A redescription of Antispastis clarkei Pastrana (Lepidoptera, Glyphipterigidae) immature stages, with notes on the life history and phylogenetic placement of the genus

Abstract

Antispastis Meyrick, 1926 is a poorly known genus of leaf-mining micromoths endemic to the Neotropics, with still uncertain taxonomic position within the Yponomeutoidea. In the present study, the egg, larva and pupa of A. clarkei Pastrana, previously known only from Argentina, are described and illustrated with the aid of optical and scanning electron microscopy. Data on life history, including histology of the mine, are also provided. Family placement of the genus is reassessed based on comparison of morphology and DNA sequences with closely related lineages. The larvae form blotch mines on the upper surface of Solanum L. (Solanaceae) leaves, feeding on palisade parenchyma in all instars. Pupation occurs outside the mine, in an inverted basket-like, large-meshed cocoon constructed on the plant surface. DNA analysis of Cytochrome oxidase I gene of A. clarkei revealed interspecific differences averaging 10% with A. xylophragma, which provided species separation matching morphological differences. Antispastis was closely related phylogenetically to Digitivalva, clustering in the Acrolepiinae together with the genera Acrolepia and Acrolepiopsis, and ultimately placed within Glyphipterigidae. The geographical distribution of A. clarkei is expanded to the Southern Atlantic forest (Rio Grande do Sul and Paraná states, Brazil).