研究两个问题：第一，有毒的植物食性在透辉族中是什么时候进化出来的？第二，白天飞行的行为是什么时候演变的？

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?