A DNA Barcode Library of Some Neuroptera from Azerbaijan
A DNA Barcode Library of Some Neuroptera from Azerbaijan
Ilhama G. Kerimova1*, Viktor A.Krivokhatsky2, Merve N. Aydemir3 and Lala N. Mamedova4
ABSTRACT
COI sequences were obtained for 25 species of Neuroptera. It is difficult to recognize the immature antlions of Palpares libelluloides (Linnaeus, 1764) and P. turcicus with similar brown rings on the last abdominal segments. The specimen that could not be determined was marked as “Palpares sp. questionable”. The genetic method has finally solved this question; now Palpares sp. questionable (IGK15) is surely assigned to P. turcicus. Myrmecaelurus solaris (Krivokhatsky, 2002) (IGK2) ML. and M. trigrammus (Pallas, 1781) (IGK22) differ from each other in dendrogram by more than 10%. The NJ tree shows that the genus Myrmecaelurus (Costa, 1855) is supported by 97-100%, and it is connected with another close genus Nohoveus (Navás, 1918) (Azerbaijanian N. zigan) and Chinese population of N. atrifrons (Hölzel, 1970). The sequences of Bubopsis hamata (Klug, 1834) (IGK25) and B. andromache (Aspöck et al., 1979) (IGK26) turned to be identical. A genetic approach forces us to synonymize these two names: Ascalaphus hamata (Klug, 1834) Bubopsis andromache (Aspöck et al., 1979) syn. n. A noticeable convergence of the compact cluster of the genus Bubopsis (Mac Lachlan, 1898) with the owlfly Deleproctophylla variegata (Klug, 1845), which, together belongs to the subfamily (Ascalaphinae Lefèbvre, 1842), indicates a characteristic point of embranchment in the genus Libelloides (Schäffer, 1763) inside Libelloidini Pantaleoni, (Loru, 2018). Thus, Libelloidini is a daughter tribe within Ascalaphinae. Although the support between the clades of L. macaronius kolyvanensis – L. hispanicus ustulatus – D. variegata and B. hamata + B. andromache is not so high (44), it organizes the traditional owlflies of the Ascalaphidae family into one cluster, opposed to the cluster that unites all the studied antlions (Myrmeleontidae). Thus, the proposal to merge the Myrmeleontidae and Ascalaphidae into one family as suggested by Machado et al. (2018) is not supported by our data.
Novelty Statement | The article presents the first report on the DNA analysis of the lacewing insects of Azerbaijan. A total of 25 species of antlions, mantidflies and owlflies were DNA barcoded.
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December 2022
Vol. 37, Iss. 2, pp. 93-182
